UCB Parents Medical Recommendations
Alta Bates vs. Summit
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Alta Bates and
Summit
June 2002
I've read previous postings about delivering babies at both
Summit and Alta Bates hospitals, but my husband and I are still
in a quandary about where to have ours. In general, I've not
heard terrific things about the quality of the staff and
equipment at Summit. Then our pediatrician, whose office is
right across the street from Alta Bates, told us that he felt
Summit was not equipped to handle the ''things that go wrong in
1 in 19 births'' because they do not have a neonatalogist on
staff. His example was a baby born with an umbilical cord
around her neck that needed recessitation. Our dilemma is that
the midwife we'd like to use, Laura Hooper, delivers at
Summit. She feels Summit is less of a ''baby factory,'' is less
interventionist, and is more respectful of midwives. She felt
the comments of our pediatrician were unfair, as they do
recessitations every day and have a team of perinatalogists on
staff.
What to do??? I don't know what perinatalogists or
neonatalogists are. Can anyone offer knowledge about medical practices
at the hospitals, or experiences with them that
will help us decide what to do?
Thank you!
Christine
I had my baby at Summit 18 months ago. At the time, almost
everyone else I had met who was pregnant was delivering
at Alta Bates. My midwife delivered at Summit, so that's why
I went there. I ended up having a C-Section since my baby
was breach. I was very happy with the care I received there. I
was there for 5 days and had positive experiences with all of
the staff. One of the benefits of Summit over Alta Bates is
that you almost always get a private room at Summit. I can't
speak to the specifics of who is on call in terms of
specialists in case of emergencies. I also heard from
several midwives who have delivered at both hospitals that
they prefer Summit since it's not a ''baby factory.'' Hope that
is helpful!
Debbie
While this may not completely answer your question, umbilical
cord wrap is not a problem in birth. 3 of my children have all
been born with either double cord wraps (neck) or incredibly
tangled (shoulders, legs, torso) and neck cord wraps - one with a
very short cord. The 3 with cord wrap ''problems'' were all born
at home and none needed resucitation. You can run into problems
when the cord is pinched or compressed to the point that no blood
flow occurs, but that is determined during labor - not when
birthing the head (assuming competent care).
I would go where your midwife feels most comfortable and
supported.
Kathy
A perinatologist is a Dr. who specializes in high risk
pregnancies. A neonatologist is a Dr. who takes care of new
borns with significant problems (often preemies, I imagine). If
you have a high risk pregnancy you may have a child that needs a
neonatologist.
I gave birth at Alta Bates and not at Summit, so I can't tell you
about the care at Summit. What I would say is that if you do
have a high risk pregnancy (e.g. GD, pre-eclampsia, etc.), Alta
Bates is really a good choice. It's not just that they have
neonatologists and perinatologists in staff, but that they have
them around the clock. I had pre-eclampsia and had to give birth
there, and was very happy with the quality of the treatment I
got. I consulted a perinatologist at least once, and my OBGYN
consulted with them several times, and we got to talk to a
neonatologist as well so that we were prepared for any problems
our baby may have had (thanksfully there were none).
If you don't have a high risk pregnancy, then you probably don't
need to be at a place like Alta Bates. Can you possibly wait to
make your decision and see how your pregnancy develops?
anonymous
I think I can clarify the concerns the pediatrician voiced
regarding ALta Bates vs. Summit. Neonatalogists care for sick
newborns, perinatalogists care for sick pregnant mothers/
fetuses. While all hospitals that deliver babies have the
capability of resuscitating newborns, if the baby needs more
care for a serious problem and is born at a hosptial like Summit
that does not have a neonatal intensive care unit, they would
need to be transported to Children's Hospital, and seperated
from you. If the baby is born at Alta Bates, unless the problem
is very serious, for instance if the baby needs surgery, they
could be cared in the Alta Bates NICU. The same group of
neonatalogists covers Alta Bates, Children's Hospital and
Summit, but they are not in house at Summit. The degree
of ''intervention'' you get as a laboring mom tends to be up to
you and your OB/ midwife, not the hospital. If your baby is sick-
you WANT intervention and preferably right there and then. Now
most babies are born healthy, but that 1 out of 20 your
pediatrician was referring to that there will be concerns about
despite a normal pregnancy in his/her mind tips the balance to
having in-house advance care for newborns, just for piece of
mind.
