Hello everyone. We are new to the area and are having our second child here in Central CT. I was wondering if any of you could offer advice/comments on positive experiences you had giving birth here--I am having trouble finding an ob. who delivers all of his/her own babies. I was fortunate with my first child, my ob. delivered all of his patients (never missed one in a long career) and this is quite the norm in the state where I am from. Here, I have checked all across the state and the norm is an on-call system where the patient rotates between many doctors and it is uncertain who will actually be working with you in the labor room. I suppose it's the high insurance for ob's here. I am concerned about the high rate of un-necessary c-sections and the like, especially when you don't have an established history with your ob. Does anyone know of a hospital or ob. that does not operate on the "on-call" system? Do any of you have recommendations of a good facility to give birth? Thanks so much!
Thank you so much to all of you for responding and for your advice! And some are still responding--thank you so much! This has been great support while settling in a new city. I will be letting you all know at which hospital we end up and how things are going.
I delivered both my babies at New Britain General and I loved the hospital. My dr's office uses the oncall system, but he was at both of my births and I love the practice. It's Grove Hill, Dr. Mihalek (jeff)...his sister in law is in the practice too and is wonderful!!
My OB's office works on an on-call system, but they use midwives too. So during your whole pregnancy you see the midwives and deliver with one of the midwives in the practice. There is also a doc on-call for emergencies, but not present unless called. They were even supportive of my decision for a VBAC delivery with my 2nd child until the little angel turned breach 4 wks before delivery. And because of my high blood pressure and size (I was MAMMOUTH measuring 47 cm at 39 wks) I was recommended for a repeat section. The practice is CCOG ###-###-####) and the docs are Dr. Latshaw, Dr. Miller, Dr. Breakstone and there is one more but I don't know her name. The midwives are great and they don't rush through your delivery, they follow your lead and do as you wish. With my son I was in labor for 16 hrs before I started to push. I pushed for 2 hrs my med wore off, I got more epidural, took an hour and a half break, pushed for 2 and a half more hours (he was stuck) before at my request the doc was called in and we ended up with a section. But it was always my call. They never pushed me into anything. My kids were born at Bristol hosp. A very nice facility. I labored in the jacuzzi tub which they try to keep those rooms open (they have 2) for the midwife groups. I know people who have driven from Ansonia because they love this group. Good luck.
Hi,
I had both my children at New Britain General Hospital. My first daughter was an emergency birth and she was born 8 weeks early via c-section. She stayed in the NICU for a period of weeks. I loved the Dr.'s and nurses that I had contact with during that very stressful period of time. My second daughter (who was on time) was also delivered there. I had another great experience. My Ob's office is also "on call" but the practice has only 4 Dr.'s so I got to know each of them fairly well during my pregnancy. I noticed someone else mentioned Dr. Roy. He's part of my practice too and he is Fantatic!
I'm in Southington and have a 4 and a 2 yr. old. Welcome to CT!
You can always work with a midwife. I saw Pam Haskins in Enfield and unless she's on vacation she delivers all of her babies (unless that has changed since I had my almost 3yo). I'm not sure where you are in central CT but I loved her.
Hi M.,
I just gave birth 3 weeks ago. I can't help with the ob "on-call" situation, but can give you my thoughts on an alternative experience. I gave birth at hartford hospital with the assistance of one of their mid-wives. It was an amazing experience. I did not know her prior to labor but she was so patient and worked hard to avoid a c-section or any unnecessary medical intervention. The only problem with hartford hospital's midwives is that they only work from 7am to 7pm. Fortunately the hours worked out for my labor. But if is something that sounds like it might fit with your desired labor I highly recommend the mid-wives. You can met with anyone of them prior to delivery, there are 4 that work at the hospital.
Hope you have a good pregnancy.
F.
Hi. I am a say-at-home mom of 2, but worked as a labor and delivery nurse before that in the area. It will be difficult to find an ob in this area that will not have an on-call system. But if you are looking for a great birth experience and a place that will go the extra mile to work with your individual preferences, Bristol Hospital is the place. It is a small, community hospital. The nurses are wonderful. They are very supportive of breastfeeding. I delivered both of my babies there and loved it. There is a large practice in Bristol called CCOG (Dr. Carmelina Luongo is one of the doctors in the practice) that is very good and they have midwives as well to attend to you during your labor. You can choose for them to either just give labor support throughout your labor while the doctor will come in to deliver the baby, or they can also deliver the baby. There are also some excellent single practice physicians in the area. Dr, Jayne Cluett, Dr. Kenneth Rhee and Dr Sharon Adler are all very good.
Unfortunately, your experience is unique nowadays; I would advise you to look for a smaller group that rotates among themselves so that you will have at least met them all.
Good luck!
C.
My ob group also operates on the on-call system, but I delivered at Midstate Medical Center in Meriden, and I would highly recommend it. Every experience we've had at the hospital has been positive. My ob did end up delivering my son, but I saw two other doctors in the practice before hand so I'd be familiar with them just in case. All the doctors in the practice (Helm and Helm, with offices at the hospital in Meriden and an office in Wallingford) are great. The hospital is small, with a separate birthing center in its own wing at the end of the main building. Everyone was caring and great, and my ob/gyn and the people at the birthing center are very supportive of the birthing plan you want to follow.
Another idea: if you can't find an ob who will guarantee to deliver the baby, how about hiring a doula? Then you'd definitely have someone with you in the birthing process to advocate for your wishes.
I have not heard of an office that does not operate on the "on-call" system, sorry. Hopefully someone can help you. If not I do recommend Doctor Flagg's group in Middletown and Middlesex Hospital. They were recommended to me by several people and I found it to be a wonderful group. My husband was also very impressed with the hospital. Good Luck!
I also highly recommend New Britain General and Dr. Jeffrey Mihalek!
I delivered both my 2 1/2 year old and my 7 month at NBG and luckily had Dr. Mihalek for both deliveries. In fact, it seems they only have an on call system during non-office hours. When I went in at 8pm for my first, I actually had the on-call dr (who was wonderful) coming in to check me out, but by the time I was ready to deliver (8:30am the next morning), Dr. Mihalek was there. It couldn't have worked out any better. However, everyone in the practice seems to be wonderful and have great bedside manner - so even if you end up with the on call dr, you would be in good hands.
My experience at NBG was wonderful as well. The rooms we nice and all singles. All the nurses were very friendly and helpful. And beleive it or not, I really liked the food.
Good luck!
Hi M.,
I am not sure where in central, ct you are but Dr. Sharon Adler with Bristol Hospital is great. She delivered my 2nd child almost 8 years ago and she was fabulous. She has her own practice. The only time she would not deliver a baby is if she were going on vacation or sick. There were 3 other mothers in labor at the time and she delivered all of the babies herself.
Good luck. G.
I am also new to the area & I have not experienced my pregnancy in the area, but I really like the OB/GYN that I found. She is in her own practice in Farmington and her name is Dr. Taylor. She is a Connecticut Top Docs award winner for several years.
You might want to check with individual doctors rather than the practices in general. For example, my children were delivered by a doctor (who is now deceased) working with Grove Hill. As a rule, Grove Hill uses the on-call system. However, both my children were delivered on my doctor's day off and he was present for both deliveries because that was his style. He would never miss a delivery. Right now I see Gerard Roy in New Britain, who is with NB OB/GYN. He is a fantastic doctor who always takes time for his patients. I met him when he was the resident doctor during 2 surgerical procedures. Now he is an experienced doctor and fantastic. If I had more kids I wouldn't think twice about using him. He was taught by my previous doctor, so I would assume he is as attentive during delivery.
