A Year Since My Unexpected Delivery + My Experience at LDS Hospital

This post is sponsored by Intermountain Healthcare. All opinions are my own.

It’s been nearly a year since my nightmare delivery occurred when I gave birth to my son in the car about one mile from my house. I never thought something like that would happen to me. I assumed that I would make it to the hospital in time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I’m really grateful that my husband was calm during the ordeal, and he did a great job delivering our son.

Once the ambulance arrived at the scene and the paramedics took care of a few things, they asked me which hospital I wanted to go to. There was a hospital about five minutes from my house, but I wanted them to take me to LDS Hospital where I had originally planned on having my baby, since that is where my doctor would be. I also had great experiences there with the births of my two other children.

My first experience at LDS Hospital, when I had my oldest daughter, was wonderful. I remember when I first arrived, they were friendly and quickly checked me into labor and delivery. Since this was my first time, I was really nervous because I didn’t know what to expect, but the nurses calmed my nerves by taking time to explain what to expect and what was happening.

As I was leaving labor and delivery to go to my room where I would stay for the next two days, I thought it was cute that they rang a bell indicating a new baby had been delivered.

Later that day when it was time for my baby’s first bath, hearing test, and blood tests, they would always ask if my husband and I wanted to come along and be included in what was happening. They also turned the couch into a bed for my husband so he could stay the entire time at the hospital. I appreciated how they listened when we asked to keep the baby in our room the whole time. And they were okay that my husband wanted to change every diaper during our two-day stay there. The nurses also took time to answer my questions as a first-time mom, educate me about newborns, and give me important information that I maybe I didn’t know.

Even though my third child was born in the car instead of at LDS Hospital, I did stay two days at the hospital afterwards. This third experience at LDS Hospital was also really good. I felt that the nurses did an amazing job. As soon as I arrived and the paramedics wheeled me to labor and delivery, the nurses immediately took care of me. It was also nice that my doctor was already at the hospital and had just finished a delivery, so she walked into the room within a few minutes.

During my two-day stay at LDS Hospital, the nurses checked on me regularly to make sure I was doing well and to see how I was feeling. I especially appreciated how they were considerate and listened to me and what I needed. For instance, I mentioned to them that I really wanted to get more rest and sleep. So one nurse placed a sign on my door that said no one was to walk in and wake me because I was resting, and that if they needed to come into my room, they needed to check with her first. Another nurse asked if she should wake me up to give me my pain medication in the middle of the night. I said that I would prefer to get more sleep and to hold off a few hours before waking me up. If I was awake and in pain at that time, I would let her know to bring in the medication. She was understanding and let me sleep a few more hours. I also noticed that during the night hours, the nurses tried to come in less often so I could sleep longer.

If I had any questions, the nurses were always willing to take a few minutes to answer them, and they never seemed like they were in a rush to answer me, even though they had other patients they were looking after. If I wanted to keep the baby in my room, it was just fine. If I asked them to keep the baby in the nursery so I could rest, they always asked if it was okay to give the baby a binkie or feed the baby a bottle. There were times when I asked the nurse to bring the baby in after a few hours so I could feed him when he was hungry. But there were also times when I was so exhausted that I asked them to supplement with formula and feed the baby so I could sleep for a few more hours. The nurses were also good at explaining things I needed to know. During one instance, we discussed what we needed to do when the baby’s weight started dropping more than the normal amount and how to get his weight up so he would be ready to go home with me from the hospital.

I also loved that the nurses stocked a plate of crackers and cookies at my bedside, and they were even sweet to place a few of my favorite cookies and crackers on the plate. They also made sure I had enough water and juice. The cafeteria food service was also wonderful and the food tasted good. I loved that I could order food whenever I was hungry, and they even gave my husband a voucher for a free meal so he could eat lunch with me right after our baby was born. On the second day, someone from the food service checked in with me to see how the food tasted and which meal was my favorite. They wanted to keep meals on the menu that the patients liked best.

After I arrived home from LDS Hospital, I received a thoughtful card in the mail signed by all of the nurses who attended to me during my stay. I really felt that all of the nurses at LDS Hospital cared about me and wanted my stay there to be a good one. My three experiences at LDS Hospital have been wonderful, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go there again.