May 30, 2014
To the OSF St. Elizabeth
Hospital in Ottawa, IL:
Thank you so much for making my
labor and delivery everything I hoped it would be. I gave birth to my daughter Hazel Joy Ortiz
at your hospital on Friday May 16, 2014.
Sherry Hartenbower the Certified Nurse Midwife was my care provider, and
I was so pleased with my whole birthing experience and how accommodating the
OSF staff was to my and Sherry’s requests regarding my all-natural delivery.
I was already in labor when I
arrived at the hospital. I went straight
up to the OB ward, and my nurse Alyssa made me
comfortable and allowed me to wear my own clothes rather than a hospital
gown. She patiently waited for me to
answer the registration questions in between my contractions. She also allowed me to turn off the lights
and have my room dark. When she inserted
my saline block, she was able to get it in on the first attempt. Usually people have a hard time finding my
veins because the veins roll. I was
impressed that it only took her one try to get it, and it didn’t hurt. Later, when the nurse removed the saline
block, there was no bruising, and there wasn’t even a mark where the needle had
been. I also liked that the nurses took
my blood samples through the saline block so that I didn’t have to be poked a
second time.
Sherry Hartenbower arrived at the
hospital shortly after I did. She
checked the monitors on my belly that were measuring the baby’s heart beat and
my contractions. After she conferred
with Alyssa, they took the monitors off, and I never had to wear them again. This pleased me very much, because it gave me
freedom of movement during my delivery.
I was not tethered to the bed and the machines, so I was free to stand,
squat, walk, bounce on the birth ball, or to do whatever I needed to make labor
more comfortable. I am so grateful that
I did not have to be hooked up to the machines.
Sherry and Alyssa intermittently monitored the baby’s heart rate with a
portable Doppler, and I was able to continue in whatever position I was
laboring without any distractions or interruptions.
The OB
ward was well-equipped with tools to help make my labor more comfortable. I was impressed by the size and variety of
birth balls that were available to me, and the staff was prompt to find someone
to inflate one of the balls a little more at my midwife’s request. They also had a gymnastics mat that we were
able to put on the floor in my delivery room so that I could do various
different positions comfortably on the floor.
Sherry used many different techniques to help my posterior baby flip
over into a better position for delivery.
These techniques would not have been possible if the OB
had not been so well-equipped. Thank you
for having everything we needed.
At one point during labor, my husband
and I were able to go out of our room and walk up and down the hallway. Having freedom to do this helped me through
one of the transition phases. I also
appreciated that there was a large shower available for me to use during labor
if I wanted it. I was saving the shower
as an emergency technique to deal with pain if I ended up feeling like I needed
to request drugs. However, I never ended
up using it until after I had already given birth because I had been able to
manage the pain with the help of my husband’s and Sherry’s presence in the
delivery room.
The nurses’ shift change occurred
near the end of my labor, and I was honored that my first nurse, Alyssa, chose
to stay with us in the delivery room and witness the birth even though her
shift was over. Thank you for hiring
such thoughtful and caring staff. Our
second nurse, Shannon, did a great job at making me comfortable after I
delivered my baby. Her helpful presence
and her warm and cheerful personality made her a good companion as I got cleaned
up and moved into my recovery room.
I really liked the hospital’s
policy on visitors in the OB ward. All of my guests felt welcome, and my 4 year
old daughter was able to visit her new sister.
The nursery nurse, Megan, also allowed my daughter to help give her new
sister a bath. That was so special. We took a lot of pictures, and that is a
memory we will always cherish.
The dietary staff did a good job
accommodating my vegan lifestyle and dietary preferences. They provided me with a good variety of
options for every meal, and for my king and queen’s dinner, they crafted a
custom dish of noodles and sautéed veggies that was not on the normal hospital
menu. I would, however, like to see a
thoughtful vegetarian entrée added to the menu in future since all guests may
not be aware that there is a vegetarian option.
Overall, my husband and I were very
pleased with our birthing experience at St. Elizabeth hospital in Ottawa. From beginning to end, everything went
perfectly. Thank you for providing such
a wonderful hospital experience.
Sincerely,
Joylyn (Joy) Ortiz
Mother of Hazel Joy Ortiz, born 05/16/2014
