Seeking Best Obstetrician Care for Pregnant Mother in Pgh, PA

I had all three of mine with a Midwife from The Midwife Center for Birth and Women's Health. 2825 Penn. Ave. They are great and they work with the Dr.s at AGH. Dr. Thomas there is really good. I agree with some of the other responses, think about the C-section thing. It may not be the best route.

Congrats and Good luck!

I also agree with Megee. I have had 4 children there an with each one, the care only got better. with my last daughter i had a midwife an she was a godsend. my doctor there was dr updyke an he was great. I'd do a walk through of all the hospitals mentioned an decided then,but like others mention if anything happens, they will transfer you to Megee.

E.!
I live in 15205 Crafton and I went to AGH very easy to get to
especially when you water breaks in the middle of the night (like me) LOL. I really thought the care was amazing and being close to home was a plus in case if you need extra clothes or have to travel back and forth for any reason. Yeah I agree with Denise P dont opt for a C-section very hard on your body and takes a very long time to heal. I still have problems with it. I saw Dr Thomas down at AGH and he is very good. Good Luck on your choice!

I also recommend Magee Womens Hospital. (Oakland) I too looked all over when I was pregnant a couple years ago because I'm not originally from the area either. I chose there because although I wasn't a high-risk pregnancy, that is where you want to be should a problem occur. I've heard of other hospitals tranferring Mother and baby to Magee because of the excellent care there.
Best Wishes to you!

Hands down West Penn. My daughter was a premie and had to stay in thier NICU for 3 weeks and I couldn't have had better care. While she was under their care another baby was tranported from Erie for care, so I think that says alot about the hospital.

As for Magee they come highley recommended but every time I've ever visted a friend or family member that has just delivered a baby the staff has been very rude to their guests

Magee, St Clair, AGH and West Penn all deliver babies. I delivered at lair and had a positive experience with my first (and only) child at 39. They have an impressive NICU which I think a lot of people don't realize. As for an OB/GYN, I would ask your general practitioner to recommend O. as a place to start. As for already planning on a C-Section--don't you think that's up to the doctor and the baby? LOL Too many women opt for elective C-sections and the recovery is much more involved than with a vaginal birth. Just my opinion. Good luck and congratulations!

E.,
I am a RN and hands down, Dr. David Logan with Century Medical Associates, and he delivers at West Penn Hospital. I received excellent care at West Penn Hospital....I go there for everything now. Good Luck!

Hi, there are really only a few choices for hospitals that do deliveries in Pittsburgh - Magee and Allegheny. If you aren't high-risk, then you could think about St. Clair hospital, who I think still does deliveries. But that's about it, most of the other hospitals do not have labor and delivery units. In reality, your choice may be dictated by your health insurance so you should check that first (as far as I know, BCBS insurance=Allegheny General and UPMC insurance=Magee).

Keep in mind that both your Dr. and the hospital at which he/she is affiliated must be in your insurance plan. For example, my OB accepts both UPMC and BCBS insurance, but is only affiliated at Magee - so if you have BCBS insurance, your doctor bill would be paid, but your hospital bill (which is definitely bigger) would be "out of network".

You may want to let people know which insurance you have when asking for advice, so that you don't end up with a doctor and/or hospital that your insurance won't cover.

In terms of prenatal care (before the baby is born), that is done by you with the advice of your OB. But if you mean postnatal care - as in, care for newborns and especially those born with problems, the best place is Children's Hospital. One of the benefits of Magee, in my opinion, is that it is right down the street from Childrens, and since they are both UPMC, they can easily do transfers between them when needed.

Best of luck!

- Edit later - yes, other posters are correct - I had forgotten that West Penn still does deliveries too!

Hi E.,

I would suggest visiting some different OBs and interviewing them. See how many Drs are in the practice and who else they share call with. You want to get a good idea of who will deliver your baby. I strongly recommend that you reconsider having a scheduled c-section. A c-section is MAJOR surgery. You will have a slit 8-10 inches long across your abdomen. You can lift anything or drive for at least 2 weeks after and you are in recovery for at least 6-8 weeks. I ended up having an emergency c-section and it is not anything that I would recommend someone choosing to have. Talk to some doctors and see what the risks are.

I would also suggest that you talk with the midwives. I used the midwives at Magee for my son's birth and I really liked them. As I said, I ended up with an emergency c-section, but the midwives were with me the whole time. You will get a lot more one-on-one care from a midwife than you will from most OBs.

Good luck with your decision and congratulations on your pregnancy.

J.
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Congrats! What a great road that you are now going to travel. Lots to learn, and it can be so overwhelming, but you can do it.

If you think you might be a high risk pregnancy, I too, would look into West Penn. My cousin's wife had preemie twins (born at 28 weeks) and the care there was phenomenal. Keep in mind, however, that they do not have all the specialists always there, so there were times that they had to take the babies to Children's Hosptial. They were never happy about that, the level of attention that their boys received was never the same as West Penn. (If you have never been to Children's, let's hope that you don't have to, it is just an absolute zoo.) But, they had to have some serious surgeries that could not always be performed at West Penn. So, if you were at Magee, say, there would be less trauma involved in having to move them to a different hospital.

