Child birth in St. Croix

I have heard that the hospital is great but one of the OBs here is closing his practice in August and none of the others are taking new patients. My daughter is having to move back to the states to have her child.

Actually, i spoke to Dr. Briscoe' office (as Dr. Miller was my ob/gyn and he is leaving island 8/31) and they said that they ARE taking new patients - it's just for pregnant women that they are not. Dr. Anne Treasure is seeing Dr. Miller's pregnant, current patients. I have friends who used the clinic for their pregnancy, b/c they can't afford the private practices, and they have had great experiences. You end up with the Dr. on duty to deliver, i believe, and you see different doctor's for your visits.

So now i'm trying out Dr. Briscoe, after using Berkely (who left) and Dr. Miller (who's leaving). is it me??? lol

My daughter was told by Dr. Treasures office that she is not taking any new pregnant patients. I do know of one girl who had someone intervene for her with Dr. Treasure and she got accepted.

Update. I called Dr. Treasures off and was able to get an appointment for my daughter. Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know what changed in the last two weeks but I am grateful.

i think i'd give anything i could to not have a pregnant woman calling me, upset that i couldn't be a patient. lot's of pregnant women, lot's of emotions, losing a trusted doctor = do whatever you can to make this right! 😉

You are right. My daughter called 3 times begging.

Thank you both for the info! We're looking at moving to St. Croix and we have a three month old right now but we're planning on having another baby in about two years. I was a little concerned about whether I would have as good of an experience at the St. Croix hospital and with the OB's there as I did here. I know it's still the US but I guess I'm a little concerned about the unknown.

One additional factor for you to consider is that you should be willing to give birth without an epidural, as there is not always someone on duty (or on island) who can give one.

Unfortunately, your child-to-be won't be considered a native Virgin Islander as defined by the proposed Constitution.

A reason to have your child born here in the islands.

.142.53 - U.S. Virgin Islands: Transfer Taxes at Death

The mirror system is not applicable to the U.S. federal estate tax. Rather, that tax applies directly to U.S. citizens and permanent residents domiciled in the U.S. Virgin Islands at death but with an important exception: the federal estate tax does not apply at all to individuals who acquired their U.S. citizenship as a result of birth or naturalization in the U.S. Virgin Islands or another U.S. possession. For persons considering becoming naturalized U.S. citizens (or reacquiring U.S. citizenship after having expatriated), this provides an attractive planning opportunity.

Property located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, or stock of U.S. Virgin Islands corporations (including U.S. Virgin Islands exempt companies) is not considered U.S.-situs property under the U.S. federal estate tax. Therefore it is not included in the gross estate of a non-resident alien of the United States.

While there is a U.S. Virgin Islands local inheritance tax, the exemptions from that tax are so broad that it rarely has any application. The tax only applies to U.S. Virgin Islands residents who inherit property located outside the U.S. Virgin Islands from decedents who were not residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands at the time of death.

We just had our first child and chose to have him in DC. It was a close call, we were seeing Dr. Briscoe and he is excellent. We did childbirth classes on the island with Ms. Jean Baptiste and they were very good. Speaking to friends I've been told the one thing the hospital does do reasonably well is childbirth. The deciding factors were 1) the inability to guarantee an epidural, 2) proximity of family (we ended up having our baby in DC and 3) in case something went wrong we wanted to be sure we had the maximum amount of resources available.

The epidural problem hit one of our friends particularly hard, she had a very difficult labor and was unable to get one because the hospital will only pay for one certified doctor who can give epidurals and that doctor was off island. After hearing that story we made up our mind. After going through the process, seeing the fully natural way I have ot say that we made the right choice, the epidural made childbirth much easier for my wife and not the horrible experience some of my friends have told me about doing it the all natural way in STX. Obviously everyone has their own feelings on this. FWIW, Dr. Briscoe had us writing letters to the hospital asking them to address this shortcoming, this causes many with the resources to leave the island to give birth rather than use the hospital's services.

Also, on the tax benefit, I've been told that your child would also need to maintain that residency to avoid falling into a gray area of the law. If your child is paying the IRS taxes (aka living stateside) at the time the estate transfers I don't believe that they would maintain the exemption. This is what I've been told but I'm not a tax lawyer.

Good luck! If you have any other questions PM me and I'll pass them along to my wife.

