I appreciate your insight! I have heard it is a wonderful place for more natural births!

I have heard good places about the Birthing Cottage! They don’t do epidurals though :(

Thank you for those kind words 💜

Those are exactly my thoughts! I hate the idea of taking too much time off of work just to travel, when I could be going somewhere closer and spending less time trying to make up hours at work.

Thank you!! 🤗

May I ask which doctor team you went to at Southern?

Thank you 💜 It feels so hard to set things up. I tried setting up a consultation with St. Joseph’s today, and they just had a nurse call me back to answer questions, even though she didn’t know anything about the labour and delivery floor. She did tell me her daughter recently gave birth and had a good experience, and that I would be meeting with the anesthesiologist prior to birth.

Southern uses a birthing team, so you don’t meet anyone there ahead of time. There is a slight chance you get your doctor. I would assume you would meet with the anesthesiologist ahead of time as well. A lot of people seem to say good things about Southern, but there seems to be a missing personal touch. Though I am starting to think birth isn’t as personal as it used to be decades ago.

Good to know! Did you feel the IV drop and epidural to be adequate for pain management? Did you feel heard by the nurses at Southern?

I wish we had the patience to sit in traffic for that! We also both have driving anxiety when it comes to Boston specifically, otherwise it would be Mass General or BW all of the way!

That is a good question! Right now, I am still at Boston IVF, and still under their care, so I haven’t thought to ask!

I’m still sorry it happened. Thank you for the heads up!

That is good to know! Pain management during birth is probably one of my biggest concerns haha! I am glad you could get the epidural quickly!

I know they won’t do tubal ligation after birth, but that seems to be the main thing that I know of.

That’s amazing! I am so glad to here that your wife and baby are safe! 💜

Did you feel like you were listened to while you were giving birth?

That is true! Parking at Southern is annoying and I don’t want to walk too much in active labour haha! During both deliveries, did you feel like the nurses and doctors were listening to your concerns and didn’t try to push for things outside of the birth plan? I am very concerned having access to pain management in my birthing plan and want to avoid inductions if I can.

I was actually born at BW because I was a premie in the early 90s!

I meant to add, every doula I interviewed that knew about the two hospitals LOVED St. Joseph’s and thought that they had a more personal touch than Southern. I thought that was interesting.

I just wish it was easier to find ratio of patient per doctor/nurse/anesthesiologist. That would make the decision easier.

I’m sorry to hear about your dad. I know where you are talking about! 🤗 That’s where I go!

I did not know this, but it makes sense since Southern is a bigger hospital and is affiliated with Mass General!!

That is good to know! One upside is that St. Joseph’s also uses patient-controlled nitrous oxide, and Southern does not (just IVs and the epidural). Do you feel like the pain medication that they gave you was enough?

So usually in those cases, the midwives have back ups after 12 hours. Reference: my friend gave birth in Canada and this is what they do.

May I ask which OB she used?

I wasn’t sure if one hospital was more handholding versus the other. All of my friends who have given birth are either in MA or northern NH. I have tried getting information from the hospitals directly, but all of the nurses that I have spoken with say that both hospitals are about equal.

I have interviewed some doulas and do plan on hiring one once I am in the safe zone! I just wanted to set up an appt with an OB office soon before the doctors book out!

I used Dartmouth Hitchcock prior to pregnancy, they use Southern. Before that, my old OB was from St. Joseph’s, but retired.