7 Things to Know About Giving Birth at Ochsner in New Orleans—and How to Advocate for Yourself
In 2022, I found out I was pregnant for the very first time.
Things were going well: I was healthy and carrying a pregnancy without any complications. As a first-time mom, I was nervous but excited to welcome my first child into the world.
All was going well until I was induced at Ochsner.
My care was rocky from the start.
One morning, I went in for a routine screening and a nurse told me I needed to be induced. When I asked to speak with my doctor first, she refused and instead, she told me that if I didn’t go to Labor & Delivery, I’d be discharged “Against Medical Advice.”
I felt caught off guard, scared, and backed into a corner.
Without anyone explaining my test results or why induction was recommended, I went to be induced, extremely upset.
After a 30-hour failed induction, I was taken for a C-section due to failure to progress. Both my baby and I were stable.
Even so, during the procedure a torn artery went unnoticed resulting in a 6-liter hemorrhage that almost killed me.
I had to undergo an emergency hysterectomy.
In a single, irreversible moment, the ability to have a second child was taken from me and my family forever.
The day I became a mother became the day that I could never become a mother again, and this has been devastating beyond words.
The trauma didn’t end there.
In the months that followed, I navigated a maze of unanswered questions, fragmented postpartum care, and confusion over what happened.
Initially, I thought my experience was rare, just bad luck.
But as I began sharing my story, dozens of women reached out to share their own traumatic birth experiences at Ochsner and beyond.
Friends shared official grievances they filed with Ochsner.
They spoke of unclear communication about interventions that left them traumatized, delays in postpartum care that led to complications, and lack of informed consent.
These women’s traumatic birth experiences moved me to take action. Over the past two years, I’ve worked hard to engage Ochsner in meaningful conversation about reducing preventable birth trauma.
I documented my experience in an eight-page report, outlining key data and recommendations, many of which are already standard practice in other health systems.
In 2024, I met with the head of women’s services hoping for real dialogue.
Unfortunately, there was no follow-up.
The patient advocate I worked with left Ochsner, and her replacement resisted any follow-up.
I was advised to pursue change through a patient advisory committee, one I applied to over two years ago.
It has never met.
To this day, I still have not received a response from Ochsner to the report I submitted on improving maternal care from my near-death experience and loss of fertility, all of which were preventable.
It’s clear to me that Ochsner has no intention of improving based on women’s lived experiences.
So that’s why I’m writing this.
I’m sharing my story because it’s not just mine.
Experiences like mine are happening far too often at Ochsner and beyond, and they demand urgent attention and change.
Most importantly, you deserve to know what you’re walking into—and you have the right to demand transparent care.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Serious Interventions are more common at Ochsner than expressed
A doctor you’ve never met will likely deliver your baby at Ochsner
Residents will be involved in your care at Ochsner whether you want them to be or not
Induction of labor without informed consent happens at Ochsner
There’s no support in Labor & Delivery at Ochsner to help patients understand what happened to them during birth
It’s hard to access timely postpartum care at Ochsner
There are no mental health professionals in Labor & Delivery at Ochsner
Share Your Story: If you or a loved one experienced a traumatic birth at a Louisiana hospital, leave a comment on this blog and use this form to share your story. We’re gathering stories to show how widespread these issues are to push for change. Your voice matters. Together, we can demand better care.
Want all the advocacy questions in one place? Download the full list here and use it as a guide.
1. Serious Interventions Are More Common at Ochsner Than Expressed
What Ochsner said in Birth Classes: Interventions are “rare,” used “sometimes,” and only when necessary.
The Reality: You deserve data on how often interventions are used so you can plan accordingly. Data suggests that 40% of births at Ochsner involve C-sections, forceps, or vacuum-assisted deliveries. (see sources below).
When choosing where to give birth, I researched hospital safety as best I could. I knew the U.S. had a high maternal mortality rate and that hospitals varied widely in safety.
Louisiana ranks in the bottom 5 states for maternal outcomes, and a 2023 report found that 93% of maternal deaths in Louisiana were preventable.
