Deliver at St. Alexius (Hoffman Estates) or Advocate Good Shepherd (Barrington)?

I delivered both of my children at Good Shepherd and had wonderful experiences. I can't say enough about the pampered pregnancy program. There is nothing better than a pedicure and foot massage after months of swollen ankles and sore feet. And the nurses were absolutely wonderful and so supportive during delivery and after during recovery.

Good luck!
T.

I delivered my son at St Alexius and loved it. I was in the labor and delivery area at 24 weeks for a couple of nights due to contractions and then was back at 33 weeks for 10 days to deliver my son. I spent many nights at St Alexius and the nurses were great. My husband was able to stay with me every night too. The NICU staff there is also great.

I just delivered my daughter at Good Shepherd 2 weeks ago. It was`a great experience. The nurses in both labor & delivery and post partum were all awesome. I honestly didn't have even one nurse that I didn't like. Good Shepherd also has the Pampered Pregnancy program where you get a free massage during your pregnancy or up to 6 months post partum, a manicure or pedicure the day after the birth, a meal for your husband, and a nightly 'tea'. My visitors all commented on how everyone they encountered was very nice and helpful.

It was such a great experience all around! Oh, and even the food was pretty good! :)

I just had my daughter in september of 2006 at St. Alexius.
I was VERY happy with the entire experience and the staff was fantastic. My delivery nurse was so sweet and stayed 2 hours after her shift ended because she wanted to be with me and to meet my baby.
I delivered late at night, after visiting hours, but they were very nice about letting my mother in law come to visit us at 1:00 in the morning.
The nursing staff was wonderful. They were very supportive, and when my daughter was inconsolable after crying in our room for 3 hours straight it was one of the nurses that I credit with saving my sanity completely! She came in and gave me a big hug and offered to carry my daughter around at the nurses station for a while while I rested and took a deep breath. I LOVED her for that!
As far as my labor and delivery, they went completely by my wishes. They were very kind and understanding and explained everything and did not pressure me into doing anything. They were extremely busy the night I was there (apparently I chose the busiest day of the year to have my daughter!) but I never felt overlooked or rushed.
I can't say enough good stuff about them. If I am in the area when I have my next one I will be going there again.
Good luck on number 3, WOW!

I delivered my second baby at St. Alexius six weeks ago and overall I was pleased with my experience. The only negative was not being able to get into a labor room right away because there were several laboring women there that night. It was very stressful because I was having horrible contractions at the time and had to wait quite a while for them to set up the room in order to get an epidural. It's just a smaller hospital so there was nothing they could do...I had my first baby at Northwestern downtown and I think there's no comparison as far as the level of service goes- Northwestern was outstanding.

I don't know if I'm too much help here, but I spent a week in the L&D area at St. Alexius in December/January. I ended up delivering at Alexian Brothers though. I was pleased with St. Alexius (as pleased as someone can be on hospital bedrest for a week!). The nurses were very nice, and I was in a private room, so hubby was able to stay with me every night.

Hi A.,
I delivered my son at St. Alexius in August of 2004 and we have moved to St. Charles now and I am due with number 2 in October and still plan to return to St. Alexius for the delivery. I like them very much and they have a wonderful latation consultant (Lisa Moi). Good luck!!
N. B.

I delivered both mine at Prentice downtown also. We live in St. Charles and whenever the children get sick, we go to St. Alexius in Hoffman Estates. Alot of my girlfriends delivered there, and they didn't have easy pregnancies. I would recommend it, unless you still want to travel downtown. That of course, is the best.

I delivered my second child at Good Shepherd. I had a great experience! The nurses are wonderful. My husband even commented that he like Good Shepherd better than where we delivered our first child. I would consider the proximity of either hospital in relation to where you live. It is not fun being in a car while having contractions!! Good luck to you in whatever hospital you choose.

I too delivered both my babies at Good Shepherd by Dr. Zimmerman. My second son was 3 months ago. The staff is wonderful there and very attentive to my needs. I had Michelle a L&D nurse, and Rose, a recovery nurse. I highly recommend them, but everyone I saw during my 2 day stay was great...and yes, the manicure and late night cookies were great too! They also have a great "Newborn Channel" there that I watched all the time about nursing, bathing babies, etc.

I delivered at Good Shepard and I really liked it (last March). The have a Pampered Pregnancy program that I thought was nice. They give you a mani or a pedi after you deliver, you get cookies/tea at night, a free massage, etc. Check out the Good Shepard website for the details. I thought most of the staff was very nice. I didn't totally care for my delivery nurse, but she was ok. She was a little mean during the delivery, but not real bad. I felt like they really did their best to try to keep interruptions after delivery to a minimum. They were always available for questions and were always helpful. I was breastfeeding, but my son wasn't too interested in eating very often (every 8 hours or so). They didn't try to force a bottle on him or anything which I thought was nice. They made sure he was getting enough and as long as that happened they let him decide when he wanted to eat. So, I really felt like they were more laid back than other hospitals I have been in. The only thing I didn't like were their visitation rules. No kids (outside of immediate siblings) under 12 were allowed. Also, you can visit from 10-8 (or non immediate family 11-8). That kind of stunk if you had the baby later at night. That meant no one could see the baby until morning. So, if your family is waiting for you to have the baby, they can't see the baby between 8PM-10AM, so there is no sense in waiting. That was a little bit of a bummer (I didn't have that happen, but was really hoping I had the baby early in the day so I could share my excitement with my parents). So, I really had a good experience at Good Shepard and would deliver there again.

A.,

I delivered at Good Shepherd and was very very happy with the experience. The nurses were very attentive and helpful and never seemed to be annoyed with a question or anything from a new mom. I'm having our second son at the end of August and am happy I'll be at Good Shepherd again.

Good luck!

T.

i have heard many good things abouth good shepherd, and nothing good abouth st alexius. good shepherd treats their patients really well, as st alexius does not. i have heard a couple horror stories of st alexius leaving patients on the delivery table and not taking care of them after delivery