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Hello, I am supposed to be delivering my baby at the University Hospital in May, BUT for the life of me I cannot find anything online about anyone else's experience in the maternity ward there... even the bad. It's making me nervous enough to want to switch Dr's (even though I'm already 24 weeks) and try to deliver at St. Luke's instead. Before it gets thrown out there, Methodist is WAY too expensive, even with my amazing insurance so I can't justify that.
Anyways any experiences, preferably of the baby delivering kind, would be most helpful!
Hello, I am supposed to be delivering my baby at the University Hospital in May, BUT for the life of me I cannot find anything online about anyone else's experience in the maternity ward there... even the bad. It's making me nervous enough to want to switch Dr's (even though I'm already 24 weeks) and try to deliver at St. Luke's instead. Before it gets thrown out there, Methodist is WAY too expensive, even with my amazing insurance so I can't justify that.
Anyways any experiences, preferably of the baby delivering kind, would be most helpful!
We had a baby last June at St. Luke's, and it was a mostly positive experience. My only beef was that the foldout bed wasn't very comfortable, but they were supposed to be getting new ones soon.
I had my first baby at University. The hospital was very clean and I had a private room without having to pay extra. The nurses were great. The food was terrible and parking got kind of expensive, because I was there for five days and then my daughter had to stay a week after that (she was a preemie). I had to take infant CPR and be able to feed, burp, and diaper my daughter before I could take her home...I think that was because she was a preemie, but that was really nice being shown exactly what I needed to do to take care of her, since she was my first and I didn't have any baby experience. After I was discharged from the hospital and was coming back to see my daughter until she could go home, the nurses who had taken care of me would say hi when we passed in a hallway and ask how we were doing. It felt like they really cared.
I had my second daughter at Methodist. The hospital was dirty, I mean grime in the corners of the rooms and my socks turned black just walking back and forth from my bed to the bathroom, it was an extra $110 per day for a private room, so I ended up sharing with a teenager who bled all over the floor and bathroom every time she got out of bed and had an endless parade of dudes coming in to see her because the baby might be theirs (no kidding) and left the tv on loud all night. There also wasn't room in the hospital room to open my suitcase without picking it up onto the bed...doesn't sound like a big deal but I'd had a c-section and I couldn't pick up my suitcase, so I couldn't get anything out except when I had a visitor and got them to help me. I couldn't find the nurses when I needed them, and they ignored the things that I was worried about and told me I was overreacting. I don't remember their food, because they wouldn't let me have anything but jello and broth, and I threw it out and ordered pizza. They had free parking, but I had to pay for the private room after the first night so I could get some sleep and so that I could go to the bathroom without having to walk through puddles of blood (from the roommate), so I didn't save anything with their free parking.
Hey! Congratulations! I had my last baby at home, but prior to that I had two very good hospital births (2002 and 2007) at St. Luke's with the Lonestar Nurse Midwives. It depends on your preferences and risk level, of course, but I heartily recommend St. Luke's and Lonestar OB/Gyn/Nurse Midwives. Of all the L&D units and medical groups, they offer you the most autonomy (at least as of 2007). If you'd prefer or need an MD, Dr. Kuhl is great. Really great.
I had my first in '97 at Metropolitan Methodist, and it was not a good experience. That's old intel, I know. Also, I've switched providers late in two pregnancies- at 24 wks w/ my first and 28 wks with my last (from a hospital midwife to a home birth midwife). Don't feel bad about switching now, especially if that's what your instincts are telling you. Good luck!
Last edited by IntentionallyBlank; 01-27-2012 at 03:54 PM..
Reason: d'oh!
I had my baby at University Hospital in 2010. I had a very nice experience. I had complications at 35 weeks and had to have a c-section due to health concerns with the baby, so I did not labor. However, the labor rooms I saw on the tour were very nice and all were private. The labor room I waited in before the c-section was nice, but I wasn't in there for long. My surgery went very well and the doctors were amazing. My OB, who was with UT medicine, was not the MD that delivered my babies but both doctors were amazing. My OB was there within 1 hour of me delivering, while I was in initial recovery & the MD that delivered checked on every day I was in the hospital during recovery.
I had my daughter on Monday and was discharged on Thursday. She was in the NICU for two weeks. During my stay the hospital staff were amazing and so helpful in making sure that I not only took time to recover, but also made sure that I got up to the NICU (it is 1 floor up from L&D) to see my daughter as much as I wanted. I never had any complaints from my husband or family about the staff.
The NICU staff was AMAZING. We're lucky in that my daughter didn't have any major health issues and just needed to be able to regulate her temperature and learn to take feedings. the NICU gave us a card that we showed the parking cashier and our parking was free. It had 10 "punches" but when we ran out we'd just ask for a new one, so I'm not sure why the previous poster had to pay. They also enrolled my daughter in their "PREMIEre" program (with UTHSCSA) that monitors her development to make sure she is "on track" and doesn't need any interventions.