Just my .02
Anon
I would definitley not have my baby at Alta Bates. My son was
born in October 2001. I went into labor and first off the advice
nurse at Alta Bates came across stern and very unsympathetic.
Even though I told her that I was having
contractions but my water had not broke. I went to the hospital
anyway. When I got there they had me walk for 2 hours meanwhile
my contractions where about 2 to 3 minutes long. After I finished
walking they had a nurse come in and she told me that in fact my
water had broke some time ago. So the whole time I was walking I
could have already been admitted to a bed. By then I was fed up
the nurses were of no help. My nurse who I had for most of the
night left before the birth of my son. I was left with a nurse
and a nurses's assistant. They had me push for about 3 hours. By
then they should have figured out the baby was not going to come
out that way, but they had about 6 doctors and none of them had
the brains to figure out I needed a cesarean. They finally had a
doctor come in and she said I should have a cesarean. After that
I went into surgery all of the staff there did not know what was
going on, no communication at all on there part. Finally my son
was born but he had been pushed so far down into my pelvis from
my pushing that they had to push him back up to remove him from
my stomach. His head was very cone-like because of that. The
nurses rarely check in on you. I probably had about 6 nurses in
my two days at the hospital. I constantly had to keep calling the
nurses station to get ice-chips, juice etc... It would sometimes
take them up to an hour just to get a bed changed. I was very
unhappy with the room I had it was very uncomfortable and they
could not get the heater or the air conditioner to work properly.
I was either freezing or burning up. I would definitley not
deliver at Alta Bates ever again.
Anon
I gave birth to my daughter at Alta Bates last August and used a
midwife (Jeri Zukoski) and had a wonderful experience. I'm not
against interventions if needed, but had had a difficult first
birth (at Alta Bates also) using an OBGYN and felt comfortable
that if anything did go wrong during the second birth, I was at
a hospital with the best care available.
It's true that there can be a lot of births taking place at Alta
Bates at the same time and it can be a little stressful if you
have to wait for a room (after my first birth we wanted a
private room for the night and had to wait for a day in a semi-
private room for one to become available), but I found that the
nurses were wonderful for both of my births and would use the
hospital again if I was to have another child (although I'm
certain that will never happen, two is enough for me!)
Diana
Having had only one baby, I can't compare the two hospitals, but
I did have the unfortunate opportunity to learn a bit about
neonatologists and perinatologists. I was at Alta Bates,
admitted at 32 weeks with a rapidly progressing case of
preeclampsia. My regular ob-gyn consulted with a perinatologist
to determine how to manage my case -- when to induce, what drugs
to use, etcetera. After I went into labor on my own a week
later, a neonatologist came to L&D to speak with me and my
husband about the risks associated with this degree of
prematurity, the care and possible interventions we'd see our
baby receiving in the NICU, and so on. This doctor was later one
of the staff I came to know and hugely respect while our
daughter was in NICU. Doctor for the at-risk pregnancy versus
doctor for the at-risk infant: that's the difference between a
perinatologist and a neonatologist, as I understand it.
Overall, I tend to agree that Alta Bates does have a somewhat
interventionist ethos, but I know plenty of women who have had
drug-free labor and delivery there. My care was excellent,
though I have to say that the postnatal care wasn't quite up to
the standard of the antenatal care. Maternity ward nurses seem
to be more focused on babies than moms, and that was hard for me
because my baby wasn't with me. However, I am so glad that I
gave birth where I did, because had I been elsewhere, my baby
wouldn't just have been in another ward, but in another
hospital -- Alta Bates!
Wherever you chose to deliver, good luck, and I hope you don't
have to undergo such an intimate education in the ins and outs
of neonatology as we did. But as a footnote, our daughter is now
eight months old and thriving, with nothing other than pictures
to show that she was once a preemie.
Alexa
gee, whiz. your doc, whose office is across from Alta-Bates
wants you to deliver at Alta-Bates? If they couldn't deliver
safely at Summit, they would have rates of bad outcomes to show
it, which they don't. It is unprofessional for your doc to make
up a medical pretext so that he doesn't have to drive. I'm
familiar with both labor and delivery units because of my work
(I delivered at Summit, there were problems, they handled them
very well). You may end up with a complication, the question
is: if you're at Summit will you wonder if your doc was right?