I found Ochsner Baptist’s self-reported C-section rate from Leapfrog, a national organization that gathers hospital safety data (As of 2025, it is 25.7%, higher than Leapfrog’s safety benchmark of 23.6%. Read more about that here.).
However, I couldn’t find any data on forceps or vacuum-assisted deliveries (known as operative deliveries).
I wanted that data because, while these interventions can be life-saving, they come with serious risks for both mother and baby.
Furthermore, studies show the use of forceps and vacuums varies widely by region, hospital, and even doctor.
In the Northeast, fewer than 5% of births involve forceps or vacuum deliveries, while in the South the rate is 20–25%.
So, when I attended Ochsner’s birthing class and the topic of operative deliveries came up, I asked the facilitator: "What percentage of births at Ochsner require forceps or vacuum?"
She looked surprised, shook her head, and said, “we don’t know that number but it’s rare.”
Fast-forward to my labor. The attending physician recommended forceps. When I asked how often she used them in births, she said 20% of the births she delivers require forceps.
I was stunned. 1 in 5 births is not rare. That’s a significant number, one that should be openly discussed so patients can make choices and prepare.
When you combine Ochsner’s 25.7% C-section rate with an estimated 20% forceps/vacuum rate, at least 40% of births at Ochsner involve a C-section, forceps, or vacuum.
Now, you might ask, “Can you really combine an official C-section rate with an off-the-cuff figure from a doctor?”
That’s exactly my point. Ochsner should disclose full intervention rates instead of forcing patients to piece together scattered data.
Until then, this is the only data I could find.
Why Transparency Matters
Interventions can be life-saving but come with risks, and decision-making in the moment isn’t always clear or absolute.
For example, research is still inconclusive on whether operative deliveries lead to better outcomes than C-sections when considering maternal trauma and long-term health effects (source).
Furthermore, data also shows that the use of interventions during birth is not consistent across hospitals and can even be attributed to the culture of how the hospital practices.
Here’s one example: data shows that being able to push in different positions, not just on your back, reduces the need for interventions like forceps, vacuums, and C-sections.
At Ochsner, once I got the epidural, I was only allowed to push on my back. In contrast, when my sister gave birth at Advent Health in Colorado, the nurses not only allowed her to push in different positions WITH an epidural, but they guided her through them without her having to advocate for it.
Understanding Data
Hospitals often explain high rates of medical interventions during birth by saying something like,“Well, we treat a lot of high-risk patients who need them.”
It sounds reasonable, but it’s not the whole story.
A hospital’s C-section rate published by organizations like Leapfrog does NOT include every C-section at that hospital.
Instead, it uses the NTSV C-section rate, and it only includes lower-risk patients that are:
Nulliparous – first-time moms
Term – full-term pregnancies
Singleton – one baby (no twins or multiples)
Vertex – baby is head-down
Why? This lower-risk group should have a lower intervention rate, and if it doesn’t, it could suggest an issue with the overuse of interventions.
Now, it’s true that this rate DOES include patients with pre-existing conditions like hypertension, diabetes, etc.
And often doctors will say these patients require more interventions.
But if that’s the case, they need to provide data to back that claim up. What percentage of patients have pre-existing conditions? Is that above or below the national average? By how much?
The bottom line:
If a hospital says they have a high use of interventions due to more medically complex patients, it’s fair to ask:
What percentage of your patients have those conditions?
Is that higher than the national average? What is the national average?
What is your NSTV C-section rate for patients that do NOT have those pre-existing conditions?
If the hospital cannot provide this data, it’s hard to know whether high intervention rates are about patient needs or just how the hospital practices medicine.
Without clear numbers, it’s mostly guesswork.
And to be clear: if you are a high-risk patient, you still deserve safe, thoughtful use of interventions, too.
HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF
Ask your hospital for data on the interventions listed below. You deserve this information so you can choose a hospital that helps you prepare for the kind of birth you want.
