Regions or Saint Josephs? Doctor or Midwife?

Do you mean St JOHN's in Maplewood? No experience w/ the L&D there, but my husband just had to take his dad to the ER there and he was VERY impressed w/ the doctors there. As for doc vs. midwife; I delivered my first w/ a doc and my second w/ a midwife and I am sold on midwives!

My 1st baby was delivered by an MD. The delivery became complicated and I ended up having an emergecy C-section. My Dr., (who was GREAT) unfortunately moved out of the area about a year later, so with my second child I was looking for recommendations. A midwife, Kathy Lindquist, was highly recommended. She was wonderful! Even though I had a planned C-section with my second child (which was performed by Dr. K. Anthony Shibley - also great), Kathy gave me wonderful care before and after the birth. I still see her for my yearly exams. She doesn't practice at all hopsital, and I don't know if Regions or St. Joes are on her list, but you can contact her at:

Kathy Lindquist
Bloomington Lake Clinic
3017 Bloomington Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55407
(612) 721 - 6511

I don't know all places Dr Shibley delivers either, but his contact info is:
Dr. K. Anthony Shibley
170 Ridgeview Medical Bldg
305 East Nicollet Blvd
###-###-####

I highly recommend both Kathy and Dr. Shibley.

Good luck!
A.

I had a group of midwives that I saw for my prenatal appointments for Saint John's in Maplewood. (I think this is what you meant) Whichever one is on duty is the one you get for your birht. Nurses and midwife and room were awesome-only for no expected difficulties delivering. I got to grab her and pull her out! Awesome!!tearing up just writing this..

I had my son at Regions 2.5 years ago and plan to have my second child there this fall. The staff is great and the rooms comfortable. I would highly recommend Regions. Don't know much about St. Josephs expect what my friend told me (she was a social worker there)...she told me that rooms aren't as nice as Regions and that since they are a Catholic hospital they will not do certain things that go against the church (ie fill birth control pills after the birth etc...). As for Dr or Midwife (my son was delivered with both - started with midwife but has some complications so doctors had to step in.) I plan to go the doctor route next time. The midwifes were wonderful but let my labor go too long because they want progress to occur naturally.

Do you mean St. Johns in Maplewood? If so I had my son there, and they were awesome. I would highly recommend St.Johns.

If you have more ques. email me.

T.

I recently asked about St. Joe's in St. Paul, I suggest you read the responses I received. The question was about 1 week ago. EVERYONE who responded had very positive things to say, and several recommended the midwives at Generations Womens Health Clinic in Shorewood, they deliver at either St. Joe's or St. Johns.

I delivered with the midwive crew at Regions in 2004 and was generally happy with the experience. The labor and delivery nurses are Regions were FANTASTIC, and I had a tremendous amount of respect and appreciation for all of them. The midwife who attended for the first half of my labor was great, too (she did some on-the-spot inducement to accelerate labor which was exactly what we needed). We were less happy with the midwife who actually delivered my daughter because of some shaky advice about pain management, but the delivery itself went smoothly. My labor was long (about 18 hours of active labor), but at no point did I feel like I was being shunted into a C-section.

The post-delivery maternity / nursery ward staff were attentive and thoughtful, and I appreciated their concern over whether or not my daughter was breathing properly / eating properly in her first day.

I'd go back!

I had a midwife that delivered at Regions-- of course she was not the midwife on at the time of my labor-- and I was there through 4 shift changes so four midwives. All of them were exceptional- patient, caring, helpful-- they listened, etc. I ended up with an Ob/gyn ( 3 actually) and an emergency c-section-- they were also all wonderful and I'd highly recommend them. The midwives advocated for holding off of the c section as long as possible which was what I wanted and the drs really helped me make an informed decision. I'd highly recommend Regions. Besides the drs/midwives-- the nursing staff was top notch-- and you spend a lot more time with them than anyone else!! I think St. John's is in Maplewood and St. Joe's is downtown. GOOD LUCK!!!

