Evanston Memorial Hospital - Evanston, IL Review

I have delivered both of my children at Evanston Northwestern Memorial Hospital. One of them I had naturally with forceps, the other via emergency c-section. While personally the experience was mixed, I was generally happy with the hospital and the overall facilities.

A few things that I really appreciated:

• I had an individual room on both occasions
• The maternity ward was up to date and included a DVD player, music, TV, etc. It very much felt like the comfort of home 
• The nurses were on hand to care for your child if you wanted to sleep.
• The hospital offered classes while you were there on nursing, music, etc
• They were very accommodating to the Dads
• They have the equiptment to manage extreme medical cases 

My First Child
My first experience was quite the ordeal. I was in labor for about 20 hours and pushed for about 2.5 hours. The bottom line, my son would not come out. The team at Evanston hospital suggested we use forceps or we would put the baby at risk. We agreed to their suggestion and they brought in a whole entourage "just in case" anything went wrong. When he came out, he was instantly swept away and checked. He didnt do much crying so the team was a bit concerned that something may have gone wrong. While I was a little freaked out at the time, I really appreciate in hindsight how proactive they were about monitoring his health. In addition, the maternity team became very focused on me and making certain that I was stitched back to health. I should also note that there was no delay in me getting an epidural. As soon as I requested it, he came!

Post Pardum
About a week after the birth of my son, I experienced a post pardum hemorrhage. I am one of the rare people that actually produces an extra node on my placenta. So, my body was fooled into thinking that I was still pregnant. Needless to say, I tried to pass the placenta and in the meantime, lost about 2/3rds of my blood. It was an extreme situation. I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance in the wee hours of the night in need of instant surgery to stop the bleeding. The hospital went above and beyond to get me into surgery and nurse me back to health. (so, in an extreme, near death situation, they really stepped up to the plate) I had around the clock care, a private room that my husband could stay in, support with my baby, etc. The only downside was that at 3am they arent staffed well. So, they lost my blood samples a couple of times (and my veins had collapsed so this was a REAL problem) and nobody came out in the middle of surgery to tell my husband that I made it through okay. Minor snafu.

Second child
Okay, so I was a little nervous to have a second child. But, 17 months later, my darling daughter arrived. Though, not without a twist. I arrived to the hospital at noon with contractions less than 5 minutes apart. Unfortunately, there were no rooms available at the hospital. (can you believe it????) I waited in the lobby until about 12:45pm for the room to become available. I instantly had an intern check me out. She thought something was strange when she examined me. She didnt see the babies head. WHAT???? No head? She used logical reasoning and decided to get the ultrasound machine to evaluate further before my doctor arrived. Believe it or not, my daughter had turned last minute to a horizontal position. Given that I was 6cm dilated, when my doctor arrived minutes later (did I happen to mention that I LOVE HER!) they rushed me into surgery. By 2pm my 9lb daughter greeted me. Overall, it was the quickest most seamless process. I was very pleased with their troubleshooting and quick decision making.

Overall, I think ENH is a good place to have a baby-- especially if you are high risk or in need of a surgical procedure. Although, know that it doesnt come without a few hiccups. But, what in life does?