If they say they don’t have the numbers, ask who does because this data exists.
And if they won’t disclose this data to you, it’s a red flag.
Ask About C-Section Rates
What is your C-section rate for low-risk, first-time pregnancies (the NTSV C-Section rate)?
Why is it above or below the safety benchmark of 23.6% established by Leapfrog, the standard for safety which Ochsner and Touro report their birthing data?
If a provider says they treat a higher-risk population, remind them that the NSTV C-section rate excludes many high-risk patients.
You would like to know what percentage of patients have pre-existing conditions and are considered higher risk. How does that compare to the the national average? (See Leapfrog’s full maternity report here: Leapfrog Maternity Report)
And if you are high-risk, you still deserve to know the intervention rates that apply to higher-risk patients and how it compares to other hospitals. Ask for that data, too.
ASK ABOUT OPERATIVE DELIVERIES
What percentage of low-risk, first-time vaginal births (NSTV) involve forceps or vacuum (operative delivery) at this hospital?
Of those births, how often do severe tears occur (3rd or 4th degree)?
What are your practices for preventing severe tears during birth and during operative deliveries?
ASK ABOUT CHOOSING A C-SECTION VS. OPERATIVE DELIVERY
In what situations would you recommend an operative delivery instead of a C-section, or vice versa?
If your provider says “that depends on the situation,” offer an example of a common situation:
For example, if my labor stalls after pushing for a long time and I can’t get my baby out, can you discuss the risks and benefits of getting a C-Section vs. attempting delivery via Forceps or Vacuum?
What do you typically recommend in this scenario?
Can I decline the use of forceps or vacuum and choose a C-section instead, if needed?
Want all these advocacy questions in one place? Download the full list here and use it as a guide.
2. A doctor you’ve never met will likely deliver your baby at Ochsner
What my Ochsner Provider Said: "I try my best to attend all my patients’ deliveries."
The Reality: Whether your OBGYN at Ochsner delivers your baby depends on their shift schedule. There’s a good chance they won’t be there.
While it’s understandable that no doctor can attend every delivery, Ochsner offers little to no information about which other providers might be involved in your birth. This leaves patients without the opportunity to build trust or receive truly personalized care.
Background
I spent months building trust with my OBGNY at Ochsner. I even switched from Touro to Ochsner to ensure I found a doctor I trusted.
My doctor assured me she’d do her best to be there for my birth, but when the day came, she wasn’t. No explanation was provided.
When complications arose, a torn artery, six liters of blood loss, and a hysterectomy, I had no idea if the doctor I had just met at that moment had made the best decisions for me.
What were the credentials of this doctor whom I had never met? Would my OBGYN have taken a different approach?
Here’s how it works at Ochsner:
Your OBGYN has scheduled shifts, and if you deliver during their shift, they’ll be there. If not, you’re assigned the provider on-call.
This approach isn’t inherently bad. It’s true that a doctor cannot deliver every single baby for every single patient, especially with the high volume of patients OBGYNs are now required to see.
However, transparency is essential.
Patients deserve to know upfront which doctors and residents might be involved in their care.
Some hospitals address this by organizing small shared groups of doctors so patients can meet everyone who might deliver their baby, like AdventHealth Castle Rock, where my sister delivered.
At the very least, Ochsner should offer patients a pamphlet listing all potential providers, including residents, to help set expectations.
Why Personalized Care Matters
For many of the women I spoke with, the lack of personalized care at Ochsner was one of the biggest sources of stress and trauma.
One woman I had coffee with suffered a birth injury from a provider at Ochsner she had never met until delivery, a result of interventions that she had questioned and resisted.
Another woman who delivered her baby just a day before me said she got her doctor’s cell number, and had her husband text her updates during labor. She was terrified of being left in the care of a doctor she didn’t know, and the only reason her doctor showed up for delivery was because her husband coordinated it himself.
