Seeking Birthing Experience at San Antonio Hospital in Upland, CA

I had all 4 of my children at San Antonio Hospital, unfortunately, my OB/GYN has retired, but I highly recommend the hospital. There was an article recently in the Daily Bulletin which stated that San Antonio was one of the top 100 hospital in, I believe the nation, but it could be the state. I used to work for an HMO which was bought out by Aetna and the quality control reports were always good for San Antonio. They do have LDR (Labor, Delivery, and Recovery) rooms which is closer to home style than sterile hospital rooms. Three of my deliveries were vaginal but one was an emergency c-section and I would highly recommend the hospital and staff. Good luck to you!! -- J.

Hi Leslie,
I'm not sure that you will get this message or not since you wrote it awhile ago. Your interest in natural stuff prompted me to click on your name.

Anyways, I just had my third homebirth, so I want to give a little "shout out" to you for that. I also live in P-town.

While I understand where the woman is coming from who expressed concern, I also feel the need to mention that she had problems that presented themselves in pregnancy that prompted her to be in the hospital in the first place. If you have problems in your pregnancy that are significant, then homebirth would likely not be appropriate, however as long as you continue to be low-risk then homebirth is a very safe option for you.

As far as doctor recommendations I would try Dr. Alwan. He used to be a midwife backup but is no longer able to do it because of insurance reasons. But the fact that he did it before tells you that he does believe in it. He would be a good supplemental doc. He also delivers at San Antonio.

Good luck Leslie!

My OB is in Upload - and I love her - Dr. Shanta Srivastava (Dr. Shanta). I gave birth at San Antonio Community Hospital (SACH) and had a wonderful experience. While I respect your wishes to have a home birth, I'd just like to share something: While most of the time, things go smoothly like my first two unmedicated quick deliveries, but then I almost lost my third child. I was at SACH because I was having premature labor pain (3 weeks early) and they checked me and was sending me home, but I was still connected to the monitors. All of a sudden I had a looong contraction that didn't stop. When you contract, oxygen is cut off from the baby, but when it ends it returns. Since mine was so long, she was cut off for too long and her heart rate stopped. I've never seen so many people run to my room so fast and do so many things. They did what's called an "in-uterus resuscitation" and got her heart beating again, just minutes from rushing me to do an emergency c-section to get her out! I then stayed the night for continued monitoring and they delivered her in the morning because they couldn't risk it happening again. If I hadn't been at the hospital at that moment, I have no doubt she wouldn't have survived!!!! Will your midwife be able to provide that kind of monitoring and emergency response in your home? And, if something happens, will you be able to get to a hospital fast enough to save your baby? I had a friend that had an easy delivery with her first and opted for a home delivery with the second. It ended up being a horrible experience, she tore so much (3rd degree lacerations), they had to call a doctor to the home ($$$) to do the stitching up!!!! Needless to say, she went to the hospital with the next two! I totally respect your desire, and while it sounds great, sometimes the risk just isn't worth it. I am not criticizing or judging you, I just want you to realize the risk. Best wishes!!!!!

I can't speak for the entire hosptial, just the labor and delivery/maternity, as that is my only experience. I have had all 3 of my children there, in 2000, 2003 and last April 2008. My experiences for all 3 were fantastic.

My ob/gyn is the Women's medical group of upland (dr rodriguez/dr. easter).

My last baby, was born 8 wks early, in perfect health. I am sure it is partly due to my great doctors, and the excellent nursing staff. I was on bedrest for 4 days, after my water broke, and the nurses were so great to me. They washed my hair, massaged my legs and attended to my every need. For such a stressful experience, they really made it pleasant.

Once my baby was on his way, they had the NICU staff in the delivery room at the ready and attended to my baby. My son was in the NICU for 21 days, and yes these were tough days for me and my husband. However, the NICU staff was amazing and allowed me to come and go anytime i wanted, even in the middle of the night.

I cannot speak high enough about the labor/deliver and the nicu staff. Fabulous!
The classes available are great too, lamaze, breastfeeding class, cpr, sibiling class, hospital tour. Also the healthy beginning breastfeeding clinic is free and a great resource for the newly breastfeeding mom.