Sean

We had our Nathalie on St. Croix four months ago with Dr. Briscoe... and Nurse Maria and Nurse Amanda...(I don't remember their last names) a great experience despite the fact that the one guy who does the epidural was off island.

The only major complaint I have with the hospital is the billing department. They seem so confused most of the time... i.e. mailing bills late, not keeping good track of payments... but with a good insurance company and insurance plan, most of those problems are resolve quickly. Just keep copies of everything.

The food lacks but who cares about that after many hours in labor and finally having your beautiful baby in your arms.

Dr. Briscoe and the nurses were a great team and I am so glad I chose them. It was such a great experience that I have been back to let the nurses see Nathalie and revisit.

Nathalie is our second, the first one being 10 years ago and on the mainland... and while each delivery was different, I have no complaints about the professionalism or compassion of the staff. They were wonderful!

Hope this helps.

What about the after care and availabity of pain meds for the pain you have once it's all over? If they aren't able to give an epidural aren't they still able to give you the other strong pain meds during labor? I know they don't work like an epidural but they must be better then nothing...I can't remember what they're called though.

I'm not sure I understand your questions, but even in the states meds are usually withheld before and during labor because they affect the fetus and/or interfere with a woman's ability t o labor. Epidurals are special because usually they do not affect the fetus or interfere with a woman's ability to labor. Meds for pain after delivery are available because they are not administered by epidural.

truly, the pain stops after the baby is born.
poof it is gone...why would one need drugs afterwards (other than maybe some tylenol) unless there was a cesarean?
i had my dawta there on island.
naturally.
no drugs.
no worries.
no problems.
i can undersand why some find they want drugs, or the necessity of them should something go wrong.
i do think that many women do not give themselves the chance to experience natural childbirth because they have been somewhat misled by the stories some tell in any birthing situation, and also because it seems the norm to use said drugs simply because it is seen as the "normal" thing to do "socially".
it is definitely the womans choice as to what form of birthing she wants for herself...i just wish more women would give natural childbirth a chance.
as far as the food goes...well this again, was years ago...but after birth i said i was hungry and they brought me the most delicious meal, right there in the delivery room, after the afterbirthing process. man those dumplings were good....so was the bbq chicken....lol.

I'm glad natural childbirth was a positive experience for you and that you were pain free after delivery, but I don't think your experience reflects that of most women. Pain isn't a necessary component of the childbirth experience, as it doesn't make the experience somehow more rewarding. Most women opt to take advantage of medical advancements that decrease labor and childbirth pain, just as use medications for muscle aches and headaches. Pain meds are appropriate in many instances other than a C section, such as for the pain attendant to epesiotomies. It is important that women not be made to feel judged for choosing pain meds rather than natural childbirth, or bottle feeding rather than breast feeding, or disposable diapers rather than cloth diapers. When you say "...many women do not give themselves the chance to experience natural childbirth..." you are implying that the choice to forgo the natural childbirth experience constitutes some sort of deprivation or loss. There is no glory in pain, and women should not be made to feel like they are missing out on something by choosing to alleviate unnecessary pain. Whether women choose natural childbirth or an epidural, they become mothers and join the club of women whose hearts roam outside their bodies.

dntw8up

i was not judgemental in what i said.
i was simply stating my opinion.
i believe i did say that it was a woman's choice as to how she births.
you however, were condescending in your reply to me, and that was unecessary.
hope you have a good afternoon.

I did not have any pain medication with any of my children. With my first child I was young, poor and had no insurance so none was offered to me. With the rest of my children I chose not to receive pain medication because all my friends had problems with their backs and legs after having an epidural. In my mind 1 day or a few hours of pain giving birth was preferable to having problems with my back forever. I have had people roll their eyes at me when I commented that I chose natural childbirth. Like I was stupid. To me it was a logical choice. I don't think I am super mom or special because of it. To each his own. I also chose to use cloth diapers and to breast feed. Again it was an issue of cost. I couldn't afford diapers or formula.