First congrats on your new one! I work at Region's and though I did not deliver there, I have heard wonderful things about the Labor and Delivery there. I think you meant St. John's in Maplewood? If so, I delivered there and loved it. The staff were all wonderful and very accomodating. I used a Doctor whom I absolutly love. She was receptive to all my needs, concerns and requests. She took very good care of me before, during and after. Hope this helps.
BEST OF LUCK!!!!! S. :)

Did you mean St. John's in Maplewood? If so, I can tell you that I delivered 3 babies there, the most recent one was two weeks ago. My first delivery in 2002 was a little chaotic, but since then it seems like a lot has changed. We had GREAT nurses in 2004 and this year, and I would recommend St. Johns. I have always used an OB to deliver, so I don't have any advice on a Dr. vs. midwife. Good luck!

I went with a mid wife (no longer in MN) great I loved it my labor and delivery only lasted 8 hrs. minimal pain and minimal pain medication. If you are open I would sugest United in St. Paul they were great and the have a NICU (newborn intensive care unit)& Childrens I didn't think I would need it. I had a very good, healthy and easy pregnancy but durring delivery my son (now 4 and in great health) had a bowl movement and was stuck so the nicu was right there in the room durring delivery and they took him as soon as he was out and cleaned his lungs and eyes and did tests right away and gave him the right antibiotics and he was fine. If the nicu wasn't there he would have been airlifted without me to a different hospital for the same treatment and could have possibly had damage to his lungs and eyes. Just a sugestion to think about. I hope this helps you.

Hi N. - I had my 7 month old daughter at Regions. I worked with a great midwife there named Kris Tromiczek. I highly recommend her. Unfortunately, I needed to have an urgent C-Section, so the baby was delivered by an excellent doctor there named Robert Lee. I would be happy to discuss my experience and/or answer any questions. Feel free to send me an email directly. Lots of luck - R.

I don't know anything about Regions and am not sure about St. Josephs in Maplewood but HIGHLY recommend the St. Joseph's hospital in St. Paul. I had a WONDERFUL experience there with the birth of my second child (first was born at Methodist-would NOT recommend Methodist). I also chose to go with a Midwife since I wasn't in a risky pregnancy and wanted to avoid a really "medical" birth-I wanted to try and have as a natural a birth as possible and Midwives are more prone to that way of thinking than most OB's. I wanted to avoid having a c-section so having a midwife made more sense than an OB-the % of midwive's patients ending in c-section are MUCH lower than that of OB's. I also chose to have a waterbirth with my second child which I would do again if we were to have another child-it was awesome! Most people think it's kinda weird, but If you want to avoid drugs-the tub is the way to go! You are getting to the point in your pregnancy where you will soaking in a deep tub just to take some of the weight off and that's a lot of what the birthing tub does-It's like taking drugs but not.

I hope this helps!
Good Luck!
A.

N.,

I don't know much about St. Joe's, but my wife had our twin boys at Regions. We were considered high risk due to multiple birth, and as things turned out it was a good thing we were there. It was a life threatening situation for Mom and Boys that turned out well for all parties.

Just My $0.02

I had a scheduled c-sec. with my 1st due to breech and went to St. Joseph's. I have no other hospital to compare to but they checked up on my often, was helpful with breastfeeding, my meals were 3x a day, they helped me whenever I needed help. I enjoyed my stay. I started my prenatals with a midwife but since I ended in a c-sec. they don't handle that but they did check up on me the day after I delivered. I prefer midwifes because of the time they devote to their patients but if something turns ugly make sure they have a surgery staff that they don't have to call in. St. John's and Regions are both staffed with surgeons 24 hours a day and Woodwinds for example is not. My choices this time were St. John's or Joseph's and I'm going to see a midwife who will take women with previous c-sections and since Regions is a level 1 trama hospital and have the highest ratings of sucessful v-bac's I'll be going to Regions. Since you are not in a similiar situation as I, I feel either hospital would suit your needs fine. You may just decide on which one is closest to you. It's hard to decide isn't it? You may want to tour each one as well and see if you like the feel of one better than the other. I assume you see a Ob or family practice doctor now and some midwifes at those clinics will only deliver at certain hospitals so you may want to check into that.

