The Birth Place at Duke Regional Hospital — Attraction in Durham

My experience at this location is very similar to another recent review. Labor & Delivery unit was phenomenal. Postpartum unit was awful.

Everyone at Labor & Delivery was respectful and kind. Nurses, midwives, obstetrician, and anesthesiologist all explained what was happening, why it was happening, and asked for permission before proceeding. It was also clear that everyone had read the birth plan as they were very sensitive to some of the wishes I had specified. There were a couple of complications with my labor, but all of them were resolved to my satisfaction. In fact, I've nominated one of the nurses for the Daisy Award.

On the other hand, thinking about how I was treated in the Postpartum unit makes me very angry because it was one of the most dehumanizing experiences I've ever had. I'm a very private person and I've heard horror stories of providers (especially lactation consultants) waltzing in while the mother is not clothed and touching everywhere, so I had asked for some sensitivity regarding the issue. What happened instead was that one of the first things the nurse did was grab my breast apropos of nothing, squeeze it, and then say "oh good your colostrum is coming out." After that, she asked "By the way, I noticed your birth plan says 'no lactation consultants unless I ask.' Does that mean you don't want anyone touching you or just the lactation consultant?" .... To which, I had no words to respond with other than "no one.... please." I think the appalling thing is that she had read the plan, knew it's something of concern, and just decided to test it for some odd reason.

The mistreatment didn't end there. I had an incontinence issue and asked for some help. Not only did the nurse on the phone chide me saying "WHAT?? I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT?!" but when I was trying to gather myself afterwards, a lab tech came into the room and demanded I give blood for a lab work that was no longer needed (later they finally admitted it was for an old order, despite me telling them it was an old order and to please check with the midwife/obstetrician).

However, the thing that makes me angriest is the confidence with which they gave me dangerous medical advice. I was not producing enough food for my child. I asked multiple nurses if it's possible I'm starving my kid and they confidently answered "all mothers produce enough! Don't worry about it." In fact, they specifically told me that I wasn't starving my kid. I "cluster fed" her from 6PM to 2AM nonstop and the nurses told me that's normal. Later I would find out at urgent care that she had lost 17% of her weight and had jaundice. My child was endangered by the actions of the nurses and this alone makes me never, ever want to step anywhere close to this facility nor suggest anyone to get care here for fear of their safety.

I think there were also tasks that the hospital should've done that weren't done. For example, I myself had to call to set up the follow up pediatrician visits and the charts were never updated with my child's actual name. I'm not 100% sure if these tasks were my or the hospital's responsibility, but everyone else I've talked to after my stay (e.g. pediatrician) were confused about the state of the documents (e.g. why was the name never updated?)

I wish there was a different Postpartum unit. It's infuriating that at a time when a woman is vulnerable, tired, recovering, and trying to learn how to take care of their newborn, the care team is antagnostic. I'm disappointed to read that someone else had a similar experience recently and reading some of the previous reviews I do wonder if it's been this way for a long time. I hope they will review the unit and its practices since I know that it's unique to the Postpartum team given my overwhelmingly positive experience with the Labor &...

I want to write a review based on my experience because I read a lot of the most recent ones before my stay and it made me nervous. I won't discount others experiences and realize you can't pick your specific nurses and that can make a big difference.

My experience was overall very positive. My birth was extremely fast and I had one of the midwives on call vs from my clinic. So I didnt get to know my birth team that well since my labor was so quick. But I felt safe and supported and trusted them. I'm happy with my birth experience

My postpartum experience was really great. All of my nurses were extremely kind and eager to be of help whenever I needed it. They helped me with everything postpartum care related. They offered to do baby disper changes whenever they were in the room and also burped baby and settled her to sleep a couple times when they visited after a feed. It was really helpful in letting me get some rest or have a chance to do a little self care or eat having some extra help for those moments. They kept all of my supplies like pads, ice packs, numbing sprays etc plus baby diapers and blankets etc well stocked and even sent me home with a bag of those items.

They were all very gentle and sweet to my baby for all vital checks and tests etc.

Yes the postpartum rooms are way too small but it's doable for a short stay. We stayed two overnights. The food isn't great but it's what you'd expect when you hear "hospital food." It's not gross like some people claim just bland. Lots of healthy options and big enough servings for nursing moms to fill up.

The amount of interruptions and knocks on the door was excessive through the day and night. But that unfortunately is standard in American hospitals and not something to blame specifically on Duke regional. I had the same experience with my first birth and a different hospital. But at least here at Duke regional the staff coming in were all super friendly and kind and at least tried to tell me when to expect them again and how long I had to rest. It wasn't always accurate but they did have my best interest at heart and idk what all goes on behind the scenes for their busy jobs.

Now my only major complaint was that when I went into my labor and delivery room I went to use the bathroom and after I was already done I noticed a blood stain on the toilet seat... meaning the bathroom hadn't been cleaned from the previous patient. Disgusting. I told the staff right away and they were very apologetic/embarrassed and seemed shocked as well. They helped me shower off and the bathroom was promptly cleaned. But it did start things off on a bad note for me. However it all only went uphill from there and although thats unacceptable I don't let that affect the rest of my experience which was positive. I'd like to think that's not something that would happen often or ever? But that's why my review is only 4 stars...

This review is a little delayed as our baby girl is 3 weeks old but still wanted to take a moment and express our gratitude for the staff at Duke Regional labor and delivery unit. We arrived at Duke for induction and were given a warm welcome by the many women sitting at the front of L&D.

Our initial day nurses were Sarah Ann and Emma Konrad. They thoroughly explained the process of induction and how the next 24-48 hrs might go. We came with a pre-written birth plan which was followed to the T. Sarah Ann was incredibly helpful and could tell how experienced she was. Emma was so compassionate and ensured I was comfortable during every step. Our first midwife we met Cheriece had such good energy. She warned me of upcoming procedures and took her time with us.

Our overnight crew included Kaili (nurse) and Emily (midwife) At this point my contractions had started to increase and my plan of no epidural steadily disappeared LOL Kaili and Emily gave us the space to explore other options and ensured I made an informed decision. Ultimately due to Emily's advice we elected an epidural, which I DID NOT REGRET.

By the time the morning crew came in it was go time. Our nurse, Emma was so energetic and bubbly. Our midwife, Lakasha introduced herself and talked us through whats to come next. We were cautioned of complications as our baby was expected to be bigger. Delivery started and progressed rather quickly, but unfortunately that complication did occur. I was beyond impressed with how calm but efficiently Lakasha led the team. Des and Emma immediately intervened and got into position to ensure my baby safely entered this world. This part happened so fast, but could have ended entirely opposite. Everyone remained so calm while also optimizing our baby's safety. Our delivery was all of 40 mins, we recovered and were moved to Postpartum care in the next few hours.

Our postpartum nurses were Erica and Pearla who also took amazing care of me, my husband and baby. They both were so patient and helpful as we knew NOTHING about newborn care. I felt like no question we had was dumb and they explained everything to us. They were absolute angels!

We stayed in the hospital for 2 more nights. The next few days we were visited by Emily, Lakasha, Emma Mikesh and my regular Ob, Dr. Wright. We thought this was so sweet of them to take time out their day to check in on us. (Pictures below with Emma and Lakasha) They truly are a special team and we're so happy and blessed for this staff!

We now have a healthy 3 week old baby girl and we are beyond grateful for every single member who cared for us during our stay! ❤️

Midwives - Emily, Lakasha, and Cheriece L/D nurses - Emma konrad, , Sarah Ann, des, Kaili Griffin, Emma Mikesh Post partum nurses:...