Twinflower:

I had an emergency C-Section at Valley in July of 2008.  The nursing staff was absolutely terriffic.  They really knew what they were doing.  I was a first time mom, with a ton of questions.  The staff listened to all of my concerns, made time to answer my questions, took the time to explain EVERYTHING to me, and were very professional in dealing with our son.

We are planning on having child no. 2 and I wouldn't dream of having him or her anywhere else.

If you have more questions, you can email me at strength_73@yahoo.com

Teresa

Thank you for posting Strength! :)

 I went on the tour of the birthing center the Sunday before last and I was very impressed - it's a very beautiful and peaceful place.

 I asked a TON of questions - like "can I have a doula with me at the birth", etc. Overlake Hospital in Bellevue supposedly doesn't allow this and the staff at Valley Medical Center said they *do* allow it.

 Here's what else I learned:

1.) You labor and deliver in the same room. No moving from a labor room to a delivery room (like at Overlake)
2.)  We met some of the labor and delivery nursing staff- they seemed very kind, friendly, and not "high stress" in any way. I liked their mellow, happy, peaceful demeanor.
3.) Valley Medical now has a NICU.
4.) The design for the birthing center and suites is very modern, kind of an almost Scandinavian style.
5.) They have a really big "waiting area" for friends and family with a big screen TV, food/vending machines, and more.
6.) They have an OR for C-Sections in the birthing center area - no need to travel all through the hospital to find a "regular" OR room.
7.) The have jacuzzi bathtubs in every birthing room.
8.) They have mini-refrigerators, flat screen TVs and DVD players in every room.
9.) Your baby stays in your room after delivery - they don't take it to a nursery overnight or anything.
10.) They have rocking chairs in every room for nursing your baby, etc.
11.) They have a place for partners to sleep - it's a sofa that looks about 6-7 feet long. Might not be great for more than a night or two sleep but it's definitely better than a crappy cot.
12.) Their security for newborns appears to be very good - every new baby gets a bracelet that matches moms and is constantly checked. If the baby is taken outside of the birthing center the whole hospital will go into lockdown mode.
13.) You can pre-register at the admissions desk so the hospital already has all your contact info and insurance info. on file. This helps you avoid trying to deal with that stuff when you are in labor. If you've pre-registered you can just head on down to the birthing center if you believe you are in labor.
14.) They have lactaction consultants on staff who are there every day to help you. If you need a breast pump they can rent one to you.
15.) I also found out that, on average, Valley Medical Center is about $2000 cheaper than giving birth at Overlake.  

OK, I think that's it for now... ;)  If anyone has any questions feel free to post and I'll be happy to answer with what I know.

 -Twinflower

 I was a brand new mom that delivered a heathy boy a year ago (Feb 08) at Velley and LOVED IT!

everything listed by the previous post is true. My husband is 6ft4in and slept, rested very comfortably on the pull out sofa deal.

The labor and delivery nurses are amazing.... I was seen  by the midwives that are part of the Valley Medical team and located onsite. The midwives are amazing and were able to let me get into multiple positions for delivery despite having an epidural (most Dr's won't even try to do this). One of my nurses even stayed with me at the end of my pushing (I pushed for several hours) even though she was off her shift. She said that she couldn't leave me just because her shift was over. She wanted to see me through to the end result! my son being born! Now that is a caring staff memeber. There is one nurse who is assigned to you and maybe one other new mom! they check on others as needed, but they are in charge of only two rooms at a time. Very nice one on one time. If you happen to not have anyone in the room next to yours, even better!

Don't let the construction distract you either. It's not bad once you learn your way around.... oh yeah... my husband had parked our car right in front of the main entrance for like 8-10 hours and they never once gave us a ticket or asked him to move it. There is of course free valet parking too.

Hi there,

I am the new Director of Women Services at Overlake. I have just been here a couple of weeks. I would be very interested in hearing about your experience.

Please let me know if we can talk.

Thanks!

Thanks so much for all this information!  I'm expecting my first in October and, so, am a little nervous about, well...everything!  :)   I'm headed into a tour in August to check everything out...but it's wonderful to get first hand info from other moms...I feel so much better!