I gave birth at two different hospitals in NJ, about an hour away from each other, and had entirely different experiences.
When my daughter was born at St. Peter's, the staff treated me like shit for insisting that she never be out of our sight (either her dad or I accompanied her any time they insisted that she be taken out of the room). They were rude, questioned why I didn't trust them, and just generally made it an unpleasant experience. I had to yell at a lot of people.
When my son was born at Hunterdon Medical Center, the staff was wonderful. The expectation was that he would remain with me unless we asked for him to be taken from the room (uh, no, never). The one time someone tried to take him, the nurse on staff stopped that person (before I could even get the words out) and explained that we wanted everything done in the room. It was a much better experience overall, and I don't think I had to yell at anyone.
Both places did use alarms, but it still seems like a bad idea to let your kid out of sight. My 11 year old was in the hospital in April, and they even put a monitor on her. Then they proceeded to let her off the floor without sounding any alarms, so I'm not convinced that they're terribly effective.
When my daughter was born at St. Peter's, the staff treated me like shit for insisting that she never be out of our sight (either her dad or I accompanied her any time they insisted that she be taken out of the room). They were rude, questioned why I didn't trust them, and just generally made it an unpleasant experience. I had to yell at a lot of people.
When my son was born at Hunterdon Medical Center, the staff was wonderful. The expectation was that he would remain with me unless we asked for him to be taken from the room (uh, no, never). The one time someone tried to take him, the nurse on staff stopped that person (before I could even get the words out) and explained that we wanted everything done in the room. It was a much better experience overall, and I don't think I had to yell at anyone.
Both places did use alarms, but it still seems like a bad idea to let your kid out of sight. My 11 year old was in the hospital in April, and they even put a monitor on her. Then they proceeded to let her off the floor without sounding any alarms, so I'm not convinced that they're terribly effective.
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