Hi L.:
I hate to start this on a bad note,however,The guys at my work,in Ontario Ca.refer to San Antonio hospital as the new (Hotel California) You check in but you don't check out! They've had bad experiences there.Redllands hospital, Corona Regional or Arrowhead,all are better staffed,and give excellent care.I wish you a memorable birthing experience. J. M

Hey L.,
I had my son at San Antonio Hospital in 2007. I absolutely loved the care I received. My doctor was Dr. Rodriguez from the Womens Medical Group in Upland. I just had my daughter at Kaiser in Fontana and I would have to tell you that we had a much better experience at San Antonio.

My sis-in-law delivered her first at San Antonio and had the most wonderful experience. Except for the fact that it was an emergency 5 week premature delivery. (She was well into labor when she arrived and it was imperative they deliver the baby. I wont go into detail.) It was a scary experience for her but the staff was incrediable. She loved it much better than her second at Kiaser Riverside. Good luck and Congratulations!

I had a great experience and will have another child there in a couple of months. I didn't even consider looking at other hospitals. My dr was Dr. Rodriguez. The nurses were great... but they are VERY big on breastfeeding. We are as well, but when we tried to get a pacifier for our daughter, who just wanted something to chew on, we got a "lecture" on how it might be bad for our child (we later found out that we just happened to have the nurse at that time who had REALLY strong opinions... next time we will just bring our own into the hospital). They have a free lactation clinic as well. There is a possibility of sharing a room for recovery/C-Sections, but that didn't happen when I was there, and they assured me it happens rarely, but it IS a possibility. I have NO fears or anxiety about having my baby there in a couple of months. Good luck!

L.,

I had my sone in August 2008. It was the best childbirth experience I could have hoped for. I also have several friends that have given birth there and there is nothing but positive things to say. My doc was Dr Robert Armada, whose office is next door to the hospital. He was WONDERFUL. He has a very raw sense of humor, is a straight talker, and will give it to you like it is, but is very caring and kind. Reallly fun guy. He made so many good jokes during pregnancy and labor. He made it so much fun.

Several years back, the hospital was owned by another med group who did not put much money into staffing or training or other programs. There were some negative instances, all of which have also happened at other hospitals as well. Just like anything to do with humans, nothing is perfect. However I can tell you that since the new medical group took over, the hospital is totally different. IT has receievd numerous awards, has one of the highest ratings for prenatal and neonatal care, has excellent women's care and women's health programs, and a fantastic staff.

When you take the hospital tour, which I encourage you to do so as soon as possible to allay your fears, ask the nurses who guide you about the changes made in recent years. They will all atest to the vast improvement of the hospital, and will no doubt show you that in this area there is no better place to have your child.

Oh, and the Wellness Center for newborns and mommies has free lactation consultants on staff and on call every day, and you can get your baby's weight and height and bili level checked whenever you wish. They have tons of wonderful resources available.

Many congratulations to you! I wish you all the best!!!

A.

Hi L.,
I had all three of my children at San Antonio Hospital, as well as many of my friends. I had great experiences there. They also have wonderful lactation consultants that are extremely helpful for first time moms. My doctors were Dr. Rodriguez and Dr. Easter from the Women's Medical group of Upland. Best of luck on your new bundle of joy.

I had both of my kids at San Antonio. The most recent, March 2008. I had good experiences overall both times. The nurses are great and the hospital strongly promote breast feeding and have very notable lactation specialists. I had c-sections with both of my children because I had gone through a fast full labor with my first but he was in a wrong position and wouldn't turn and then he was just too big and stuck and they ended up fitting me in for an emergency c-section. With my second, they (the hospital and my doctor) strongly discourage vbac due to the chance of uterine rupture. I probably could have fought the second one but after my first birthing experience I was afraid to chance it. My doctor is Dr. Shanta Srivastava (Dr. Shanta). I love having her as a doctor and I've been with her for more than 10 years. Her office used to be a little hectic but since she stopped accepting HMO's a few years back she's been able to really focus more on her patients and no longer need a nurse practitioner. She's very good at what she does.
I do recommend taking a hospital tour, it only takes about a half hour or so and you can find info on the SACH website. They also have an excellent Lamaze class if you're interested in that too.

Congratulations! You will love a homebirth. For my last homebirth our back-up dr was in San Dimas. I was just curious as to who your midwife is? It isn't easy finding a midwife in this area. Good luck!