A former work colleague shared a grievance letter she wrote to Ochsner after the traumatic birth of her first child. She described a rotating cast of providers who failed to communicate with her, nearly resulting in an unnecessary C-section until her and her husband intervened.
That type of scrambling shouldn’t be necessary.
This lack of transparency ignores what women in New Orleans are asking for to have safe births.
Here’s the ironic thing: When my mother gave birth to me at the very same hospital (Baptist) her care was shared across a group of OBs. She knew who would be delivering her baby.
This is no longer the case at Ochsner Baptist.
When I spoke to Ochsner about this, they told me it’s “impossible” essentially due to their large staff, but this isn't how it works at other practices, including other large hospital systems in the parts of the U.S. as I mentioned above.
The Bottom Line
Ochsner is not transparent about who will deliver your baby.
Personalized care matters, and hospitals can balance work-life needs for doctors while still honoring the trust patients place in their providers.
Furthermore, Ochsner doesn’t support providers in helping patients understand what to expect if their primary OBGYN isn’t available. There’s no meet-and-greet with the Labor & Delivery team, not even a basic pamphlet introducing the staff who might be involved in their care.
How to Advocate for Yourself
To understand how staffing works, ask your provider:
How does your hospital’s shift system work for Labor & Delivery?
What happens if you’re not on call when I go into labor?
Who else might deliver my baby if you’re unavailable?
Can you provide me with a list of doctors and residents who might deliver my baby? I understand your staff is big and it might be a long list, and that’s ok.
How can I meet those doctors before my due date?
If I feel uncomfortable with certain doctors, can I request they be excluded from my care? What’s the process for that, and who would step in instead?
Want all these advocacy questions in one place? Download the full list here.
3. Residents Will Be Involved in Your Care at Ochsner Whether You Want Them to be or Not
What Ochsner Says in Birth Classes: You can choose whether residents are involved in your care.
The Reality: Ochsner staffs Labor & Delivery with residents who are expected to provide routine care. Your ability to limit their involvement is minimal. Ochsner is NOT set up to provide care only from attending physicians.
Background:
To start, let’s get clear on residents' role in the medical system:
Residents are doctors-in-training who can only practice under supervision. Here’s what residents can do and the difference between residents vs. attending physicians.
In Ochsner’s birthing class, we were told we would always have the right to decide if residents were involved in our care.
That was not the case.
There were times when I specifically requested that a physician, not a resident, perform procedures like breaking my water, but I was pressured to allow a resident to perform the procedure.
I was told things like “no physicians are available” and assured that the resident was highly experienced.
It became clear that Ochsner staffs Labor & Delivery heavily with residents who are expected to routinely deliver care.
When my requests for physicians didn’t align with their staffing model, I faced pushback.
While I was told I had a choice, in practice, I did not.
Respecting PATIENTS’ preferences for Residents
I recognize that comfort with residents is a deeply personal choice.
Some patients are comfortable with their involvement, others are not, and some may feel differently depending on the situation.
That said, I did not want a resident to perform procedures on me and I had to advocate for this constantly.
Understanding how Ochsner uses residents, like what procedures they’re expected to deliver, how they assist in major surgeries, and when a resident might even perform a surgery, is something that needs way more education and transparency.
I also want to note: residents are required to have proper oversight to safely deliver care. It’s worth sharing the reports of improper supervision of residents at Touro, the second-largest birthing hospital in New Orleans, that have resulted in deaths and severe complications.
The issue isn’t whether residents should be involved in care. It’s that patients deserve the right to understand their role upfront and make that choice.
HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF
1. Ask how the Hospital Uses Residents
What procedures do residents routinely perform during labor and delivery, and which procedures are typically done by attending physicians?
Probe: Would a resident place an epidural? Break my water? Perform a C-section? Deliver my baby? Use forceps or a vacuum?
Has there been a situation at this hospital where a resident performed a major surgery like a C-Section because an attending physician was unavailable? Why did that happen? How often does that happen?
2. Ask About Supervision of Residents
In what situations might an attending physician not be in the room when residents are delivering care? For which procedures?
