St Luke's Women's Center

The two other reviews are spot on. The entire staff of St. Luke's Labor & Delivery are skilled, professional, caring ... and will put you completely in charge of your own care, giving you all the information you ask for, every step of the way. In particular, Dr. Laura Norrell is just fantastic and worthy of any and all praise. If having a redecorated waiting room is important to you, go somewhere else. Please. more

I completely agree with the other review. St. Luke's is a community hospital that specializes in individualized care. It is a small town hospital in a big city... in a good way. The group of midwives is amazing, and Dr. Norell is a miracle worker. She saved me from having a C-section...twice! CPMC is called the baby factory for a reason... you are in and out, like a number. St. Luke's is the exact opposite. I had my daughter there and she ended up in the NICU for a week... not only were we treated like royalty, but I was allowed to stay the entire week as a discharged patient FREE OF CHARGE so that I could see my daughter and be with her. The women's center itself is a bit run-down but they have renovated the suite that it is in in an attempt to bring it up to speed. The equipment is slightly older but does the same job. The clientele is also a mized bag as they are located in the mission and many clients are low income and bring their children with them to appointments.... the waiting room can be crazy at times! Overall I love my doctors and have had such a great experience that I sincerely hope they keep the facility running... I would like to have other children there as well! Pros: personalized care, friendly doctors, location Cons: location, long waiting room times more

OK, here's the deal. The facilities are run-down, the wait is sometimes long, the clientele diverse, the atmosphere downscale. But you will get the best OB care in the city at this unlikely place. If you are a pregnant woman who wants to participate in your own care, rather than be alternately scared and "rescued" by condescending "experts", THIS IS THE PLACE. If you want to be treated with respect and with joyful anticipation of your impending birth, rather than clinically managed as a problem waiting to happen, the wait here is worth it. All of the midwives and OBs are fantastic. I have to give special mention to Dr. Laura Norrell, who directs the place, and who makes sure that every birth is special. They have a full range of services here, but they practice a low intervention model of care which results in a very low c-section rate. So if avoiding an unnecessary c-section is high on your list of priorities, come to St Luke's. They may not have fancy pink couches and efficient assembly-line appointments, but they are head and shoulders above the rest where it really counts. Pros: Wonderful caring kind respectful intelligent compassionate care, low c-section rate Cons: Waiting room time, un-fancy facilities more