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I gave birth at Columbia Presbyterian. The birthing suites are beautiful but like all NYC rooms, the recovery room is shared unless you shell out the big bucks.

The doctors and nurses were wonderful. I think it was a very normal traditional setting. There was no pressure to get an epidural but they did constant fetal monitoring, though I think that was because I was post-date induced with some other issues, so I couldn't move about freely.

I choose my midwives based on their ability to deliver at the Roosevelt birth center. I ended up delivering at L&D (loooong story) and was happy with the experience. I pink puffy heart LOVED my midwife. She was amazing. Our L&D nurse was also amazing. I never met anyone else on L&D- it was literally just me, my husband, the midwife and one nurse the whole time. I was worried recovery nurses would be awful, but they were also great! We had some trouble latching when he finally got hungry around hour 26 (midnight, of course) and the nurses never pushed formula when they know I wanted to breastfeed- they worked with me to find solutions and were just really supportive and nice. I hope I never give birth in NYC again (my labor included four cabs, two hotel lobbies and a hotel room) but if I did, I would go there again in a heartbeat.

My oldest nephew was born at St Luke's. His parents were happy with the hospital, but they live in Brooklyn so they went with a hospital that's closer next time.

I gave birth at Lenox Hill and I did not like my experience. Mind you this was a week before Sandy and every woman in NYC was giving birth at the same time. I loved my night nurses but my day care was not great, I ended up having an mystery fever and stayed at the hospital for a week. The rooms are not updated so I had an air conditioner blasting right on me the whole time when I was not feeling well. It took them two days to move me to another room.

I had friends who gave birth there and they loved their experience. I hope my experience was a fluke.

My cousin gave birth at Cornel NYPres and she loved her experience.

@bunnylove08: That's so funny, it's so true that every woman in NYC was giving birth that week or the week before. I gave birth at Mt Sinai, and it was insane when I came in - I had my epidural put in on a triage bed!

I was generally happy at Sinai. My birth was very fast, but the L&D nurse was great (basically just there for pushing, though, with the doctor, by the time I got my L&D room). The nurses in the hospital rooms were fine. I had a shared room which was squishy, but it wasn't a huge problem.

I loved NYU Langone.

@shortcake @elbiekay this is funny. i go to the same practice as well with dr rhee. i had some of those same thoughts with dr rhee initially and was also a little turned off. i've just learned she's very blunt and outspoken. she's basically like an older asian mom or auntie who is very forthright and speaks her thoughts because she's not a hand holder and believes you need to know what she knows. anyway, it's a different culture background if you're not asian and not accustomed to that kind of forthrightness, it's definitely offputting. but i had a complicated pregnancy and delivery and i was taken care of so well by her. she pulled a thousand strings for us in the hospital so that we could have a room to ourselves in the birthing center which had plenty of empty rooms (without paying for a private room that we couldn't afford) because it was already diagnosed that our baby would not survive long after birth, if even to survive delivery, and she wanted to give us the private time we needed with our baby before he passed. SLR/mt sinai was insane the day i went to deliver and there were no beds and even no room in triage. they finally had to admit me in the surgical recovery room and give me the epidural there because there was no where else to go. so i hung out there for hours before i could get moved to l&d. but the whole time i felt like nurses came immediately if i called (which i didn't that often) and i felt very well taken care of. i was in labor for so long that i saw dr shulina and dr bradley while i was there and they were both great. and dr rhee came for the delivery even though it wasn't her shift (she told me she would). so overall, i would recommend her with a grain of salt (though she is a fantastic doctor), and definitely recommend the practice.

@leighleigh: I delivered both my kids at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and had amazing experiences. Not NYC, but I saw you said you're moving to NJ.

@Anagram: I wouldn't worry about that! It's all so provider-specific (which is why her story was so ridiculous!). If you have a doctor you know and trust, you will be fine. In this story, the couple walked into the hospital and got whichever random OB was on call. They had no prior relationship.