3. Request to Meet the Residents or Get their Names
Most hospitals have a list of their residents online listed by seniority. Here is Ochsner’s list of OBGYN residents. Senior residents have more experience.
4. Clarify Your Preferences in Advance
State in writing which procedures you want a physician to perform and confirm with your provider beforehand that this is possible.
5. Ask for Clear Identification
It’s not always clear if a provider is a resident. Ask:
Are you a resident or an attending physician?
Want all the advocacy questions in one place? Download the full list here.
4. Induction of Labor Without Informed Consent Happens at Ochsner
Background:
I know Induction without informed consent happens frequently at Ochsner because when I shared my story online, numerous women left comments and sent DM’s sharing similar experiences.
But first, what is informed consent? This Informed Consent Guide explains it well:
Informed consent means your provider fully explains all your options, including declining an intervention, and discusses the risks and benefits of each.
For example, they might say:
"This is why I recommend induction of labor. You also have the choice not to be induced, and here are the risks and benefits of that option."
At Ochsner, I was denied access to my doctor when I asked to speak to her about being induced.
Then I was intimidated into an induction.
Here’s what happened:
As I neared the end of my pregnancy, my doctor recommended nonstress tests to check on the baby’s well-being.
We had scheduled the test early, followed by an appointment with my doctor to discuss the results.
After the test, a nurse pulled back the curtain and said, “You didn’t pass my test, which means you’re going to have your baby today.”
I was taken aback. I was not convinced that I needed an induction. I had read about inconsistent results during non-stress tests that could lead to unnecessary inductions.
Furthermore, I also knew that my baby was asleep during the test, which can produce misleading results.
I would certainly get induced if it were medically necessary, but I still had questions about that.
“Can I talk to my doctor?” I asked. “I have an appointment with her in 30 minutes.”
The nurse called but couldn’t reach my doctor.
“Your doctor isn’t answering,” she said impatiently. “I let her staff know that we are sending you to labor and delivery for induction.”
I froze. This wasn’t my plan, and no one had explained anything.
“Okay, well, can I wait to talk to my doctor? My appointment is literally in 30 minutes. I need to go home, too, and eat and grab my hospital bag.”
What the nurse said next will stay with me forever:
“Well, if you leave here without going to labor and delivery right now, you’ll have to sign a form saying you went against medical advice (AMA),” she said sharply. “We are not responsible if something bad happens to you and your baby.”
I froze, terrified. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to talk to my doctor, but I was denied that option. Now, I was being told something bad might happen to my baby? I was scared.
“Uhhh okay?” I said, feeling lost and unmoored. I cried. I wandered up to labor and delivery.
My husband tried to comfort me. “We should just go to the appointment with the doctor instead,” he whispered.
But when we checked the time of the appointment on my phone, the nurse had canceled it.
I started my birth scared and confused, without anyone ever explaining the test results or why I should be induced.
This was NOT informed consent:
No provider discussed my test results or why induction was being recommended.
No provider explained the risks and benefits of induction versus not being induced.
A healthcare professional used intimidation to get consent, saying I would have to sign an Against Medical Advice (AMA) form and something “bad” would happen if I didn’t get induced immediately (even though this was NOT a medical emergency).
The Outcome
I later experienced a cascade of complications: a failed induction, a C-section, an artery tear, a 6-liter hemorrhage, and, ultimately, a hysterectomy.
Later, I was told that induction of labor with prolonged use of Pitocin was a known risk factor.
I was furious. I had tried repeatedly to ask questions and express my hesitations.
But that conversation was denied to me.
Now I was left asking those very same questions after losing my ability to ever have a child again:
Why was I induced at all?
Was it even necessary?
Urgency vs. Emergency
It took me a long time to figure out that an induction is NEVER an emergency, even though the nurse had used language to make it feel that way.
Yes, an induction CAN be urgent, but an emergency would have required an immediate C-section, not a 36-hour induction (the duration of my induction).
There was ample time to get informed consent.
