One other point. I had both my children when I was over 35. I was not considered high risk either time. So make no assumptions. If a doctor considers you high risk, find out why -- because it means more testing, more monitoring, and it may not be necessary if your only risk factor is your age. Caution is good, but unnecessary testing has its own risks.

My doctor is Anna Collado in West Paterson. She will be delivering my baby in Hackensack. I picked her because I knew she is affiliated with Hackensack and that is where I want to deliver. Her practice also has 2 days where they have appointments up to 7:00 pm (Tue & Thurs).

Dr. Manny Alvarez - Hackensack University Medical Center - specializes in high risk, too

He's the Dr. Manny seen on Fox News. One of the best OB/GYNs ever. And their maternity unit is fantastic. It's where my son was born.

I delivered both children at NY/Cornell with the best doctor in the world. SInce you probably don't want to schlep up to 75 and Fifth, I would offer you just one piece of advice. Make sure your doctor delivers at a hospital with a Level 1 NICU. You never know when you'll need it. My younger son would not have made it if I had not been at a great hospital with a top notch NICU. If that's Hackensack or St. Barnabas on this side of the river, then that's where you need to go.

If you want to go to Manhattan, my doctor walks on water...but doesn't take insurance.

Looking for a good Gynecologist reccomendation, in the Jersey City/NY area.....

I've never heard of any of them. But, I would, hands down and without hesitation, recommend Dr. Thomas Miglaccio in Hoboken (Washington and 6th). The office is Brescia and Miglaccio. His bedside manner is very professional but approachable.
Plus, they just moved into a new and very nice office.

Hi There,
if you are no thrilled about your doctor you should try to find someone else. i would be happy to refer you to my midwife (i also live here in jersey city) she sees three other pregnant women here in jersey as well, she takes most if not all insurances and travels to you for all appointments. I am planning a homebirth with her and she is amazing, but you can also see a midwife at st rosevelt and plan a birthing center birth, just know they have only 3 rooms though. If you are thinking about drug free and a natural birth, i would definitely suggest one of these instead of a hospital. This would be a much easier and natural experience on your terms not the hospitals routines. I was never thinking of having a homebirth but after reading and researching what hospital births are really about in this country it definitely seems like a safer choice for me...Whichever you decide, you should be 1000% comfortable and trusting in your doctor/gyn/midwife because you need that support. If you do go ahead with a hospital birth, make sure to write a birth plan (where you write down exactly whats important to you from when you arrive to when you leave) and check in advance all policies at the hospital as they vary from place to place. A plus is also if you have a doula, they are there for you during labor as an extra support person. If you do have a hospital birth, having a midwife or a doula with you will give you the extra support around the hospital staff. Someone that can take your side if conflicts do arise. Also, a doula and midwife will make sure you get all the support you and your baby need after the birth, with bonding and breast feeding etc. In a hospital there is so much staff, that it is hard to control the outcome of the experience and support from them. With your doula and/ or midwife you know you have someone by your side that you trust.

The hudson county birth group is great, i went there a couple of weeks ago and its just a great resource to get in touch with others and get info.

Feel free to ask me any questions, as i would be more than happy to share my experience and what i have researched so far.

Dont just settle for something ok, you should be in the best hands with someone that you really trust. Follow your heart and intuition and research research research!

Good Luck!!!!

While it's true that obtaining a birth certificate in Hudson County is no problem, it will be a problem down the road if your child plans on getting a passport. A few years ago, the State Dept. took the unusual step of saying Hudson County, N.J., birth certificates will no longer be valid documentation as proof of citizenship - due to the above-mentioned fraud and corruption. No other county in the nation has been bestowed this unique distinction by the State Dept. (go Hudson!) If you've already decided on giving birth at NYU Medical Center, but aren't thrilled with your OB-GYN, I'd recommend Miriam Greene (her office is on 34th near 1st Ave.) She's fantastic, and is also with NYU. The only downside is she doesn't take any insurance - i.e. she's not part of any networks. So, you pay her first and work out reimbursement yourself with your insurance co. She's worth it, though, in my opinion. I've tried to find doctors on this side of the river, but always end up back in Manhattan. A large part of that is because the top-notch teaching hospitals are there.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. We do have a car and currently, the plan is to give birth at NYU Medical Center. I work very near to there and it's easy to do doctor's appointments for doctor's that are associated there before, during, or after work. I am a little concerned about the travel time through the tunnel, however, this is my first pregnancy, so it seems that I will probably have enough time/warning. I not totally thrilled with my doctor either which is why I was asking for suggestions about all of this. I will look in to these recommendations. Thanks again!

