I gave birth to my first baby, a boy, at Long Island College hospital on August 9, 2010 under the care of midwife Beverly Woodard and I can say that the hospital and Beverly’s services, were excellent.
I write about our decision to switch from using an OB/GYN to a midwife halfway through my pregnancy in an earlier post, here. So I thought it was important to follow it up with my experience at LICH, seeing how I went into it with negative and mixed reviews. Not to mention an article in the NY Times about Brooklyn mothers choosing Manhattan hospitals to give birth, that came out six weeks before I went into labor.
First off, it all comes down to your health care provider. In the case of my long, 30 hour labor (24 of which was spent at home), I believe I would have had a c-section had I been under the care of an OB/GYN whether at LICH or any other hospital.
LICH wasn’t perfect. There was a cleanliness factor that turned my stomach and the postpartum breastfeeding support was disappointing. But for the most part my experience at LICH was a very pleasant one. From the nurses to the pediatric residents and even the orderlies — everyone at LICH was polite, helpful and nurturing.
The labor & delivery floor at LICH.
My husband Jason, who was in and out of the hospital many times throughout the two days we were there so he could tend to our menagerie at home, even found the security guards and the cashier he paid to room-in on the maternity ward, extremely helpful and polite. By the way, the price for partners to room-in at LICH is $210, which is a fraction of what it costs at most Manhattan hospitals!
It took us some time to write it, but we wanted the supervisor of the maternity ward at LICH, Wanda Hernandez, to know about the people who helped make our experience a positive one.
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October 21, 2010
Dear Ms. Hernandez:
My husband and I welcomed our first child into the world, a boy, on August 9, 2010 under the wonderful care of Midwife, Beverly Woodard at Long Island College Hospital. In short, our experience at LICH was an exceptional one.
On our list of things to do since we’ve been adjusting to new life with a baby is to write to let you know that being under the care of a few specific people made our experience at LICH that much more memorable. Paulette and Janelle on the labor and delivery floor, Bebeth in the maternity ward and Myra in the nursery went above and beyond to treat myself, my husband, my mother and of course my son, with a great deal of warmth and compassion.
Giving birth, while not easy, was at least pleasant thanks to your staff. Thank you for making our experience such a positive one.
Yours,
Reedu Taha Wood