An emergency during labor and delivery is a life-threatening situation requiring rapid medical intervention. The goal is to prevent death or serious harm to the mother or baby.
An urgent situation requires prompt attention but allows time to seek informed consent and evaluate options. The goal is to prevent the condition from deteriorating to an emergency.
HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF
Ask if it’s a Medical Emergency
Medical staff may use urgent language to push for an immediate decision, but urgency is NOT an emergency. Ask: “Is this a medical emergency? Why? Is there time for me to get informed consent?”State your Right to Informed Consent
You can say something like: “Before moving forward, I want to make sure I’m given informed consent, which means I’d like to talk with a provider about all my options and the risks and benefits of each option. Are you licensed to have that conversation? If not, that’s okay; can you please tell me who I can talk to so I can make an informed decision?”
Want all these advocacy questions in one place? Download the full list here.
5. There’s No Support in Labor & Delivery at Ochsner to Help Patients Understand What Happened During Birth
What Happened
After I woke up from multiple surgeries, a doctor briefly visited my room to explain why I nearly died and ended up with a hysterectomy during my healthy pregnancy.
Midway through the conversation, she was paged and never returned.
I was hospitalized for a week, but no one else from the surgical team ever came by to explain what happened to me.
I left Ochsner with little understanding of what happened and no guidance on how to contact my surgical team or request that information.
In Other Hospitals:
In other hospitals, patient advocates and social workers are assigned to support patients after unexpected outcomes. These professionals work closely with the clinical team to guide both patients and providers through complex situations.
What happened
When I woke up, I had no idea what had happened to me.
My pregnancy had been healthy and uncomplicated. My C-section wasn’t an emergency, everyone was stable. Why did I almost die and end up with a hysterectomy?
I asked to speak with the attending physician who had performed my C-section whom I had never met before my delivery.
She visited the next day and began explaining what happened, but in the middle of our conversation, she was paged and left.
She never came back to finish explaining what happened.
I later learned from my medical records that an entire team had been involved in my surgery: multiple anesthesiologists managing a massive blood transfusion, a gynecologic oncologist overseeing the hysterectomy, residents, and nurses.
Yet after that short interrupted visit, not one of those providers visited me during my entire hospital stay to explain what they had done and why a hysterectomy was necessary.
After many, many months of extreme distress and research (including connecting with other women who had emergency hysterectomies during birth at other hospitals), I discovered that other health systems do much better at making sure women understand their outcomes.
Ochsner’s lack of communication is both unacceptable and unethical.
At other hospitals:
Women are offered a debrief with their medical team during their hospital stay OR are given clear instructions on how to request one after.
Women are automatically assigned a patient advocate during unexpected outcomes to help facilitate post-delivery conversations between patients and providers.
Women receive visits from the key providers involved in their care throughout their hospital stay, walking them through their case and why decisions were made.
None of this happened at Ochsner because there was no infrastructure to facilitate it.
No one at Ochsner told me about the patient advocacy department during my hospital stay.
I was discharged without a thorough explanation and no guidance on how to get answers.
One thing is clear to me: Ochsner supports neither patients nor providers during unexpected and traumatic outcomes during birth.
I’ve spoken to many women who had different complications but the same experience of poor communication.
This is a reflection of Ochsner’s culture. It needs to change.
How to Advocate for Yourself
Request a Debrief with Your Full Medical Team
No matter what your outcome was, you deserve to understand exactly what happened to you and your baby during birth. You can request a meeting with your medical team (called a debrief) to get these answers — even months or years after discharge. This meeting should be free of charge and can include doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, and specialists, anyone involved in your care. You can request this through the Patient & Provider Advocacy department at Ochsner.Access Your Full Medical Record
This is different than MyChart notes. Your full medical record is thousands of pages long and includes all notes and procedures. Learn how to request it from Ochsner here. Legally, you do not need to provide Ochsner with a reason for requesting it (even though they ask).Report Any Discrepancies
Providers are responsible for keeping accurate medical records. If you find discrepancies in your chart, report them to the hospital immediately.