I looked up some of the options such as Systemic Pain Meds like narcotics or Nitrous Oxide. It says they only take the edge off but that would at least help. I know when my epidural wore off on half my body and I was already dilated to an eight and they said my contractions had gone off their chart they were giving me lidocaine. I had six doses and the pain still didn't stop until they were able to move the epidural back a half a centimeter and then it went back into the left side of my body. I thought I had a pretty good tolerance during that part but it still hurt like he!!. I guess my body just doesn't recognize Lidocaine but that doesn't surprise me because most pain meds and muscle relaxers don't' really work on me anyway.
I guess I'll just have to suck it up and have the baby naturally if the Dr. is off the Island when I go into labor. It seems a bit scary but I'm sure I'll survive and I guess dougtamjj is right about it only being one day. I would sure prefer having an epidural though. My husband had to keep reminding me to breathe when I had the contractions during the time my epidural wasn't working...lol it's probably one of the few times in life I've ever been so quiet!
Does anyone know if it's possible to schedule an induction around the Dr.'s schedule so as to be sure he/she is on the Island and available when the baby comes? I've never liked the idea of that but I would at least like to know my options. I hate the thought of bringing the little munchkin out any sooner then they want to be here but again I should probably know my options.
BTW thank you all for caring enough to give me info. I really appreciate it! I had no idea there was only one certified Dr. on the entire Island to cause you to not remember how much the pain sucks! 🙂

Irijah,

I've reread my post and I don't think it's condescending. You suggest women who choose an epidural are doing so because of social norms. I argue that women choose epidurals to relieve pain. You contend that women who opt for epidurals are missing out on the natural childbirth experience. I counter that the pain doesn't improve the birthing experience, or make it more rewarding. I certainly disagree with you, but I don't think I do so condescendingly.

I agree with dntw8up that her post was not condescending; She was simply stating the other facts which you didn't mention. I was just going to ignore your post since I wasnt' asking for people's opinions on how to have a baby I was asking for information about the hospital and medicine but I got aggravated and felt some what attacked when I read it again since you were being so condescending about people choosing epidurals and implying that only because they would be so weak they would choose them since society said to rather then because most human beings don't like pain and tend to try and avoid it when possible.You said that once the baby was born "poof the pain was gone"...not so much for me. I had an epesiotomy so it wasn't so easy for me after he was here. I wouldn't have been able to move to get up and change him or get him when he needed to eat if it hadn't been for pain meds and I most certainly wouldn't have wanted to feel them cutting me during delivery! Would you have major surgery without some type of pain med or even being totally knocked out? I thank god I had an epidural for that end part and believe me it had nothing to do with wanting to be part of the 'social norm' since society isn't the one feeling the pain. I know I don't like pain since I tend to take medicine when I get a headache or hurt myself so why in the world wouldn't I try to get something for one of the most excruciating pains I've ever had to deal with? I mean come on you're pushing a watermelon out of something that was small enough to comfortably fit maybe a prune (a verrrry small one) and has to strrrrrrrrretch (or get cut) to fit the watermelon.

KSCIIMOM,

I know you started this thread, and I was a bit concerned about how you might interpret some of the comments on this thread, but I don't believe Irijah intended her remarks to seem like an attack.

I don't know how common induction is here, or whether it is done at all. You mention you've had an epidural and an epesiotomy in the past, so you are not pregnant with your first child. If this were your first child and you were at all concerned about pain management or the possible need for specialized neonatal care, I would suggest you might want to reconsider having your child on island. Many women give birth here successfully, and I have several friends who had very good childbirth experiences here. But none of my friends had their first child here, so they knew, for example, that their pelvises were large enough for head and shoulders to pass through, and other such important bits of information. I think it would be very unpleasant for a first time mother who has no idea what to expect to go into labor here, find out there is no epidural available, and then labor extensively without any pain management before it is determined that a C section is necessary. You aren't a first time mother, so you will have to weigh your past experience against the realities of what may or may not be available to you here. It's a tough choice, and my local friends who are mothers are pretty evenly split between giving birth on island and in the states.

I guess I was thinking I would just get answers to the questions about the hospital and services and once I started reading I realized this is a touchy subject and it is definitely easy to take something that is written the wrong way since we can't see the persons face or hear the tone in their voice. I probably should have remembered that when I read the post.
I'm probably most concerend about having another epesiotamy. I know the contractions don't feel good but I can get thru those and I know my little guy made it out so I'm not concered about a C section unless something changes for the second one. I guess we'll just have to really give it some thought when the time comes now that I know what you have all told me.

I understand. It's just more information to factor into your planning, but I've found it's better to have considered the various possibilities than to be surprised when it's too late to exercise choice (like if you're too far along in your pregnancy to fly off island.)