Central Dupage Hospital and Midwives

I work at Central DuPage in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I know that IF you have any problems with your baby, we have a GREAT team that cares about their patients alot. I'm sure you can request NATURAL delivery and keep on insisting on that. That's up to your dr. not necessarily a hospital decision.

I delivered at CDH, and while I can't vouch to how much they work with you if you want a natural delivery (I ended up having a c-section), I can tell you they are absolutely amazing there in the mother/baby unit. The nurses are the best you could ask for; I highly recommend it!

Hi T.,
I had my first at CDH and didn't like it at all. I am now with a midwife that delivered my 2nd and now my 3rd and I am so much happier. I had a HORRIBLE experience with CDH, very unpersonal, not helpful with breastfeeding and just overall very medical. They wouldn't let me out of the bed to walk around and didn't make anything comfortable for me. I was doing natural and they weren't very caring or compassionate about that at all. That was just my experience and it was 3 1/2 years ago so things may have changed.
Good luck to you!
K. :~)

T.,

When I first got pregnant with my son (now nine months old) I looked into delivering out of Dupage Hospital. I wanted to try for a VBAC and I had hired a doula to attend my birthing. Unfortunately the group I was with were not as open to either of the above mentioned as I would have needed to feel comfortable. In the end I switched to another hospital and more specifically a medical group known in the area open to VBACs and doulas. It was my experience that Central Dupage is more traditional , however I have heard only wonderful things from my mommy friends who have needed c-sections.

I did go on to have a natural delivery VBAC and all if you are interested in having more information feel free to email me. I live in Glen Ellyn.

I just delivered at CDH and I had a great experience. I had to have a scheduled c-section so I don't know much about their midwife availablity or going natural, but the staff was great, very helpful with everything I needed and a huge improvement from where I had my first. I do know that they do not have labor tubs for a water birth (a question asked during my tour). If you look up cdh.org there is a lot of info on the website and numbers to call for more info. Good luck.

I didn't deliver at Central Dupage, but I can tell you if you are interested in midwives and natural parenting, Mothering Magazine is a wonderful source. I discovered it after I had my second baby, and I wish someone had told me about it before I had my first. The website, if you want more information, is www.motheringmagazine.com.
Good luck with your birth experience!

I had a birth plan (12/04) for my 1st delivery w/ Dr. Carroll (dlvrs at CDH), who was a good Dr. and was very patient w/ me as I took forever to push out DS (7 hrs pushing). The nurses were extremely respectful of my birth plan and I was very happy with their work. They are the ones that do the real work, as the Dr. only was there 2x to ck on my progress, have a chat, and then for the dlvy. Since he does not have midwives in his practice, there wasn't a midwife there. I switched to Rush Copley for my second pg since I wanted a midwife and they have 2 in the Rush Copley ob/gyne group. they were great even tho i had to hv a c-section w/ dd (breech and no amniotic fluid to turn her). :-( But she's healthy and I recovered. HTH. Feel free to email me offlist if you want to chat more, I love to talk about natural birth! You must have heard, but the very best birthing class is bradley.
Best to you -
Jen S. (Naperville)

Hi T.,

I didn't officially choose a mid-wife with my second child, but ended up with one throughout the final stage of labor at CDH. I wish I could remember her name, but I do know that she was the most supportive, helpful and attentive member of the obstetric department I met in BOTH recent pregnancies. I know that the hospital does support your delivery method, so my advice it to go for it. Best of luck to you!