Want all these advocacy questions in one place? Download the full list here.
6. It’s hard to access timely Postpartum Care at Ochsner
What Ochsner Said to Me at Discharge: “Go to the labor and delivery emergency room for serious issues, and call your OBGYN immediately for other concerns.”
The Reality: Getting timely postpartum care is a struggle. Wait times for appointments lasting days can delay treatment and increase the risk of complications. After six weeks, you’re no longer eligible for emergency services in labor and delivery.
What Happened:
At six weeks postpartum, I developed red lumps around my C-section incision. The next day, I spiked a fever.
After almost dying in childbirth, I was terrified. I called the labor and delivery ER, only to be told I was two days past their six-week postpartum care limit and ineligible for their services.
The ER told me to call my doctor’s office. No appointments for days.
After breaking down in tears, I was finally “squeezed in” to see a nurse practitioner.
She asked if I had used a new laundry detergent. Maybe I had a rash from that.
I was beside myself. I told her I had NOT changed laundry detergents, but I had lost six liters of blood in childbirth, nearly died, and undergone multiple surgeries and blood transfusions, including an emergency hysterectomy. Was this a complication related to this?
She had no answers. I left with no diagnosis, no treatment, and no trust in my care.
This isn’t just my story.
A few months ago, a friend told me about her battle with life-threatening mastitis at Ochsner.
Her provider at Ochsner dismissed her worsening symptoms that were not responding to oral antibiotics.
Desperate, she went to the ER where they told her she was on the verge of life-threatening sepsis and needed IV antibiotics immediately.
They told her she would likely need surgery to remove the infection.
Later, specialists told her that she could have prevented this if she had gone to her doctor sooner, but she likely didn’t know that because she was a “new mom.”
Furious, my friend corrected the providers: she HAD gone to her doctor earlier, but her doctor had dismissed her worsening symptoms and refused to see her.
Did you know that 65% of maternal deaths occur after birth?
The fact that postpartum care is so hard to access at Ochsner is a huge problem.
How to Advocate for Yourself
Establish a postpartum care plan BEFORE you give birth. Ask your doctor:
If the hospital uses MyChart messaging:
How long will it take me to get a response via the messaging portal?
What should I do if I need an answer sooner?
Do you respond to messages on weekends and holidays?
After-hours care: Is there a 24/7 postpartum helpline?
Weekend care: If I need treatment for something my doctor normally handles (ex: mastitis) how can I get care after hours or on weekends?
No appointments available: What are my options if I’m told there’s no availability but I need to be seen today? Where should I go?
Emergency care:
When should I go to the ER?
Which ER is best for postpartum care?
If there is a labor and delivery emergency room, how long am I eligible for their services?
If I have an issue after six weeks postpartum and I cannot go to that labor & delivery emergency room, what would be the next best ER to go to?
If you are being denied care or told “not to worry,” trust yourself.
Your Symptoms Matter: If something feels wrong, you are not being “anxious”. If you do not get an answer that meets your needs, ask for a second opinion from a different provider in that hospital or go to another health system if possible.
Be Direct and Firm: Ask, “What is the medical basis for delaying my care?”
Document Everything, especially refusals to be seen by your providers: Keep records of symptoms, doctor visits, phone calls, and any refusals you receive.
Leverage Your Insurance: Call your insurer to ask what your options are if you’re being denied care.
Want all these advocacy questions in one place? Download the full list here.
7. There are no mental health professionals in Labor & Delivery at Ochsner
What I Asked For: After my traumatic birth and loss of my fertility (6L blood loss, DIC, hysterectomy), I asked to see a mental health specialist during my hospital stay.
The Reality: No mental health provider ever came because Ochsner does not staff mental health professionals in Labor & Delivery.
Background:
After my baby was born, my husband was sent out of the C-section room with our baby, reassured I’d be following in 15 minutes. An hour passed. Then two. Then three. He begged to go back in, but they refused.