Some people are turned off by University Hospital being a teaching hospital. You will have residents as your physicians. But I have to say that I never had an unpleasant experience with any resident. In fact, the anesthesiology resident that did my spinal was amazing as I was starting to have a bit of an anxiety attack when my daughter's heart rate dropped and they had to move quickly for the c-section. My husband was not in the room yet and she got me to calm down. She stayed right by my head the entire surgery (my husband was there too, of course) to make sure I remained calm. The nurses were also SO great. All were friendly and helpful. They were sympathetic with my concerns about my daughter being in the NICU and me needing to pump milk and get it to her, and also challenged me to get up and move around to help me be "ready" for her when she could come home.
The cons: the sleeping accommodations for a spouse/partner in recovery aren't that great. There's a small kind of bench with a cushion, but it's narrow and not very comfortable. Since our daughter wasn't in the room, my husband didn't stay at nights since there wasn't much place for him to sleep. The bathroom in my room was kind "eh". I didn't shower until Wednesday - I didn't feel I could stay on my feet long enough until then, and the shower was small. I was glad I'd brought my own towel because the hospital one was very thin. Other than that the post recovery room was large, IMO, and offered plenty of privacy. As with most hospitals there was hallway noise and they're coming in to check on your vitals frequently so you don't get much sleep. Other con - right now UH has a lot of construction going on and the parking lot is not connected to the hospital. However, for labor there is a drop off spot right next to the elevators that take you to L&D. And there are shuttles that continuously run from the parking lot to the entrance of the hospital if they don't want to walk from the parking garage (it's a hike right now). The food was also kinda "eh" but I didn't have much of an appetite for the first day anyway and when I did I got enough, and always found that family was willing to bring me anything extra I was wanting.
Overall, I had a great experience and when I have another child I'll have it at UH no questions. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.
the NICU gave us a card that we showed the parking cashier and our parking was free. It had 10 "punches" but when we ran out we'd just ask for a new one, so I'm not sure why the previous poster had to pay.
My daughter was born in 2002. They didn't have any kind of parking pass then...I asked, because I wanted to see my baby several times a day and back then I couldn't afford to spend $10 a day on parking. The social worker in NICU sent me to their police department in the basement to ask if there was anything that they could do about the parking, they said no and made a big fuss about how it was criminal to enter their garage when you didn't have the means to pay for parking
Oh and about it being a teaching hospital...when I had my c-section, it was in a big operating room and there were a lot of people in the room(the anesthesiologist and five students, a group of six people waiting to take her to NICU, and at least 8 people down near the other end of the table, plus a few others...my husband counted 30) and more looking on from an observation window near the ceiling. It was a little weird. My arms were strapped down and they didn't let me have my contact lenses in.
My son was born at St. Lukes last December, the birthing rooms were very nice and we had a private room afterward in recovery. My wife had a very smooth birth, so she was there only 2 days. We also used Lonestar OB/GYN, my wife was very happy with the two DR's she had there. Free parking in the garage too.
Oh and about it being a teaching hospital...when I had my c-section, it was in a big operating room and there were a lot of people in the room(the anesthesiologist and five students, a group of six people waiting to take her to NICU, and at least 8 people down near the other end of the table, plus a few others...my husband counted 30) and more looking on from an observation window near the ceiling. It was a little weird. My arms were strapped down and they didn't let me have my contact lenses in.
I guess a lot can change in 8 years. In my OR I had the anesthesia resident, her attending, the chief OB resident & her attending, one additional resident observing. Any time you're delivering in a high risk situation there will be more people there in case the baby needs something, plus you have the people there for the mom. It is a surgical procedure, after all. But I don't remember thinking there were an overwhelming number of people and there was no observation window in my OR. I had my contacts in and while my arms were strapped down during prep they undid them once the surgery started.
I didn't birth there, but a friend had both kids at University and said it was a great experience.
I second the recommendation for LoneStar OB/GYN and Dr. Kuhl and St Luke's. I like him a lot, though he didn't deliver for me (I had mine at home). He did my surgery at St Luke's and the experience was overall good. He also delivered a friend's baby and she has only good things to say.
Have you considered the SA Birth Center as an option if you're not high risk? San Antonio Birth Center | home (http://www.sabirthcenter.com/site/index.php - broken link)
I guess a lot can change in 8 years. In my OR I had the anesthesia resident, her attending, the chief OB resident & her attending, one additional resident observing. Any time you're delivering in a high risk situation there will be more people there in case the baby needs something, plus you have the people there for the mom. It is a surgical procedure, after all. But I don't remember thinking there were an overwhelming number of people and there was no observation window in my OR. I had my contacts in and while my arms were strapped down during prep they undid them once the surgery started.
Had all the same health issues and risk factors during my second pregnancy, and during the second c-section, the only people present were my doctor, another surgeon assisting him, two nurses and the anesthesiologist.
Still, if I were ever having another baby, I'd pick University Hospital over Methodist any day.
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