I gave birth to my first child at Heywood Hospital in Gardner, and when I became pregnant with baby number two, I was questioned about whether I would be giving birth at the same hospital. The birthing hospital in Leominster had closed down. So is the maternity ward in Gardner still open? Aren’t they going bankrupt? I can’t speak about their financial status, but their maternity ward is open, and I birthed my second baby, a beautiful baby boy, there in mid-March 2025. So the question is, is Heywood Hospital a good place to give birth? Below is my personal experience giving birth at Heywood Hospital twice.
Birth of My First Child in 2023
When I was pregnant with my first child, there was no question that I would give birth at Heywood Hospital in Gardner. I live 10 minutes away from the hospital, and my OBGYN is right there inside the hospital. Overall, I had a great first experience there. In the months leading up to the birth, I saw all the doctors in circulation, and when I went in for my 40-week NST, I came up with high blood pressure, low fluids, and the baby’s heart rate was high. They told me I was staying and being induced. At 7pm, we started with the pill and moved on to the IV the next day. The epidural didn’t completely work, and I had a “window” where the epi only worked on the right side of my body. I dilated quickly, and my water broke as they were going to up the epi. The doctor arrived just in time to catch my beautiful baby girl, just before 3pm.
The nurses were great, and I was well cared for. I spoke to the lactation consultants when they were around, and the ladies looked after me when I was exhausted or needed someone to look after the baby so I could shower. My husband came and went as he needed and was able to stay the nights with us. I got a pink cake and a receiving blanket and took my little girl home on the coldest weekend of the season.
Birth of My Second Child in 2025
By this point, I was hearing murmurs about whether or not Heywood was open or filing for bankruptcy. UMASS Leominster was closing down, leaving the only other birthing hospitals in my area that people were talking about as St Vincent’s in Worcester or Heywood. Are there other birthing hospitals around? Likely, but with Heywood so close, why wouldn’t I go there again?
I was already a mother of advanced maternal age with my first child, and now at 38, I was a little more advanced in age. Not that this made a difference. My care was still the same for both pregnancies. I saw all the available doctors and was rotated through them, as you never know who will be on call when you give birth. And as an AMA mother, I again went in for ultrasounds and non-stress tests every week. The nurses and the labor and delivery ward remembered me, and I remembered some of them. I’m the only Aussie in the area, so I’m not hard to forget.
My Induction Experience
As my due date came near, my blood pressure issues came back into play; that and my AMA meant that none of the doctors wanted me to carry past my due date, which was a week away. So we made an appointment for me to be induced. Monday? Nope, already 2 inductions scheduled. Tuesday? No can do, 2 C-Sections and 1 induction.
So we scheduled my induction for Wednesday, the day before my due date. I was asked to call up in case someone had given birth, and I could be induced a little earlier. But every time I called up, I was denied and told that there were no beds. This seemed a little odd to me, as there was always space. I assumed it was some kind of protocol that they needed a certain number of beds free for non-planned births. By the time I was able to go in on Wednesday afternoon, I was told that my boy would be the 12th baby that week! No wonder there were no beds available!
My Birthing Experience at Heywood Hospital
I got the call and went on in, and then it followed a very similar pattern to my first birth. I got the pill to induce around 7pm and slept through the night. And by sleeping through the night, I of course mean getting up a good handful of times to drag my very pregnant body and IV pole to the bathroom. My husband was going to be coming and going over the next few days because we had a toddler at home. So they brought him a fold-out bed when he came back to the hospital at night. Luxury! At about 7am, not much was happening, so my OB did a membrane sweep and set me up with Pitocin in the IV. The membrane sweep was a weird feeling. I can’t say I really felt the crochet-type hook actually break my waters, but feeling all that liquid gush and seep out was very strange.
The Pitocin worked quickly, but the issue came with the epidural. I had a bit of an issue last time, and lo and behold, I had a little bit of an issue this time. For some reason, the epi wasn’t working. The anesthesiologist tried three times. I personally felt like the doctor was a little rough, but I was feeling big contractions at the time, and my husband assures me she was being careful and precise. It looked like the third time worked, and they did a little trial of the meds. It ended up being too much and I lost feeling in my whole body (chest and face included), my BP dropped, and I needed to be put on oxygen. The bells were going and people were running. We had to turn the meds off and let them all exit my body. It didn’t take too long before my son was ready to make his entrance.
The doctor and nurses were ready, but I was still half numb and needed help getting my legs into the stirrups, as I couldn’t do it myself. Pushing took longer than with my first, but my husband still tells me it wasn’t all that long. The ladies were all very positive and encouraging and supported me as I struggled to push out my big-headed 8-pound baby boy.
In the end, we didn’t have time to turn the epidural meds back on. So, I did what I had to do with whatever drugs remained in my system. During my recovery, there was always a nurse by my side. Everyone, including the anesthesiologist, kept checking in on me periodically. They made sure I was ok and recovering from the epidural meds. The nurses helped me into a wheelchair, and we made our way to the recovery rooms where I spent the next couple of nights.
My Recovery & Breastfeeding Experience
I struggled with breastfeeding this little boy. Damn did it hurt! My nips were traumatized! Thankfully, there are a number of lactation consultants at Heywood Hospital whom I was able to talk to and get some helpful tips from. The other nurses from the past few days came in to chat and check in on me too, also sharing their knowledge and sympathies at my difficulties breastfeeding. By the second night, I couldn’t continue; it was just too painful. The nurses provided me with what I needed to temporarily switch to formula. I was given multiple bottles of formula and a hand pump to help me out. When I left the hospital, I had a whole bag full of formula bottles!
I had to stay in the hospital the full three days for extra blood pressure checks since it was an issue again during my birth. Everyone I dealt with, on whatever shift, was aware of my situation and always ready to help. I felt very well looked after because the staff communicated.
My Experience with the Food & Extra Supplies
I will say that the food at the hospital was not great and often undercooked. But there were enough extras to keep me happy, like the slice of lemon cake that was huge and ever tasty! If there wasn’t a product I needed already supplied in the bathroom, it was given to me. And of course I took all the baby things home with me, because I’m not saying no to that packet of wipes and diapers! I was set up with a lactation consultant appointment, meds, and my follow-up appointments all before I was discharged.
So while my birthing experience wasn’t the best (but when are they ever, really?) I felt very well looked after during my stay at Heywood Hospital. The doctors and nurses were friendly, and I received top-notch care. I would definitely recommend giving birth at Heywood Hospital to anyone who lives in the area.
