Atrium Health Maternity Center — Local services in Charlotte

I gave birth here to my first baby in November 2024. And I’m incredibly grateful for the nurses over there. It was an induction, and I was so afraid of the “cascade of interventions” making me end up having a c section, but they took their time inducing me, did everything step by step and very carefully, not rushing the process at all. Everyone was nice and helpful. But I had a few nurses that were literal angels! Firstly, Vanity, who took the best care of me while in labor, she went above and beyond, frequently came to check on me, and turned me with the peanut ball every 30-50 minutes, while letting me sleep in between. This might have been crucial in making my labor progress. I didn’t have to call her once. I’m so thankful for her! I ended up having my daughter on her son’s birthday :)

Next, during the actual birth there was a nurse named Dana just like me, and she asked for our phones and took our pictures and videos during the birth! If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have the pictures of the best moment of my life. That was so very thoughtful and kind of her!

And then after the birth they love you to another room, and there was April, who helped me with a few tmi moments, and was very kind and caring! I’m so thankful for their help and care during one of the most vulnerable moments, I was so lost and unsure of what was happening, what I was supposed to do or not to do, so excited and worried. And everything went smoothly thanks to their help.

Now, of course there were a few unpleasant moments. One nurse who wasn’t assigned to me, she came inbetween the shifts, when I called for help, when my bubble fell out, she removed it harshly leaving me a huge very painful hematoma on my thigh that took a couple of weeks to heal. And different people kept coming to the room every half an hour, not letting us sleep, but that seems to be all over the country. The food was good enough by the US standards, but very questionable for a hospital food in any other country. But I am thankful that they feed your partner too. It would be a nuisance to go and get food during that stressful time.

Overall, I’m very happy and thankful for my experience giving birth there. Would go there again any day, even after reading horror stories in other reviews, because my anxious brain felt calm knowing that the NICU with the best doctors and the best equipment was right there if my baby ever needed it. Did you know that not every birthing hospital has NICU? And even if they do, they send the worst cases by helicopter to this hospital from both Carolinas?

So, a huge thank you and many blessings to Vanity, Dana, April, the doctor who took her time and stitched me up very neatly, to the nice ladies downstairs who were very helpful when I initially came with lots of questions, and to the midwife who was very helpful in guiding me through the process during the night shift...

I would rate it zero stars if that was an option. We were sent to the hospital after an OB appointment at 38 weeks due to some potential risk factors for both mother and baby and arrived around shift change. There was a very concerning lack of communication between day shift and night shift that resulted in us being forgotten in an empty waiting room for 6 hours. We tried to get the attention of a nurse around 3 hours to check on getting a room and being seen by a doctor. They told us they were very busy but would be with us soon. 3 hours later, after a second attempt to speak with any available medical professional, we were told they forgot we were there. After delivery, it was very apparent that the priorities of the hospital were a bit backwards with higher risk mothers being transferred to smaller, less comfortable rooms, despite the likelihood of a longer stay for those mothers and babies. The whole facility seems a bit outdated and the supply of seemingly basic equipment and other necessities for labor appeared very lacking. As far as I can tell, this isn't related to a lack of funding or revenue but to the gross misappropriation of funds and the priorities of the executives and anyone with any decision making responsibility seems to be focused on the facility maintaining a strong outward appearance while providing mediocre care and comfort for their paying customers. I call them "paying customers" instead of "patients" because the whole focus is on profitability and cutting corners with the actual medical care. I don't know much about the other aspects of atrium health outside of the maternity center, and therefore can't speak on the company at large but based on past controversy over shady business practices and the poor level of care and attention during this experience, I would recommend avoiding the Atrium Health maternity center if you have any...

My experience giving birth to my last baby here was a complete nightmare. There were only a couple nice nurses and doctors and the rest were rude/had bad attitude to me for no reason. I had a reaction to the epidural which made my neck flare up in excruciating pain. The anesthesiologist confirmed it was due to the epidural but the nurses were telling me they have no idea what's causing it. I was screaming in pain because it was worse than the contractions which I still felt. While I was being reeled into the OR for emergency c section, my neck flared up again in pain I started to scream , one of the nurses said "I was with you in the other room and you weren't screaming like this. You're only screaming now because you're in a different room". Basically telling me I was faking the pain. This nurse wasn't even there for my whole labor and delivery so she didn't know I in fact was screaming in the other room. I've never felt so disrespected by people who are suppose to help and care for me. This hospital has ruined my experience giving birth to my LAST baby. I can never get back or redo this experience. I feel like I have been robbed. It has left a lasting scar in my heart. Please go to Novant or somewhere else to have your baby. There were so many things that happened at this hospital that were horrible and this was only ONE of the few instances that had happened. I will be contacting a case manager to try to prevent other innocent women from going through the same...