If you are delivering at Winthrop

... and you plan to let your LO use a pacifier- bring one! They don't provide them anymore.

Also, they say they "encourage" 24 hour rooming, which was nice- but they would not take the baby from me- ever. Not if I had to use the bathroom, shower, or even needed to get a few hours sleep. Most of the nurses were very nice and wanted to help more but said they couldn't take the baby.

My friend is delivering there in a few weeks and was told that they will take the baby- I probably "didn't ask firmly enough" which, I don't know why I have to ask firmly. I was exhausted, my feet were huge swollen, my milk did not come in yet so I was the pacifier the second night.

I am waiting to speak to a hospital rep to file a complaint. I know that the hospital is trying to be the first "baby friendly" hospital- but in doing that they are not being very nice to mommy! I feel awful for the girls who were recovering from a c section.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Wow…thats terrible….with my 1st…i had a C section…..and having another one….but thank goodness my hubby is going to stay with me…THats not fair though, what do they expect of us- we need a break!!!!!

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

I delivered DD at Winthrop last week via C section. I did not have a problem with the rooming in bc I am BF and wanted DD with me. She did however have to go to the nursery for about 24 hours for phototherapy. Otherwise they took the baby easily. For example, I didn't want DD in the room when I showered. I just walked her to the nursery and said I wanted to leave her there so I could shower.

I didn't even notice the pacifier thing bc we did not give one but now that you mention it I did not see the ones they normally give out.

They also did a little breastfeeding tutorial. The nurse came in with a little flip chart. I wonder if they do that for everyone now?? I didn't mind it but I can see it being awkward or uncomfortable for those not bf.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

If you are delivering at Winthrop

Crashing... Wow! Just wow! I gave birth there 19 months ago and had a great experience. Thanks for the info b/c if I decide to have another I will choose a dr associated with a different hospital. This makes me very sad to hear because I love the doctors that I saw during my pregnancy. I refuse to give birth though in hospital that would stress out a new mom like this and take away her rights( the right to use the bathroom or shower or sleep uninterrupted if she wants). It should be a choice not forced upon with the 24 hour rooming.
eta..And seriously with the no pacifier?? They asked me if dd could have one after she was born . Isn't that enough? Why now make the parent bring it? ( One more thing to try to remember).
Do I need to also bring my own disposal underwear too?

Message edited 12/22/2013 3:33:33 AM.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Posted by PennyCat

Posted by Summergirl


Do I need to also bring my own disposal underwear too?

Actually when I was there 4 months ago they said they were only allowed to give me one pair of disposable underwear a day! They really kept tabs on it too because when the nurse from the next shift would come around and I'd ask, she would go and come back and be like sorry you already got a pair today! We secretly called them the disposable underwear nazis! Maybe there was a shortage?


As for the nursery.... I was breastfeeding so I wanted/needed my DS with me at all times.. However.. The second night I was having a very difficult time with my recovery and my nurse actually encouraged me to bring my baby to the nursery for the night. She was really nice about it and was an amazing nurse. I ended up having a rough night still though, and needed my sleep, and the nurse the next day got mad at me when I chose to nap instead of attend the breastfeeding class. (I currently exclusively breastfeed my 4 month old so as you can see, not going to that class made no difference in my success!)

I think your experience will really depend on which nurse you get. Honestly, my biggest thing was having my own room my entire stay. I was fortunate and DID have my own room the whole time but others were not quite so lucky.

If you are delivering at Winthrop

I had a private room with DD.We requested it at the beginning which I heard they don't even do anymore. I was still terrified to leave her to go to the bathroom. I always brought her to the nursery when I showered or slept. I can't imagine trying to do these things without then taking her or if I was sharing a room and other people or their visitors where there.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

They told me that if I needed to use the bathroom, to close my room door, leave the bathroom door open (which prevents the door opening) wheel the bassinet over and use the bathroom. I did not have a roommate so maybe that is why she said that.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Wow I delivered there 10 months ago and had a great experience. I brought DD to the nursery both nights and they didn't try to force it on me to keep her in the room. I was in a lot of pain and as a matter of fact the first night I was there the nurse said she wouldn't even wake me for vitals because she knew how exhausted I was. DH was with the baby when I showered.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

I delivered there in August and was not a fan. Labor and delivery was phenomenal but I did not like the maternity/nursery unit. I too found that they were extremely reluctant to take the baby to the nursery. I delivered DS at almost 3PM. Due to health issues my OB specifically said that she did not want the baby rooming in with me at night. Then, because of complications after the delivery, I was kept in Labor and Delivery until almost 5AM (14 hours later) when I was taken to a room. While still in L&D I specifically asked them to take DS to the nursery (at around 11 PM and they did not come. I had to call again 2 hours later and still they wouldn't come. I wasn't feeling well at all, hadn't slpet, and bc of the precautions my OB wanted me to take, felt that for my health I needed to rest and sleep. They never took DS. I even told them that my OB specifically said she didn't want him in with me at night. While on the maternity unit they did take DS for 2 hours here and there and that was only after confirming with my OB that she said she wanted me to rest at night.

Also, they made it so difficult to get formula. I understand pushing the breastfeeding but my goodness, it shouldn't be so hard to get formula. DS was a big boy, almost 9 lbs and he cried all the time. I believe he was hungry. It was horrible, he would try to nurse all day but I knew his latch was off (even though the LC said it wasn't - later confirmed it was). I asked for formula and they made some excuse. Ped came to see baby who had lost 8% of his body weight and she felt that he was a little dehydrated and told me to supplement with formula. Even when I told the nurse this she still said I didn't HAVE to give him formula. WTF, I wanted to! And then I did! Ugh. I was happy to be out of there in less than 48 hours. It was miserable. And just for the record, I EBF. It was so hard to get BF to work and I EP for weeks until we got his latch right. Winthop pushing the BF and refusing to take DS to the nursery surely didn't foster that. I BF bc I had already made the decision to try my best to make it happen. If anything, they almost hindered the process.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Posted by PennyCat

Posted by Summergirl


Do I need to also bring my own disposal underwear too?