Four hours later, I was wheeled in unconscious. He was terrified.
When I woke up, I was terrified, too.
Desperate, we asked a nurse if there was a social worker or therapist available. She gave us a blank look and said, “I’ll write that request in your chart.”
No mental health professional ever came. I later found out this is because there are no mental health professionals are on staff.
Did you know that suicide is the number one cause of maternal death in the U.S?
This is a real crisis, one many hospitals fail to address.
In my meetings with Ochsner, I raised this issue. They said they had been trying to hire a mental health provider for ages but wanted a prescribing doctor, and those are hard to find.
I explained that a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) making regular rounds would be a great starting point to offer some resources and support.
LCSWs are much easier to hire than prescribing physicians. I even sent Ochsner a list of local perinatal mental health providers in New Orleans.
No response.
HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF
Advocating for yourself when you’re mentally unwell is an enormous challenge, often impossible. That’s why hospitals like Ochsner need to take the initiative.
At a minimum, Ochsner should staff LCSWs to make regular rounds in Labor & Delivery. It’s a basic investment that could provide critical support during one of the most vulnerable moments of a patient’s life.
In the meantime, Postpartum International has a directory of local mental health providers who specialize in maternal mental health issues: https://psidirectory.com/
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In conclusion
Thank you for reading this far. I hope the self-advocacy tips I provided help you get the answers you need to ultimately have a safe birth experience.
At the same time, it should NOT be the responsibility of birthing people to constantly advocate for themselves. Informed consent, transparency, and trauma-informed care should be standard practices at Ochsner and everywhere.
From my research, I found that hospitals in other parts of the country have already adopted these practices, showing that change is possible. Ochsner can do the same.
I know many women who have expressed grievances to Ochsner, only to feel unheard. Myself included.
But these are solvable issues, and it’s time for Ochsner to step up and provide the level of care that women deserve.
Did you unheard during delivery?
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Notes about this Article
Supporting Healthcare Workers: In this article, I shared my experiences with providers, but I want to be clear: this article is not about assigning blame to healthcare workers; it’s about building a system that works better for patients AND providers alike. How can we expect providers to deliver patient-centered care if the culture of Ochsner prevents that? I fault the leadership at Ochsner for refusing to listen to women and make basic changes to support patients AND providers.
Why this matters. In Louisiana, we don’t have many options for where to give birth. Ochsner is the largest health system and employer in the entire state, and almost all private OBGYN practices in New Orleans have been absorbed by Ochsner or LCMC. For many of us, we can’t simply go somewhere else to get healthcare. If Ochsner fixes these issues, it will improve maternal care for MANY women in Louisiana.
Ochsner vs. Touro: In New Orleans, Ochsner and Touro are often seen as the two main options for giving birth. From my research, it is my opinion that Touro is NOT a safe place to give birth. Touro has faced serious safety allegations including a 2019 report by USA Today highlighting high maternal mortality rates at Touro and the 2023 loss of Brooke Shandloff Fernandez. Touro denied the claims from USA Today but provided NO data to assert its safety, and has yet to announce any corrective actions.
Finally, these issues are fixable. I specifically chose issues that I heard most often from women across New Orleans AND can be addressed without overhauling everything. While my own story includes many more layers, including the interventions that almost killed me, I’ve focused on issues that are both widespread and fixable. Addressing these issues would help reduce preventable birth trauma and give women the information they need to make decisions on where to give birth.
A NOTE TO MY COMMUNITY
To those who had a positive birth experience, I am truly grateful. Every woman deserves that, yet far too many do not, especially in Louisiana. Having a safe birth doesn’t have to be “luck of the draw.” Please share this article so we can gather stories and make our voices heard.
To those who had a traumatic birth experience, I am so sorry. You deserved better. Please know that your experiences are valid and your trauma is real, even if others say otherwise.
Did you experience a traumatic birth or feel unheard during delivery?
Share your story in the comments below.
Your voice matters and speaking up helps improve care for future generations.