With my first I birthed at St. Vincents. I just took the PATH train both ways... and believe you me, people on the rush hour train were more than happy to give the grunting/ moaning woman in labor plenty of room and a seat (a first time in my entire pregnancy commuting to NYC for work.)

If you choose homebirth then your midwife comes to you for your prenatal visits and you don't have to worry about traveling. My midwife would visit me at my office in NYC.

Homebirth is easier and safer. You don't have the stress and you can do everything naturally with no intervention. It's definitely the gentlest alternative, but it is really about what you feel the most comfortable doing.

Christ Hospital is not a good choice for a regular birth, but should you find yourself in an emergency situation, then Christ Hospital is excellent. Don't worry about being rushed to Christ if you need immediate care.

I live in downtown JC and delivered both my children @ NYU Medical Center. I loved the hospital and would recommend it. The only drawback w/delivering in the city is if you are in JC and go into labor during rush hour. I went into labor w/my first child on a Saturday nite. It was a quick 20 minute ride to the hospital (which is located @ 31st and 2nd Ave). My second child was due to arrive around the time our President, Mr. Bush was in town - total traffic chaos as all the streets were blocked off. My doctor was very concerned I wouldn't get to the hospital in time. Baby #2 arrived shortly after I walked to the hospital straight from my weekly dr. appt.

I'm expecting baby #2 and plan to birth at St. Luke's Roosevelt in Manhattan. I confess that I chose that hospital because my best friend delivered there twice, the second time at the birth center. Since that seemed like the way I wanted to go, I was all for it. We actually seriously thought about a home birth with our first but our HMO would have none of it.

The local options just never seemed like serious choices: I could find very little heartening information about Christ Hospital or JCMC from their websites or from phoning them. We visited St. Mary's and while it seemed just fine, it didn't knock my socks off and the religious iconography spooked me a bit. They are now the Hoboken University Hospital, so my guess is they've cleared the statuary from the lobby.

Depending on how far along you are and your insurance, et al. I would recommend an experienced midwife since you'll have a better chance of receiving more attentive care and a less-medicalized birth experience. Folks really do love the Birthing Center at St.L/R if they can find a practitioner that works with them. I understand that St. Vincent's downtown also has a birthing center now. Even a hospital that doesn't can become far more humane with the right caregiver.

With my first, going in to the City for appointments, etc. wasn't really a big deal 'cause it was just a detour to/from work. With a toddler in tow, the schlep is definitely harder, but I will be better able to let you know if it was all worth it in three weeks (+/- a week or two) when this baby is born.

Depending on how that goes, I suspect I may be seriously considering home birth for any future bambini...

I also second Althea's recommendation to join the Beautiful Birth Yahoo group. There are some very good resources available there and there is also a meeting coming up on the 22nd.

Good luck and have a happy pregnancy!

If you want natural, I'd go with a midwife. That's how I did it. I had my son at Mount Sinai but the midwife practice there has closed. For my second, I'm thinking of going to St. Luke's Rooselvelt. They have a nice birthing room there, very conducive to natural childbirth.
Also, my husband and I had plenty of time to drive to the city, and I had a pretty fast labor, so if you do want to deliver the baby in the city, it is doable.

This article about the Jersey City Medical Center was in the Jersey Journal:

JCMC maternity staff lauded by patients, company

Tuesday, September 04, 2007
By KEENAN STEINER
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

After falling on her stomach, 18-year-old Dana Bedacie, of Jersey City, was told her son's heart rate had suddenly dropped and she would have to deliver him by Caesarean section five weeks prematurely. She said she was glad it was done at Jersey City Medical Center.

It seems that decision was for good reason, as Johnson & Johnson has honored the nursing team in the maternity unit at the hospital with a certificate for outstanding patient care. The award makes the maternity team eligible for a $1,000 educational grant from Johnson & Johnson.

In the hospital's own rankings of its nursing units, based on patient response surveys, the maternity nurses were ranked first for the first two quarters of this year, according to April Major, the unit's head nurse.

Last year, they were rated near the bottom, she said.

On Friday, Bedacie, laying in a hospital bed in a spacious room with her husband, Zaheer Ameerally, sitting beside her, said she was comfortable at the Medical Center, which was not the case at other hospitals she had been to during her pregnancy.

