I gave birth at AUH in 2010. I'll start with the good stuff:
- organised staff - some excellent doctors and comfort knowing that you are in very good hands should something go wrong - comfortable - if a little dated - rooms.
The not so good stuff:
- absolutely condemnable support of, and encouragement to, breastfeed. In fact the nursery staff made me feel almost guilty for wanting to spend so much nursing time with my son. - I gave strict instructions that my son should be given no bottles. These were ignored by the nursery staff and I found out he was given sugared water numerous times - thus explaining his lack of appetite for breast milk (potentially a very big problem as regular suckling / BF in the first few days is imperative to establish good milk supply. - no delivery choices e.g. water birth or standing/squatting labour, and natural 'drug-free' delivery definitely NOT encouraged (again despite being proven to be better for the baby). Not allowed to move around while in labour (despite the fact that it speeds the process and can ease pain of contractions) and basically strapped down to a bed from the minute you walk in the door. - pre-natal class offered twice a month but it is less than impressive. Anyone wishing to empower or educate themselves about labour & delivery would do much better to pay for a private class with a midwife or one of the few companies in the Beirut that offer these kind of programs...
In summary, medical competence at AUH is good but if you are at all concerned with giving your child a healthy natural start in the world (drug-free and 100% breast-fed) then I would recommend looking elsewhere.
Medically speaking, I had no concerns about the health and safety of me or my baby.
However, AUH is not very baby friendly. As a previous commenter mentioned, it is nearly impossible to establish a good breastfeeding relationship because the nurses were constantly giving my daughter bottles, even against my express wishes. They would take the baby to the nursery for "shift change" and only after several hours and my husband yelling and banging on the nursery door would they return the baby to my room.
As far as delivery went, I was given an IV and forced to labor on my back. After I hit the "limit" of pushing (2 hours) I was taken for an "emergency" C-section. I can't say for certain, but I do wonder if I had been allowed to move around a bit during labor if I would have been able to deliver naturally.
I loved my doctor and would go back to her in a second if there was any way I could avoid delivering at AUBMC.
I gave birth in AUH and I will not go there again. Medical care is good but the rooms are too oldish and not good!
ReplyDeleteI gave birth at AUH in 2010. I'll start with the good stuff:
ReplyDelete- organised staff
- some excellent doctors and comfort knowing that you are in very good hands should something go wrong
- comfortable - if a little dated - rooms.
The not so good stuff:
- absolutely condemnable support of, and encouragement to, breastfeed. In fact the nursery staff made me feel almost guilty for wanting to spend so much nursing time with my son.
- I gave strict instructions that my son should be given no bottles. These were ignored by the nursery staff and I found out he was given sugared water numerous times - thus explaining his lack of appetite for breast milk (potentially a very big problem as regular suckling / BF in the first few days is imperative to establish good milk supply.
- no delivery choices e.g. water birth or standing/squatting labour, and natural 'drug-free' delivery definitely NOT encouraged (again despite being proven to be better for the baby). Not allowed to move around while in labour (despite the fact that it speeds the process and can ease pain of contractions) and basically strapped down to a bed from the minute you walk in the door.
- pre-natal class offered twice a month but it is less than impressive. Anyone wishing to empower or educate themselves about labour & delivery would do much better to pay for a private class with a midwife or one of the few companies in the Beirut that offer these kind of programs...
In summary, medical competence at AUH is good but if you are at all concerned with giving your child a healthy natural start in the world (drug-free and 100% breast-fed) then I would recommend looking elsewhere.
Thank you for sharing the AUBMC experiences :)encourage your friends to do the same!
ReplyDeleteI gave birth at AUH in 2009.
ReplyDeleteMedically speaking, I had no concerns about the health and safety of me or my baby.
However, AUH is not very baby friendly. As a previous commenter mentioned, it is nearly impossible to establish a good breastfeeding relationship because the nurses were constantly giving my daughter bottles, even against my express wishes. They would take the baby to the nursery for "shift change" and only after several hours and my husband yelling and banging on the nursery door would they return the baby to my room.
As far as delivery went, I was given an IV and forced to labor on my back. After I hit the "limit" of pushing (2 hours) I was taken for an "emergency" C-section. I can't say for certain, but I do wonder if I had been allowed to move around a bit during labor if I would have been able to deliver naturally.
I loved my doctor and would go back to her in a second if there was any way I could avoid delivering at AUBMC.