When Lisa Green was gearing up for her third delivery, she thought she was all set. Having successfully undergone a VBAC before, she had her birthing team ready for action. But as fate would have it, her baby had other plans, arriving in the family car parked right outside Sunshine Regional Hospital.
Her birth photographer, Sarah Thompson, was there to document the occasion, expecting to capture the moment inside the hospital. Instead, she ended up snapping incredible shots of the birth in the Jeep. Those photos quickly went viral, showcasing the unexpected beauty of the moment.
While Lisa’s baby was born healthy, the situation took a stressful twist once they entered the hospital. “After we were admitted, they took the baby to the nursery for a check-up. The neonatologist ordered a blood culture,” Lisa explained. She claims that the nurse failed to clean the baby prior to the blood draw, resulting in a positive test that led to a 24-hour NICU stay and five rounds of antibiotics.
After two subsequent tests came back negative, Lisa and her partner decided to leave the hospital, realizing the initial test must have been contaminated. “The bacteria that grew was staphylococcus hominis, which is usually found on human skin,” she said. To add insult to injury, the couple received a $4,000 bill for the NICU stay, which they argue was due to a hospital error.
On top of that, they were slapped with a hefty $7,431.45 delivery room fee, despite having delivered their baby in a vehicle outside. “I have to give credit to the nurse who helped suction the baby and the midwife who assisted with the delivery,” Lisa shared during a Facebook Live video. “But charging us nearly seven grand for a roundabout delivery is absurd. I wasn’t even admitted until after I delivered the placenta.”
The hospital responded by claiming the situation involved a “complex delivery due to precipitous labor.” They noted that additional resources, including three nurses and a nurse-midwife, were sent to assist with the delivery in the parking lot.
Despite the chaos, Lisa remembers the experience as overwhelmingly beautiful, but the stress of the NICU admission turned it into a nightmare. “I should have just stayed home and delivered her there,” she confided.
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In summary, Lisa’s unexpected delivery outside the hospital turned into a costly ordeal with NICU charges and delivery fees that she feels are unjust. While she cherishes the moment of bringing her baby into the world, the aftermath of the experience highlights the unpredictability of childbirth and the challenges that can arise.