I gave birth to both my boys at Magee. My group practice was Magee Womancare Associates. Perfectly happy with both, but my firstborn was admitted for a few days to the NICU, and although the nurses were outstanding, I was not happy with the NICU doctors. (A NICU doctor is not your going to be the doctor who delivers you.)That is why I would suggest West Penn if you are concerned about a high risk pregnancy.

This is a very personal decision. You need to try to figure out what you want, and then query the doctors to see if they agree with you -- about a c-section, inducement, natural labor, etc. If they are not willing to do what you want, that is a relationship that is not going to work out. So, there is lots to start from in this thread, but you sorta have to meet the doctors and decide some things that you want before you do. The most important thing that you have to develop with your doctor is trust -- you have to trust them to help you make a decision that is good for both you and the baby.

Oh, and I'm sorry, I didn't notice that about "wanting" a c-section -- yeah, you don't want to go that route if you can deliver naturally. It is a major operation, you are having your stomach, stomach muscles, etc. cut open and internal organs moved around. And they are finding more and more research to suggest that this trend toward elective c-sections is not good for mother or babies. Everyone here is right, a good doctor will not recommend a c-section, even if you are due to deliver on xmas, if you are perfectly capable of deliving naturally.

I can not recommend any OB/GYN's in this area because I had all three of mine in Ohio. But I will take a moment to tell you that C-sections are something you do not nor should you choose to have...and I have had THREE of them. Now I am not saying that it was a bad experience or that I "missed" something in the birth of my children because I had c-sections. I do not have any remorse or regret about having c-sections. But, C-sections are MAJOR abdominal surgery! A lot of things can go wrong and the recovery time is longer and more painfull than the recovery from "regular" childbirth.

Your main goal right now should be taking care of yourself and getting good medical care...as you progress through your pregnancy you should discuss all your options for child birth honestly with your doctor and it is a decision that should be made later on...unless it's medically neccessary. Get the book What to expect when your Expecting. You can find it everywhere...even Walmart carries it! It is a great book...I used it through all three of my pregnancies and there is follow-up books What to expect the first year, and What to expect the toddler years. I wish there was a What to expect the Teen Years! Good luck. Best wishes, and Congrats!

My regular OB/GYN is Dr. Fuoss, who has a Moon and Sewickley Office. I really like him and the vast majority of everyone else there. However, there's one doctor in his office that I would avoid - Dr. Cirucci. Lousy bedside mannner.

However, though I really wanted Dr. Fuoss to deliver my twins, I developed a complication and ended up with Dr. Ronald Thomas at AGH. He's a specialist and the man LOVES birthing babies! If you end up having difficulties with your pregnancy, I highly recommend Dr. Thomas. Relaxed, competent and confident.

Sewickley Hospital has a nice delivery area; comfy rooms. AGH (and maybe it was because it was there was a problem) was more of a regular hospital room.

AGH, though, has an excellect NICU and nursery. My son needed close to a week in NICU and received excellent care as did my daughter in the regular nursery. My husband and I were able to stay in a nesting room close to the children since it was not expected to be a long stay.

I agree with a previous poster that a good doctor will not allow you to elect to have a C-section unless there is a real medical need for one. I had the option because I was having multiples (who were surprisingly enough pointed in the correct direction at the same time and complications), but I chose not to have one.

If you're concerned about the pain of labor, then try the various breathing techniques and if that doesn't work, then go with the drugs. (If you're willing to have a C-section, then you're willing to have the drugs.) I had to be induced and the pitocin ramped up the pain. Even though I had hoped to avoid the epidural, I ended up using it so that I could have the strength to push the kids out when they were ready.

Hope you find a doctor that makes you feel comfortable.

Larry McNulty at West Penn. He delivered my two children. I have been going to him for 19 years. He is truly the best with a great bedside manner. I know at least fifteen other women who go to him and all of us found him on our own. We all love him.

The office and nursing staff are great and responsive.(Very important since you will be dealing with them a lot during your pregnancy.) They have offices all over the region. Plus his partners are all terrific. Dr. Sword would be my second choice in the practice but any of them are good. It is also important to like the other doctors in case you can not deliver when your doc is available.

I just had my 4th child a month ago at West Penn. My OB was LArry McNulty he is really the greatest OB around. He is in th eWest Penn OB/GYN docs they have offices all over the place and you can not find a nicer office staff. I had a c-section this last time and he did it and it went wonderfully.

West penn was a wonderful hospital to deliver at. The nursing staff was fantastic and the place is beautiful. They have a tons of birthing suites and a wonderful NICU if you do need it.
Good luck with your choice and congrats on your baby.

If you live close to the city Magee hospital is the best place to have your child, they also have great OB care as well Here is the address, phone, and website. I go to an ob/gyn that is affiliated with the hospital as well, they can help you find one close to where you are.

Magee Womens Hospital
300 Halket St
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
###-###-####

http://www.upmc.com/HospitalsFacilities/Magee/home.htm

I hope this helps! I had my daughter there and everything was perfect.
C.

y.