General information
Name of the hospital:
Hadassah Ein Karem
Address:
Ein Karem,
Jerusalem
Phone number:
02-6777111/02
Website:
http://www.hadassah.org/
Tour:
Tuesdays at 16.00 starting from the lobby of Hadassah Baby. The tour takes
1.5 hours in total.
Reception room
Are husbands allowed in?
Yes.
Are other support people
allowed in?
Yes, you
can take whoever you want, but only one person at a time. There is very little space,
with little privacy. The room is divided with curtains only. Within a year, a new
area is planned with small rooms for each woman.
What procedures are
performed?
* Assessment
of why you came (contractions, rupture of membranes or other)
·
They will check your urine
·
They will check your blood pressure
·
They will do a vaginal check, but
only if your membranes did not rupture
·
They will check your belly
·
They will hook you up to the fetal
monitor for 20 minutes at least
What is the average
length of time spent in
the reception room?
At least 30 minutes.
What are the conditions
for being assigned to a
delivery room?
This is a very individual
thing. You really need to be in labor; very painful contractions, dilation and effacement.
Labor and delivery rooms
How many rooms are
there?
There are 6 rooms at the moment. The ward is currently under construction
and 2 more rooms are planned, which will make a total of 8 rooms.
What is their condition
and size?
The newly remodeled rooms look nice with wooden floors. The older rooms look nice
as well. They are all very spacious. Unfortunately they didn’t do anything to make
the place feel more home-like, all the medical equipment and computers are in plain
sight. The hospital bed also has a prominent place in the room. All rooms are equipped
with an electronic delivery bed, a poof and a ‘sausage’ pillow, and some extra chairs.
Is there a toilet and
bathroom in the room?
Yes, each room has its own toilet and shower with shower
seat.
Is there a stereo set or
television?
There is a phone in every room, and portable CD players with CDs are available from
the staff on request. Televisions will be installed soon.
What other accessories
do they have?
They have birth balls,
and soon they will have a cloth rope above the bed that you can hang from.
How many women does
one midwife have under
her care at once?
There is 1 midwife for every
2 women.
How many people are
allowed in the room
with you?
There is no limit. The only thing is that the people in the room should be supporting
you and not disturb. They are also not allowed to sit in the hallway outside the
room. They should either be in the room supporting you, or be waiting in the designated
waiting area.
Do they allow doulas?
Yes, but only 1.
Do they give you a
standard Heparin lock?
Yes.
Do they have
intermittent monitoring?
Yes, if everything is ok they will hook you up to the monitor
about 30 minutes out of every hour. The cord is long, so you can stay upright and
be mobile while being hooked up, as long as the baby’s heartbeat keeps being registered.
What other standard
procedures do they
perform?
They will give you a vaginal check about once every 2 hours.
Is eating and drinking
allowed?
You are only allowed to drink clear fluids.
What are the available
methods of pain relief?
Pethidine (‘tishtush’) and epidural. If you want a walking
epidural, you will have to notify the anesthesiologist up front so he can give you
a very low dose, and you need to have someone with you in the room at all times.
Can you hire a private
midwife or doctor?
Midwife no, doctor yes.
Are the midwives trained
in natural methods such as
reflexology?
About 50%
of the staff is trained in several natural methods, but you can only get it if you
are the only woman in their care at that moment.
What positions can you
deliver in?
All, as long as you’re on the bed.
Is there a mirror?
Yes.
Do they perform
standard episiotomies?
No, they try to perform them as little as possible.
Do they cut the cord
immediately?
They usually
take their time with cutting the cord, they don’t do it right away.
Do you get a standard
pitocin shot after delivery?
Yes.
Do they take the baby away
for check-ups?
They don’t take the baby out
of the room until they take you out (about 2 hours after birth). You are allowed
to breastfeed in the delivery room.
Do they have a goy for
Shabat?
No.
The staff of the Ein Karem delivery rooms is there to support you, and also for
your safety. They will listen to you and their goal is for you to enjoy your birth.
Cesarean sections
Is the operating room
next to the delivery rooms?
Yes.
Are support people allowed
in the OR?
Yes, only your partner. He is not allowed to be with you if you’re getting general
anesthesia.
What kind of anesthesia
is used?
Spinal or general anesthesia. If you already have an epidural in place, you will
just get an extra dose.
