We just got back from having our first baby and we had her at the RR Medical Center.

The center has a variety of rooms, although you are supposed to get a delivery suite when you are delivering. The Four types of rooms that we were in were 1. The regular no thrills private room- this is where we stayed while we waited for the baby to come, 2. The Delivery Suite- we were given this one overnight our first night because my wife was in delivery for so long, and on the next day we were in this room for the delivery itself. 3. The Postpartum room- where we stayed after deliver and throughout the next day, and 4. The holding room- which they use if there are too many people in the postpartum rooms.

1. The regular room- single room with two chairs in addition to the bed. The bathroom is shared with next door. The comfort level for dad here is low. The two chairs provided are a normal cafeteria like chair, and what I like to refer to as the ejection chair. The ejection chair is a rocking chair with a balance point that leans you forward- great!. Given that this is a hospital and not a hotel the comfort level is pretty much what you would expect.

2. The delivery Room- this is the biggest single suite they have. The bathroom is private and there is a couch for dad to sleep on. They let us stay here overnight and it was a world of difference- i dreaded staying in our first room overnight. There is plenty of seating in this room, and everything you could want services wise from a delivery room.

3. The holding room- I think we were one of the unfortunate few that got to experience this room. It was actually in the Fetal Diagnostic Unit. A tiny private room with one uncomfortable chair and a private bathroom that is as big as the room itself. No television in this room so thank goodness i brought my 17inch powerbook for entertainment. This room was in fact so small that the three of us had a hard time fitting in, especially with all our stuff.

4. The Postpartum room- this room is the room that you are promised when you go for the tour. Its on the other side of the hospital so a totally new set of nurses. The nurses here are nowhere near as intense but completely competent. They checked on our baby and gave us feeding advice. The room has a couch for dad to crash out on. However the couch is really far away from where mom sleeps. I didn’t like that. There are two chairs, one of which is a recliner and the other a normal cafeteria chair. There is plenty of room for visitors.

Overall the facility is new and very nice. They have wireless internet service in all the rooms, and food from the kitchen from 7AM to 7PM. Most rooms have some sort of television and they range from 12 inch crappy monitors to 32 inch flat screens. There are no pay channels but they do cover most of what you want. Me being a college football fanatic i was very happy with espn, espn2 and pretty much everything else that you would expect.

One overall complaint about the facility is its use of resources and the number of times they ask their patients to move. We moved a total of five times throughout the entire procedure. From the prep room to the delivery suite (for overnight stay) to the prep room back to the delivery suite (for delivery this time), to the holding room (the hospital ran out of postpartum rooms) and finally the postpartum room. All that moving was not fun. We didn’t complain but it sure would have been nice to stay in 2-3 rooms. However, with that complain i also have to give thanks because they didn’t have to give us the delivery suite for the overnight stay, and that suite is by far the nicest room in the facility.

The nurses in the labor and delivery ward are absolutely awesome. They were constantly watching over us and monitoring pain levels. They rushed in very quickly whenever there was any doubt to the stability of the baby or the mother. The explanations for all the risks any procedure came with were very good. They were a bit pushy from time to time but i realized that when you are delivering you want the pushiest nurse on the block. Why you ask? She will get you the best room and attention from doctors the fastest. We had a great nurse for most of it, but as soon as her shift was over our rooms definitely declined in quality and coincidentally so did the pushiness of our then attending nurse.

Overall, would definitely go back to UCLA to have another baby- and thats coming from a Trojan.

1. Take your hubby and do the tour. At least, if you get nothing else out of it, or if your hubby wines about beer the whole time, you’ll know where to park, and where to go. Hospital hallways all look alike, and I noticed that the signs aren’t always helpful. So- go and learn.

2. Valet parking at the Ronald Reagan Medical center is $11. Self parking at the 200 Medical center is $11. You make the choice. I’m going in style and doing valet. Note- they accept credit cards. Woot!

3. Wait for the appropriate contractions before going to the hospital. Otherwise you’ll just end up going home. Talk to your medical professional about what the right duration and intensity of contraction is for you.

4. Have your pediatrician picked out and have their info with you when you go. You will need- Name, Address, and Phone Number.

5 Labor and maternity is BTW on the 5th floor of the Regan Center- that took a while to figure out.

6. Siblings are welcome at labor and delivery but make sure they have an adult- not you or your husband (or partner)- with to escort them out if they are horrified by the magic of childbirth. Also- the child can’t be sick- they’ll send them home if they are so be forwarned.

7. The phone number for labor and delivery is: 310-267-7560. Their moto is “when in doubt call!”

8. Have your babies name ready when you come becuase it makes getting the birth certificate and their social security number a whole lot easier.

9. If you need your ipod bring your ipod speakers- they dont have any there.

10. They do have a plasma television though

11. Moms UCLA hooks you up, robe, slippers, toothbrush, etc… Dads bring a hobo sack- UCLA does not have you hooked up- you get nada.

12. Have your advanced care talk before you go.

13. Visiting hours for recovery room are 8am to 8pm.

14. They have a baby stays with you at all times policy, and everyone gets a neat little security ID bracelt.

15. They have internet access. So bring your laptop and play WoW.

16. They promote breast feeding. In fact they said if you are undecided when you get there then you will be breast feeding.

17. If your baby is a boy they perform circumsisions there. However, make sure that your obstatricion actually performs them if you want one. They mentioned that not all UCLA obstatricions will perform a circumsision.

18. They have food service from 6am to 11pm. Thats hot food. If you deliver outside of those hours they have a cold box lunch with sandwishes and fruit.

19. Nurse shifts are 12 hours from 7am to 7pm. So you, most likely, will have one nurse tending to you for that 12 hour shift.