"the word-of-mouth survival guide for CHANDLER parents"
Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women (Women's Education Dept)
3003 Health Center Dr, [at Sharp Memorial Hospital]
San Diego, CA 92123
Parking: free parking
Phone: (800) 827-4277
Hours: call for appt
Services:
Parenting Classes
Review added 4/26/2009
I'm sooo glad I did my research and in the end, went elsewhere! This is a well-known facility with an excellent name, but during the course of my prental care, and talking with 2 good friends who work there as nurses, I realized that it's not a good place for someone who doesn't have pregnancy complications. The hospital treats everyone as if they are "high-risk"...ultimately leading to tons of interventions and complications. The induction rate is sky-high, virtually everyone is on pitocin, not supportive of unmedicated childbirth, and a c-section rate that is alarming, consistently between 40-50%. Yikes! After taking childbirth classes there and taking the tour, (childbirth instructor talked lots about pitocin, pointed out the showers that are never used, etc.) I started to get uneasy...when my doctored pressured me for an induction at 37.5 weeks for a "big baby" (he claimed 8 lbs--that's totally normal!) & told me Mary Birch would not "allow" intermittent monitoring, etc., I decided to change providers. I birthed a 9 lb 12 oz baby, at almost 42 weeks, vaginally, with no medications, at a different facility. I almost guarantee that at Mary Birch, I would have had a c-section. 5 out of my 6 friends who have delivered there in the last 2.5 years had c-sections...all following normal, healthy pregnancies. Great place for surgery, I'm sure (gyns there have great reputations), but not for birth.
Review added 1/9/2008
I felt compelled to attend this class because my curiosity got the best of me. It is for parents to be with ZERO experience on parenting a newborn.
I didn't like that the instructor didn't know how to "deal" with adoptive families; as if one had to be pregnant to fit in. I didn't appreciate her intrusive questions about how our family was going to grow. She didn't know the difference between surrogacy and adoption (our situation).
Review added 11/4/2007
I very much enjoyed Mary Birch! I don't think I could have made a better decision about having my first baby there. The staff on the labor and delivery floor was wonderful and if I have another child I will definately return there! After I had the baby I was taken to a semi private room. I did request to move to a private room because the people across from me were loud and almost hurt their newborn. The sistuation was taken care of promptly and I was moved to a private room for the remainder of my stay. I can say that they are very adament about having you do the Sharp parenting classes after you have the baby and in my situation they pretty much forced me to walk after 15 hours because I had a c-section which I was not thrilled about. Other than that the experience was great. I was well taken care of!
Review added 2/15/2006
I can only speak to the pre-birth class... and they made me feel scared to death about having a kid- like it was going to be deformed, or die. It was like, slanted education. I would have been better off reading books.
Review added 2/3/2006
What a wonderful resource for expecting and new mothers! They offer everything from childbirth preparation classes to classes to help you ease your pets into having a new baby around the house! I highly recommend the Expecting Getaway - your childbirth classes held over a weekend in a Julian B&B.
Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women (Women's Education Dept) San Diego, CA - Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women (Women's Education Dept) Parenting Classes - Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women (Women's Education Dept) Reviews