Actually when I was there 4 months ago they said they were only allowed to give me one pair of disposable underwear a day! They really kept tabs on it too because when the nurse from the next shift would come around and I'd ask, she would go and come back and be like sorry you already got a pair today! We secretly called them the disposable underwear nazis! Maybe there was a shortage?


As for the nursery.... I was breastfeeding so I wanted/needed my DS with me at all times.. However.. The second night I was having a very difficult time with my recovery and my nurse actually encouraged me to bring my baby to the nursery for the night. She was really nice about it and was an amazing nurse. I ended up having a rough night still though, and needed my sleep, and the nurse the next day got mad at me when I chose to nap instead of attend the breastfeeding class. (I currently exclusively breastfeed my 4 month old so as you can see, not going to that class made no difference in my success!)

I think your experience will really depend on which nurse you get. Honestly, my biggest thing was having my own room my entire stay. I was fortunate and DID have my own room the whole time but others were not quite so lucky.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

whhaaaa? I delivered there 11 months ago and sent DD to the nursery every single night (9pm - 8am) and there was never a question asked!

Having a csection, there was NO WAY I could have done it myself, alone. Impossible!

I asked if they were adopting a "rooming in 24 hours" policy and they told my no.

If it were me, I would have demanded to speak with someone there at that time!

How is a woman who can barely get out of bed alone supposed to take care of a newborn 24/7 without help? (during the night hours)

If you are delivering at Winthrop

That is so bizarre. I had DD there 15 months ago and didn't experience any of this!

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Just an update- a hospital rep called me and I explained my concerns. She said she would direct it to the appropriate channels.

Also, my friend had a baby girl there on Christmas- via c section- the nurse took the baby for 3 hours overnight but told my friend that she really wasn't supposed to and to keep it between them.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

WOW, I am so sorry that you experienced that.

I am currently at NSUH since I gave birth via emergency c-section Christmas Eve. I have sent DD back to the nursery every night, because I just can't physically get up fast enough to get to her. Just lifting her out of the bassinet hurts. Especially, since they took me off the pain meds (via IV).

Last night the night nurse that was on call royally pissed me off. She came in and asked me if I was planning on going home tomorrow (today). I told her I wasn't sure, but that my Dr. recommended I stay an extra night since I'm entitled to it. She says "ok, we'll I'm just going to go ahead and treat you like a discharge patient for tomorrow"

My husband turns to her and says "she isn't sure yet, she will decided tomorrow morning" Again she says "ok, we're going to process like a discharge" smiles and walks out. DH were just sitting there a bit at her response.

She comes back a few hours later while I was in the bathroom and again mentions being discharged. my DH tells her that I have not confirmed that. She calls me through the bathroom and says "oh, Mrs. bxxxxxxx you changed your mind about leaving tomorrow?"

I opened the door and as calm as I could said 'I never made up mind, I was going to decide tomorrow, I'm feeling the pain a bit more right now, and am not sure about leaving tomorrow' she tells me 'Motrin can help you tolerate it at home!

I nearly lost it on the wench at that point - told her I will make up my mind tomorrow and that this conversation was done for the night.

my DH tried to diffuse the situation a bit and said "thank you have a good night and Merry Christmas!" She spun around and in a nasty tone said "I'm Jewish - it's Happy Hanukkah"

I am staying another night per the recommendation of the daytime nurse who said "Why wouldn't you stay?"' And also writing a complaint/report on the nurse once I leave.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

Crashing but I'm so sad to read about these new policies. I gave birth there 16 months ago. I didn't have a c section but was glad they took my baby to the nursery overnight because I was just exhausted from labor. I was also in pain during the night with awful cramping. They didn't give me a problem with the formula though, a nurse may have made a comment when I asked for more "we are not made of money" ( meanwhile they charged my insurance thousands of dollars) but she did give it to me.... I am not ttc yet but makes me wonder if I should switch drs/hospitals the next time around.... Anyone know how LIJ is with the rooming or formula policies?

If you are delivering at Winthrop

Wow. I'm so sad to read this. When I had my son there 5 years ago, it was an AMAZING experience. I had a c-section and some late-pregnancy complications. I wheeled the baby back to the nursery every night at 9:00, he was happily sucking on his hospital-issued pacifier and had a full belly from the formula. I got great sleep at night, and I knew that the baby was well-cared for in the nursery.
I'll be having another section this time around and was hoping for the same/similar experience. Unless things drastically change between now and then, doesn't look like it's going to be a good experience.
Whatever happened to the "happy mommy, happy baby" philosophy??

Message edited 12/27/2013 12:33:41 PM.

Re: If you are delivering at Winthrop

This post is scaring me!! My friend warned me of the pacifier and also advised me that I will need a note/script from pediatrician so they will give me formula as I am not breast feeding. The whole being in the room 24/7 is freaking me out. I am having twins- not sure right after giving birth I can handle that!!!!

If you are delivering at Winthrop

I am getting nervous now as well! I have birth there 3 years ago via csection and had no problem at all! Sent my son back every night to the nursery and used formula with a pacifier! Actually they put the pacifier in his mouth without asking me!