ST. LUKE'S / ROOSEVELT BIRTHING CENTER

I was very disappointed in the care I received at St Lukes. I had enjoyed my tour and classes I took there but the delivery could have been handled much better. I was on the regular L&D floor. They lost my preregistration and were VERY slow to process me, even though I was already in transition when I arrived. By the time they (rudely) processed me and got me to a room I was already over 9 cm. Then the nurse assigned to me complained that she was getting the 9cm patient (shift change was coming). Then they couldn't find a birthing bar, finally brought something in that didn't fit. The night nurses were also unhelpful and largely hard to find.

(Recommended 1/10)

My children were born at the SLR birth center in 2002 and 2004. We were so impressed by all of the nurses - especially in the post-partum hours. One was a midwife in Ireland so she had a lot to offer during labor. The birth center was pretty quiet both times, and very comfortable. I didn't like having to leave 12 hours after the birth, although they were somewhat flexible (allowed us an extra few hours both times). I'm never going to do it again, but if I did, it would be there!

I gave birth at the St. Luke's Roosevelt birthing center in April of '06. We had a wonderful team of Sylvie Blaustein (Midwifery of Manhattan) for our midwife, Shana Teitelbaum as our doula and THREE labor delivery nurses who were all very helpful and kind. Being able to roam around the room, not hooked up to any devices, was so important for me. I was encouraged to use the whirlpool, which made a lot of the labor more bearable, and also was assisted through many positions of squatting, kneeling and resting in the bed. Speaking of the bed, it's so great that you can give birth in a big bed and then fall asleep in it with your baby and husband/partner at your side! We were able to keep the lights low throughout the entire labor, which helped me stay inwardly focused, and I always felt very supported. Even our friends were treated well, with a nice family room next door to wait in and no pressure to leave our room when we wanted them there. My only warning is that if you want to go home the day of delivery, then make sure you get out on time. We gave birth mid-morning and then slept and ended up staying overnight. Several births were happening the next morning and it became difficult for us to get checked out because we were then low on the priority list. I understand why it happened like that, so it's not a criticism. Just keep in mind that if you want to get home to be in your own bed, get out when you can!
And since it was my first birth, I liked that we could transfer to traditional labor/delivery within the hospital very quickly if things weren't working out for my natural birth plan. Fortunately for me, everything worked out fine. I will definitely use the center for my next birth.

We decided to risk the longer hike to Manhattan in order to take advantage of the great doctors and staff at SLR. I was unable to utilize the birthing center because I ended up being high-risk, but I was still able to have a natural delivery in L&D without pitocin or epidural. The whole facility - LD&R, the rooms, the food, the doctors, the nurses - everything was excellent. Room service was tasty and made it seem as though we were in a hotel rather than a hospital. And even the view was wonderful! Most importantly, however, was my experience with the nurses. They were all supportive of my decision to breastfeed, expected my baby to room with me unless I told them otherwise, and had no problem with my husband or me coming with the baby when she went in for tests (even when they came in once and we weren't quite ready to leave the room, they simply asked us to buzz them when we were ready to go with her to be tested). The only downside was the lack of lactaction consultant on-staff. Other than that, I was extremely happy with my experience and plan to go back there next time around.

I gave birth in February 06 at SLR (St. Luke's-Roosevelt) and was happy with my choice. My OB-GYN was Dr. Renuka Paka, and she was also great. I chose her & SLR b/c I had wanted the option to have natural childbirth, but with a regular delivery center nearby in case there were problems. SLR's birthing center is great, lots of room, staff are relaxed about family being around, there are hot tubs (great!) and the nursing staff are very supportive. I ended up starting in the birthing center, then moving to the regular delivery floor (decided for an epidural) and that was fine too. They moved me quickly. The epidural was also given right away and done very well. Everyone was very kind and professional. The only down-side was that I was in a shared room post-delivery. The cost for the private room had just been upped to some crazy amount, and we didn't want to pay that. Also - there are good diners nearby!!!

We had a wonderful experience at the birthing center ( 11/04) for the birth of our daughter. The big beds and whirlpool tubs make it seem so much less hospital-ish. The nurses were fantastic, so supportive and knowledgeable--in fact it was our doula and the nurses who really had it all together and made things happen (well I had something to do with it I suppose). The whole family can just curl up in bed together afterwards which is amazing. BTW I highly recommend ordering from the catering menu while there. We had breakfast rolled in on a big table...hotel style. I've never been so happy to see pancakes!!! Occasionally if it is really busy they will have to move a family ( many hours after delivery of course) to the regular L&D recovery floor. This happened with us but it was not a big deal and they put us in a big private room and were pretty hands off ( in a good way) since we had come from the birthing center.