I hope that it is not too late to respond...Yes! I have an opinion...GO TO St. JOES!!!!!!!! I am a doula, and in my opinion, this is THE BEST hospital for positive birth experiences in the city!!!!!! And use a mid-wife!!!!!!! My absolute favorites are my mid-wives...Generations They are in Shoreview and deliver at St. Joes and St. Johns (Joes is better and has a waterbirth option! Yeah!) There are two mid-wives (Rebecca Burrosso and M. Hayes) and one OB (Dr. Laura France) that backs them up. They have TONS of experience and have phenomenally low c-section rates!!!!! These ladies are absolutely the best in the city! I would give you the address and #, but I lost my planner today! Aaarrgghhh! You can google them, though:>) Good luck!
M. B.

Hi N.. I have had 2 children at Saint John's in Maplewood and 1 at Regions. I work for Regions.
However, I personally would recommend St John's in Maplewood. You give birth in the same suite you stay in after the baby is born. It was nice not to move around. At Regions you give birth downstairs and then move upstairs after.
If you have a high-risk pregnancy, I would maybe go to Regions because the hospital is equipped to handle any situation. My number one choice in the St Paul area would be Woodwinds in Woodbury. My cousin just had her baby there about 2 months ago and it was wonderful! It was relaxing, quite and everyone was so nice. That's my advice, so good-luck.

Hi N. I delivered my 2nd baby at St. Joes in St.Paul and really really liked it. Im not sure if they are the same? but for the midwife or DR. I had a Dr. with my first baby and midwifes with the 2nd and 3rd and loved it they are so nice and helpful, also I did water birth with the last one it was amazing I recomend that to anyone who has that as an option the hot water really relaxed me and made the pain go away and the delivery was so much easier since I was so relaxed.

I have delivered at both. My first one at Regions, my second one at St Johns. Both facilities are great. Regions is a little scary at night as you need to walk through the emergency room to get to the maternity ward. They tag you and your baby with security bands. The nurses would not give me an epidural even though I begged. Was in labor a long time. I dont know if this is because it was my first one or what??? The bed I slept in after delivery was probably my best night sleep ever...this was the softest bed EVER! My experience at St Johns was quite different. Very quiet walking in, no security tags, epidural in a timely manner, shorter delivery.
To put in perspective...Regions is in a major city and St Johns is in a suburb...of course they will feel very different.
Make sure you visit both to make your best decision. Also...i had midwife with #1 and doctor with #2. Doctor seemed more hands on and checked in frequently. He actually delivered. Midwifes seem to work in teams and you get who ever is on call.

Make sure to have a birth plan...both places ask you about it. didnt have one the first time and it seemed others made decisions for me. 2nd one included DRUGS and I got them quick and seemed to have more imput and control.

Good luck momma! Kids are awesome!!!

I was all set up to deliver at United in St Paul, and when the time came, early in the morning, they were completely full and sent me up to St John's in Maplewood (is that the one you meant? cuz I think St Joseph's is in St Paul...) any ways, I had a great experience there, i rather enjoyed the fact that you labor, deliver, recover, and STAY all in the same room. Also, since it is a much smaller hospital, it felt like the nursing staff had time for me and my "cares" and they were quite knowledgeable (which was good, since my daughter was born before the dr could get there and the nurse actually delivered her =) ) It was very quiet there, and they were great with all the visitors that came- 2 of which were my nephews, both under 2 yrs and my son, also under 2 yrs at the time. Anyways, I don't know too much about regions birthing center, though our other experience with that hospital- my hubby blew out his knee and had surgery there-- has been mostly positive as well. Good luck
H.