The couple chose to switch to the Medical Center largely because of its neonatal intensive care unit.

As soon as the couple arrived at the Medical Center, Bedacie said, the nurses gave them a tour of the hospital and Bedacie said she felt "at home."

Since becoming head nurse a year ago, Major said she has made an effort to improve how patients perceive their care. She has encouraged nurses to make hourly rounds, to "individualize" care based on a patient's culture and needs, and to treat patients like they are family.

Brynne Ortquist, a hospital midwife, said patients feel comfortable because of the unit's family-oriented approach.

"I want to treat everyone as if they're my mother or sister. (Giving birth) is a family, social event and shouldn't be treated like a sickness," she said.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal/stories/in ... 18888537098810.xml&coll=3

My wife currently sees a doctor in the city associated with the new york Downtown Hospital which is just a few blocks from her work and the wtc path station. Since we live just a few blocks from the Jersey City Medical Center we went for a tour of the maternity ward yesterday.

We liked the information on the website and it was easy to setup the appointment, but when we arrived its as if the staff had no idea the hospital offered tours. The nurses acted is if they were super busy and did not really even acknowlegde our presence. Unfortunately this seemed to be the case at Downtown as well. I have had a few surgeries this year and a "super busy" nursing staff seems to be the status quo.

The JC center has 8 delivery rooms, 8 single stay rooms and a few doubles. An older Asian nurse finally showed us some attention and she was quite friendly and helpful. In general the environment was new fresh and clean with great views of the city and statue of liberty. It was more appealing than nyc downtown.

Next we want to check out any recommendations for local doctors.

I live in JC and work in New York. I'm trying to decide if I should have the baby in the area or in the city. Any hospital and OB recommendations would be appreciated. I have friends and family who have had babies in other places at medical groups where they see several doctors, nurses, and midwives throughout their pregnancy so that they will be assured that they see someone on their delivery day that they have actually met before. Is there anything like that around here. My goal is to have a labor that is as natural as possible, meaning hopefully no need for cesarian or epidural.

I also didn't want to deal with the prospect of crossing the river in labor, so I use Drs. Scheller, Gross, and Patel-Schusterman in Englewood. I'm due in July and I'll be delivering at Englewood Hospital. I'm very happy with the practice. The over 35 thing is not an issue, that I can see. The office is filled with over 35 moms. My doctor herself, delivered over 35.

Absolutely, 100%, I recommend Dr. Brecia and D'Alberti. I have turned every friend and co-worker on to them, and we all love them!
Good Luck!!

Dr. Marco Pelosi II, and Dr. Marco Pelosi III are tremendous doctors. They are father and son. They're in Bayonne. I had three deliveries with them and they were fantastic. Bayonne Hospital is very nice also. The nurses are very friendly and hard working in the maternity ward.

Well, he certainly didn't have a baby there, but my dad spent two weeks post-operation at Hackensack University Medical Center last August. The staff was the best - nurses were friendly and helpful, administrative staff very nice too. And a beautiful facility. It is like a hotel.

My only fear is that if you use that hospital and have a fast delivery, you won't make it to the hospital. It took me about a half hour/45 minutes to get there every day, and that was at off hours with no traffic. Rt. 17 and the GWB are right there and can make things a mess.

Quote:

I agree with that assessment. Both Drs. have been very pleasant for my wife and me to deal with.

I have used Dr. Bresica and Dr. Migliaccio in Hoboken. They are both male but I find them to be very accomodating, pleasant, willing to answer questions, etc. They are both fairly young, have a good sense of humor and friendly. Dr. Brescia's wife (Dr. D'Alberti) also works at the practice but no longer delivers. I delivered my first child at St. Mary's hospital in Hoboken and plan on doing the same with my second in 2 months. St. Mary's is possibly closing but they also deliver at Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus. Check out this website of comments on them. I recently found it and find all the reviews to be on point. Good luck.

http://www.kannekt.com/review/hob16484.htm

1131 Washington St, Hoboken
(201) 659-7700

I know this topic was covered before, but not for awhile. We're planning to start a family, and I am over 35, which I've been warned can be higher risk. So I'd like to find someplace good, and someone who won't make me feel like an old hag. Previous posts did not leave me with a good feeling about Hudson County hospitals, and most everyone who responded to the post previously suggested the city, but I'd really rather drive someplace for appointments -- then there is the traffic to consider. Anyway, I'm thinking perhaps Hackensack University Medical Center. Does anyone have any suggestions for a doctor, for starters?