Do you have the
opportunity to bond
with your baby or
breastfeed in the OR
or recovery room?
No. You will be in recovery for about
1.5-2 hours while the baby is in the nursery. You will be able to bond with him/her
and breastfeed after you get to your room.
Maternity ward
What is the general
state of the rooms?
Part of the rooms is renovated, part is not.
How many women
are in a room?
2.
Equipment in the rooms:
There is a hospital bed with side-table. There are nursing chairs and regular
chairs. The rooms each have a changing table and drawers with baby necessities such
as diapers, wipes and clothes.
The rooms on the 6th floor all
have an amazing view. All rooms have their own toilet and shower. Televisions and
phones are for rent.
Internet:
You can rent a phone line for internet.
Rooming-In:
About half the
rooms are partly rooming-in; the baby goes to the nursery first and then you can
have him/her with you all day. Doctor’s checks are done in your room. The baby is
in the nursery at night.
The other half of the rooms is full rooming-in;
mother and baby go up to the room together and will not be separated at any point.
Visiting hours:
12.30-13.30
15.30-17.00
19.00-20.00
Visiting hours for
husbands:
08.00-22.00
Is there a lactation
consultant on staff:
Yes, 4 days a week.
Length of stay:
48 hours after a normal
delivery, 4 days after a cesarian.
Early check-out
options:
36 hours after a normal birth, or 3 days after a cesarean. You can check-out after
24 hours if you go to Hadassah Baby
Kashrut:
Rabanut Yerushalayim
Special meal options:
Mehadrin on request.
There is a buffet with plenty of vegetarian choices.
Bottom line
-
This is a very popular hospital that is supportive of natural childbirth. As a result,
it may be crowded here.
-
The answers that are given here state the official hospital policy, but sometimes
individual midwives are more lenient. It won’t hurt to ask for whatever you want!
-
This hospital might not be your best option if you are high risk and want to avoid
a cesarian. Their cesarean rates are relatively high.
-
This is the only hospital in
Jerusalem
that has full rooming-in without separation of mother and baby.
-
All in all, Hadassah Ein Karem is a good place to give birth at.
Reviews
My birth was too quick for me to really assess how they did - I was in the hospital
for about 15 minutes before my baby was born. I liked the midwives very much though,
as well as the doctor that stitched me up. And I liked that they let me stay in
that room with my baby for over an hour before moving me.
I stayed in the hall for the first 18 hours after the birth.
Even though we explicitly told them no bottles, my husband caught them giving my
baby a bottle. They said her blood sugar was too low (I had gestational diabetes
and they were monitoring her blood sugar after feedings).
They had to keep her in the nursery to monitor her heartbeat because of a medication
I had taken during pregnancy, but they didn’t tell me I could bring her back to
my room to nurse her. At first they let me sit in a chair by her bassinet, then
they told me to take her out of the nursery to feed her - I took her right outside
the nursery doors, where it was pitch dark and it was difficult for me to nurse
without being able to see what I was doing - no one told me I could take her to
my room with me. (Not being "Israeli" enough, I didn't just take her without asking
- wish I had.)
The food was good, the doctors following up on me were fine (barely spent any time
with me, but thank g-d I was fine so I guess they didn't have to).
The lactation consultant was a joke. I was worse after seeing her than I was when
I started. I went in because my baby was very sleepy and wasn't waking up often
enough or for long enough to eat. She tried a couple of times to wake her and then
said "your baby is too sleepy to nurse, you'll just have to give her a bottle. Luckily
my mother arrived later that day and taught me a) how to wake her enough for her
to eat and b) that it's normal for babies to be sleepy after birth and there was
nothing wrong.
My only problems with the maternity ward are that there aren't enough rooms - no
woman should have to stay in the hall after she gives birth - and that, had I been
able to room-in (had they not had to monitor the baby) I wouldn't have been able
to because there aren't enough rooming-in rooms.
I had horrible after care at Ein Kerem, period. They left me bleeding in the hall
way for over a day, for the lack of a room. It was humiliating, and even my private
doctor did come in to check me. It’s a factory, and I don’t recommend it!
Comments: They have recently added 20 beds to the maternity ward. According
to the staff, the pressure has gone down a bit but it still comes and goes in waves.
They will still occasionally put women in the hallway.
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