@everbee: I used to feel that way about Dr. Rhee (that she was just direct/blunt). She had been my gyn for over a decade before I got pregnant. Before that conversation, I was already having doubts about SLR, though. The scare tactic was the final nail in the coffin.

I do think that she would provide a high quality of medical care. But I was already so anxious about labor/delivery that I needed an OB who made me feel a bit more emotionally secure and also not feel bullied into making a particular decision during labor.

I'm glad you had such a positive experience with her, and I'm very very sorry to read about your loss.

I will say that she was pretty nice and sympathetic about my miscarriage.

@ak2000: Unfortunately, my OB retired / closed her practice to take a teaching position. I was devastated when I found out. I will have to find another OB if I get pregnant again.

I think my next choice will be to try Drs. Winsome Parchment and Nyota Peace in Maplewood. They deliver at Overlook. I will probably do some more research though.

Hi @ELBIEKAY - thanks so much - will look her up

Hi @WYATTNEWBABYSMAMA - thanks for the response... I'll look her up

@ElbieKay: i have friends that delivered at Overlook and were really happy. i had a D&C at Overlook and it was smooth and everyone was so nice.
I delivered at NYU and Morristown. Very different hospitals to say the least but great care at both. And I was at NYU during Sandy and had to be evacuated! They couldn't have handled it better. @Netny: I used to live in Hoboken. For me, since I worked in the city, it was easier for me to go to the doctor there and she delivered at NYU. I went into labor at 3am but there was still traffic due to construction in the Lincoln Tunnel. Since it was my first, I knew I'd have plenty of time to get into the city and to the hospital. But plan B was just to go to the ER at Hoboken hospital down the street.
I think the main difference between city hospitals and suburbs of NJ is space. Most of the rooms in the NJ hospitals are private whereas in the city, they're shared and you have to pay approx $500 a night for a private room.

@Netny: I delivered at Englewood. I was thinking about delivering at SLR/NYU/Lenox hill in the city (or actually Sinai which is where my old OB was) but just couldn't bring myself to get over the fact I'd have to drive or take public transit if I was in active labor. Traffic? Transit delays? Just totally freaked me out. Englewood was fantastic. Huge private rooms, great nurses, good food; I was induced and had a great experience overall.

@Anagram: Regarding the terrible nurse: I also had one terrible nurse during labor. I only learned afterwards that you can call the Charge Nurse to tell her you want to switch nurses. Apparently this is a patient right everywhere, but I had no idea. Will definitely use it next time if needed!

@Netny: Unfortunately, my OB retired / closed her practice to take a teaching position. I was devastated when I found out. I will have to find another OB if I get pregnant again.

I delivered my son at Morristown. I live in Hoboken, so it was a bit of a drive, but I had an excellent experience there. I don't know how much of that was due to my OB versus the hospital, but the nurses were awesome and respected my birth plan. (I had assumed that they would ignore it, haha!) One of my biggest fears was that I would wind up as a c-section statistic, and ultimately my labor got pretty stalled out once I was at 9.5 cm. I still got the support I needed to deliver my son vaginally, and we had two hours of skin-to-skin time together in the delivery room before we were moved to our room for the rest of our stay.

Everyone was really nice and supportive and professional and I was very grateful to receive such excellent care. Plus, we automatically had a private room, and my husband stayed with us the entire time.

Other hospitals I would consider are Overlook, Englewood or Valley, and I have heard good things about midwife care at Holy Name and at Mountainside. I have been to Overlook for other medical care, and they also did an excellent job.

When evaluating c-section rates, you need to assess your doctor's practice rather than the hospital's. That being said, St. Barnabas has a sky high c-section rate, and I personally know someone who had a poor outcome there (baby is fine but severe and potentially life altering issues for mom). I would never consider delivering there.

@mrsog: I'm new to this and don't know how to PM - can you tell me who your OB was? Looking for someone affiliated with Lenox Hill. Thanks!