I realize this was posted years ago but it still comes up in the search so I am responding. I had two of my children at CDH. I was high risk because of multiple miscarriages and a complete hydatiform mole. I had to be induced with my son because his water had broke hours prior to my arrival and my body was not responding. Despite being on pitocin I STILL delivered without medication. That is correct, none. The staff was great but I must say it was my husband that made everyone back off and kept telling everyone that we would decide if medication was necessary. When my son presented he was shoulder first with the cord wrapped around his neck and going into distress. The staff acted quickly and got my son out without the use of forceps or a vacuum. They were working with my body not against it! With my daughter I developed a uterine infection with can be fatal to the baby at 36 weeks. Now I was even higher risk than before and I still had a medication free delivery despite having pitocin yet again. The nurses read my file from the first delivery and said "well, if you could do that, you can do this!" I was never asked if I wanted anything through that delivery. I did ask for Stadol when I was 7 cm dialted and I have lived to regret even that. I had no idea I was in transition and my daughter was born 20 minutes after the shot was given. I was so out of it and lethargic I could not hold her for the first hour! Med free births can and do happen in hospitals all the time! My sister did it with all 3 of her kids at CDH too. She was my inspiration and I try to do the same for as many women as I can. However, there comes a time when you must do what is right for the baby and emergencies do happen. Be open minded about that. A natural birth is great but the safety of your baby is the most important!
Midwife story 1-
My best friend saw a midwife and doula throughout her pregnancy and was planning on delivering in the water at home. When she was 2 days late the midwife sent her for an ultrasound after some decels were detected in the babies heartrate. The docotor said that the amniotic fluid was depleted and suggested a cesarean. She called me all upset and angry that the first time she sees a doctor a cesarean is mentioned and refused. She went another week with dangerously low fluid levels being checked every 48 hours but refusing a cesarean. On the 9th day past her due date she started to see spots and it was decided that she would be induced with the midwife and doula attending her hospital birth. After 10 hours of labor she could not progress past 3 cm. She was taken off the medication and given 4 hours to rest. When the pictocin was started again, nothing changed for another 12 hours despite laboring. She made the decision to have an epidural in hopes her muscles would relax and she could progress. Another 12 hours past and still nothing. If you are counting we are on day 2 and now 11 days past her due date. It was finally decided that a C-section was necessary. When the baby was delivered he was over 10 pounds, had very little amniotic fluid, had swallowed meconium and had to be in an oxygen tent, had an eye infection from the meconium, and had to have surgery when he was just a week old to remove the blockage in his sinus cavity from the meconium. This scenario would have been very different if she had been induced or agreed to the cesarean a week earlier. Sure, the babies condition was not life threatening but if he had developed pneumonia from the meconium it would have been. Plus he had to endure a surgery that would have been unnecessary. And yes, I am sure. The tests proved that the meconium had been passed in the early stages of the induction about 2 days before he was born.
Midwife Story 2-
My friend was pregnant with her 4th child. He was measuring small but did had some growth from one appointment to the next so nothing was done. When he was born at 38 weeks he weighed only 4 pounds. Upon examination of the baby and placenta the midwife quickly decided that IUGR (intra-uterine growth restriction) was responsible. IUGR is VERY serious and can be fatal. The midwife had known the baby was measuring small and did nothing about it. When the baby was 4 days old mom found him completely unresponsive. She rushed him to the ER and they told her that he was too sick for them to be able to care for him and had to helivac him to Childrens Memorial. The mom could not go with because she had just given birth 4 days prior. She had to drive the 4 hours to be with him. It was discovered that the IUGR had caused his spleen and kidneys to be severely underdeveloped. He stayed in NICU for three weeks. He now suffers from developmental and physical delays.
I say this because it is important ALL the facts are out. Not all hospital births have to be evil and not home births are angelic and perfect. Know the facts and make an informed decision then listen to the professionals - they usually have your babies best interest in mind.

I can tell you that I am now prego with my second and looked all over for a midwife that would deliver out of cdh but, all the midwives in the area that i found you had to deliver your baby put of alexian brothers in Elk Grove, ... I know I thought that was crazy but, I even called the hospital and they said the same thing.. good luck

I delivered at CDH in 2004, before the "new" mom/baby unit. Anyway, talk to your OB about how natural you want yout delivery. I also had my cousin there as a doula and there was no problem with that because a certain number of people are allowed, by the hospital, in the labor/delivery room. My OB said that their practice, no matter what, will do an IV plug just in case. They almost lost a mom who refused one. Again, that's up to the OB though. I went in at 8cm and ended up with a c-section 8 hours later, my pelvis just didn't open all the way. The staff there was great and they knew I didn't want a c-section and were really supportive in trying to avoid it. DH was allowed in the operating room but my cousin (doula) was not.

I can't answer the questions about natural delivery, but I can answer the part about CDH. I have 3 children and the first two were delivered at Alexian Bros. and the last one delivered at CDH. CDH staff was wonderful, caring and very sensitive. I really felt like they cared about me. The new rooms are almost like staying in a hotel with flat screen and they are all single rooms. I would highly recommend CDH. My OB is Dr. Mark Gapinski, he is on staff there. He delivered all 3 of my children. You couldn't ask for a better doctor!!

I delivered at CDH and loved every minute of it...the nurses were there every step of the way, and my son ended up in the NICU (working with Children's Hospital, now, too) and loved the nurses there, too!! The doctor was there only a handful of times, but if you talk to the nurses on the tour, that would be your best bet. Ask them if there is a way to limit the internals. Find a midwife that works with the hospital. Your doctor is the only one you would see unless there is a problem, so in this case, your midwife and nurses would be the ones working with you.