BTW, Laura Hooper is well-respected by the Registered Nurses.
That's always a good sign!
anon
We just had our first baby at Summit 2 months ago. I had a c-
section so we were there for 4 days and I thought the staff was
great. What I really liked was that I had a private room so my
partner could stay in the room with the baby and I, which for us
was such an important time to bond. I understand at Alta Bates
it is rare to get a private room so your partner would have to
leave at 8pm, a big issue is you find yourself in an extended
stay situation. We really liked a lot of the nurses, my labor
and delivery nurse, a woman named Angie was terrific. She was a
wonderful advocate for us and stayed past her shift to see me
thru the c-section. Eventhough I had to have a c-section, for
us the whole experience was a positive one.
erin
I had two of my three babies at Summit. At first I was turned
off, because my first baby was born at a very upscale hospital,
and Summit seemed like such a step down. BUT, I was very happy
with the nurses, all of the doctors, and my OB (who works with
Laura Hooper). Everyone seemed to know exactly what they were
doing, were nice and respectful, and I absolutely trust the
opinion of my OB (Goldee Gross), who is one of the most
professional and caring doctors I have ever met (and I have met
many!). I would not think twice about having a baby at Summit.
Twice At Summit
I had my children at Summit, and was very happy with the staff
and treatment I received. My oldest son was born with pneumonia
and was treated at Summit for the first week of his life. I had
worked in neonatalogy research years ago, and felt they were
fully capable of handling the situation. I don't know if the
situation has changed from 8 years ago, but there were
definately experienced staff who appeared almost immediately as
we recognized there was a problem. Perhaps you should clarify
with your pediatrician specifically what concerned them.
FOSCtrails
We were going to have our baby at Walnut Creek Kaiser
because we also thought Alta Bates was a ''baby factory''
and might be very cold. Plus, 60% of Walnut Creek Kaiser
births are performed by staff midwives. I also was not
excited about having to pay extra for a private room after
delivery at Alta Bates (per my Kaiser insurance plan).
Unfortunately, our baby turned out to be one of those 1 in 19
births your Dr. mentioned. We had to get to the doctor fast,
so we went to Alta Bates because it was close. Boy, am I
GLAD we ended up at Alta Bates! Our baby was born at 24
weeks. This was totally unexpected because I had no
complications with my pregnancy, and I had given birth to an
8 lb., 12 oz. baby before. This time, I had emergency surgery
minutes after I got to the hospital! My baby is still in the Alta
Bates NICU at what will probably be a total of a 3 1/2 month
stay. I have been treated kindly and with respect during
EVERY dealing with the hospital staff. The post partum
nurses were warm and sweet, and the accomodations
were great. The NICU is staffed by some of the most
amazing people I've met in my life. No concern of mine has
been too small for them to consider and discuss. These
people saved my baby's life!! I don't know how Walnut
Creek Kaiser or Summit Medical Center are, since I haven't
been there. But I do know that babies from Summit that are
very sick get shipped to Alta Bates and Children's because
they are better able to handle sick babies. When I think
about the tenuous start my baby had, I am so glad that Alta
Bates was where we chose to go. Imagine if I had held out
to get to Walnut Creek Kaiser so I could have the natural
birth I had dreamed of. I'm honestly not sure if my baby
would have made it. Besides, I have nothing to complain
about when it comes to Alta Bates. They've been fantastic.
Good luck with your decision. If you have further questions,
feel free to contact me
Angie
First of all, a quick FYI...neonatologists and perinatologists
do not do the same thing. Neonatologists are pediatric
specialists who care for neonates (newborns). Perinatologists
are OBGYN specialists who care for complicated
pregnancies/deliveries. Perinatologists do not care for sick
newborns; that is what neonatologists (and, in their absence,
pediatricians) do. So if you are looking for a specialized MD
to back up your midwife if something goes wrong, a
perinatologist might help with the delivery. If something goes
wrong after the baby is born, you need a pediatrician or a
neonatologist.
My husband and I recently had a premature baby at Alta Bates
and were very impressed with the care that we got from the
neonatologists and nursing staff there. He was fairly healthy,
but needed some help initially; and we were happy to have
people able to care for him with appropriate ''interventions''
Good luck.
LD
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