T.,
I am a labor doula, and I supported a birth at CDH last October. This mom did end up with a natural delivery with no pain meds or interventions. We did have to be strong, firm, and intentional about what her desires were. CDH is not known in the birthing world to be the most natural birth friendly. I do believe their C-section rate is higher than most in the area; however, I can't give any statistics on that. Although, we had a good experience there, it is probably more likely somewhere else. Last I knew, they did not have any midwives with delivery privileges there.

Hello T.,

I, like you, was determined to deliver naturally without unnecessary medical interventions. I had a midwife, doula, used the Bradley method (awesome!) and had a water birth. No medical interventions whatsoever I'm happy to report, and no internal exams. It was a blessing to put in the time and effort to get exactly what we wanted. The OG/GYN I originally had was very conservative and not willing to work with a midwife. I fired her. Then interviewed midwives in the surrounding area (some work with OB's that have to defer to the OB's judgement, kind of defeats the purpose of being a midwife....I found one that, while partnered with an OB practice, was able to call their own shots). Then we interviewed hospitals in the area to find out their protocols and chose the one that matched what we were looking for, which happened to be Rush Copley in Aurora. I'm two minutes from Del Nor, and it was worth the extra minutes drive time to Rush to be able to get our needs met. I didn't interview CDH, but have several clients who've delivered there with both positive/negative experiences depending on who their doc was (none had experiences with a midwife there). I'm happy to share all I know if you'd like to contact me, I also did a ton of research prior to giving birth and creating our birth plan. I have all the lists of questions I used in all interviewing processes. And information from my research including on vaccinations and other important choices you'll have to make for your son/daughter. What an exciting time for you! :)
Best,
J.

I had my first birth at CDH with a group of like 6 OBs, including Dr. Peter Weeks (he's the best!) I had a VERY long labor and saw 4 shifts of docs. the first half of labor the ob was not very patient and understanding about me wanting to have a natural birth - he eventually sent a nurse in to ask me if i wanted to have my water broken because he was going to sleep! i did accept some mild/"minor" interventions (breaking water bag and pitocin) had as natural a birth as possible given the circumstances. the nurses told me afterward that Dr. Weeks is the only one in that group that would've let me birth the way i did - the others would've pushed for c-section. my next 2 births have been at hinsdale hospital with a midwife and were GREAT!
CDH was pleasant and the nurses were real nice but i decided not to take the chance again at CDH. oh.. i had a doula with all 3 births.
hope that helps.
just remember your birth plan is just that - a plan, be flexible!

My OB and her practice were pretty into being invasive, sorry to say. I guess it depends on your OB and if they work with midwives etc. At CDH under my OB, I was immediately hooked up to pitocin, had an oxygen mask on, had a motitor attached to my baby's head while still inside me, and some other heartrate monitor on as well. Going in, I thought I would TRY a natural birth...but with the pitocin and everything that comes with it at CDH, I went with an epidural after 4 hours.

I still had an amazing experience though. I went in with an open mind, and was ready to let whatever was going to happen, happen. If you go in and tell them this is my birth plan and this is what I want, they should oblige you.

All that being said, the nursing staff in both L&D and mother/baby was amazing! I loved CDH in the end, remember to stand up for what you believe in though.

My first was at Rush-Copley in Aurora. I had the midwives throughout pregnancy (Karen & Noreen). I ended up having a c-section there since my baby was breech born 5 weeks early. The midwives were WONDERFUL!! Though I ended up with a c-section, the midwife Karen was with us throughout delivery and all still taking care of us alongside the doctors. It was GREAT!! My second was at CDH, since CDH is MUCH closer and we were no longer candidates for midwives having had a c-section already. The second ended up being c-section as well since he was in the same breech position as the first. CDH overall had a much more "medical feel" to it, less personal. Though our distance is quite far from Rush-Copley (North end of West Chicago by 59 & 64 to Aurora), I now am back with that group because it is a night and day difference. The doctor group of Rush-Copley OB/GYN is phenomenal. I was disappointed with the CDH group after having such a wonderful experience with Rush-Copley. By comparison, Rush-Copley is SOOO much more personal and better explained everything going on and involved the patients so much more it felt. They are much more naturally focused having the midwives and the midwives work so well with the doctor group when we had to go that route. I'd highly recommend Rush-Copley OB/GYN midwives Karen & Noreen. Their number is ###-###-####.

Hello! I had a client in Oct. that had the baby at CDH and they were very good there and were all for natural. She did have an OB though and I am not sure if they hvae midwives there or not or if they ever have midwives come there.

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

Hi T....

I actually work at CDH in Labor and Delivery and I can definitley verify we do not have any midwives on staff at this time. I know Alexian Brothers does. We have however had quite a few deliveries that include doulas. As for having as natural of an experience as possible, it is absolutely something that happens at CDH. There are many OB's who are open to natural birthing and the nursing staff is supportive as well. I wuld encourage you to research the topics that are important to you from both sides so you can make a well thought out birth plan. It's a good idea to have your thoughts written down so you can engage in a dialogue with your birth team (doctor/nurses). I hope this helps...also...CDH has a great tour that they hold the first Saturday of each month. It's totally free and you can ask lots of questions about the labor and delivery experience. You can register by calling 933-4CDH.

J.

I delivered 2 of my 4 kids there and my experiences were fantastic. It's a great hospital. However, the last time I checked (November of 2006) they didn't have any midwives who worked out of there :-( I had a midwife with my 2nd child and I loved, loved, loved her, but she was at Hinsdale and it was just too far, so I looked into one at CDH and they don't/won't have them. My best to you!

I had all 3 of my kids at CDH. I wanted natural births all 3 times, but was uninformed and didn't have good support. I've been back to CDH as a doula and my clients have all had wonderful natural birth experiences there. The nurses were all very helpful and are very willing to help follow a birth plan.
My suggestion would be to do some research, get informed and write a birth plan and discuss it with your OB. If you feel any resistance from them, change care providers! There are OBs at CDH who are supportive of natural birth.

Good luck!

I went to Copley in Aurora. I had Karen Barr nad Noreen as my midwifes. I had natural births and loved it. I never saw an OB/GYN, the midwifes did it all. I highly recommend them, and it may not be too far for you.

Hello,
ALthough I did not have a mid wife I did deliver all 5 of my children at CDH. I would never deliver any where else! They were wonderful. I asked them when I arrived not to ask me if I wanted pain medication that I would ask for it if I wanted it. Not one nurse asked even after they switched shifts. They were so suportive and patient. Be prepared to have several nurses in the delivery room, they do ask, to watch a natural vaginal delivery. They told me only about 10% of the deliveries are with out any drugs what so ever. You can do it and it's a great experience. A great book to read is Birthing From Withing, it will help with conceiving too!
Good Luck

I delivered my daughter there and it was a great experience. The staff was great, and the recovery unit was like a hotel.

I would imagine it would depend on your OB about the Midwife, though I believe mine welcomes them. His name is Dr. Mark Gapinski and he is on staff there.

I am going to be delivering at Central Dupage Hospital in June. I highly suggest going on a maternity ward tour. We did one while we were trying to conceive. They answer all the questions that you have and explain everything to you. I absolutely fell in love with the hospital.

Hi T.,
I delivered at CDH but had a scheduled C-section because my son was breech. We were planning on using the Bradley method to deliver and had hired a doula to assist us. However, we ended up not using her due to the C-section. However, if you're looking for a doctor who is calm, supportive, open to natural births, and really takes his time with you, I'd recommend Dr. John Carroll. He is on staff at CDH, is wonderful and, I believe, has the lowest C-section rate of all the doctors on staff there. (I switched doctors about 4 times while pregnant with my son b/c I just wasn't getting the support for a natural birth plan and pregnancy). Both my husband and I were very happy with Dr. Carroll's demeanor, recommendations, and overall outlook. His CDH profile can be found at http://www.cdh.org/DoctorProfile.aspx?DoctorID=302
Best of luck to you!
P.S. If you're planning on breastfeeding, I highly recommend employing a lactation nurse. We took a one-night breastfeeding class while I was pregnant with our son and then utilized the lactation nurse's services extensively after I'd given birth. (The lactation nurses at CDH were nice, but all had different methods and suggestions, and I couldn't take them home with me, which is when I really needed the help!) I'd highly recommend my lactation nurse, Anita Krajecki, but she is traveling and lecturing now instead of doing private consulting. There is another lactation consultant that I know of, Carol Chamblain, whose company is called Breast 'N Baby and her website is www.breastbabyproducts.com She has an office in St. Charles--I'm not sure where you live, but if she doesn't service your area, she might be able to recommend another nurse.