Kaiser Maternity Hospital - Oakland

I gave birth at Kaiser in late 2021 and had a wonderful experience. Attentive staff and they were very supportive of our choices. We had a private room for each phase (waiting to dilate, delivery, and post-care). They also provided lactation specialists who visited me quite often during my stay.

Following! I am currently poised to deliver there in Sept! Have had great prenatal appts so far. The big advice I've been told is to call ahead if you're expecting to go in to get a status on census because they may direct you to San Leandro or Walnut Creek depending on bed availability

A few months ago. We had a very long medically necessary induction, so we were there for several days and worked with lots of different nurses and providers. We received exceptional care. Highly recommend!

Hello,

I’m about to give birth any day now and I work at Kaiser. From my colleagues who have given birth, the overall consensus was to avoid Kaiser Oakland. It is a teaching hospital, which means you’ll have residents working on you as well (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it can delay things, more room for error). And, they seem to be either over crowded or under staffed where folks ended up having negative experiences. One of my colleagues is a physician, and even she said to stay away from Oakland. That being said, I also had a friend who had a positive experience. So, if you are unable to move care to another Kaiser, Oakland will probably be fine, you may need to advocate more for you needs. I moved my care to San Leandro and it’s been a very positive experience. I’ve also heard great things about Kaiser Walnut Creek. 
 

Hope this helps!
 

Yes, I gave birth there in March this year and had a wonderfully positive experience. I am sure it depends on your medical team, however, and whether they're right for you. I got lucky with a fantastic day nurse and I felt like I was in incredible hands as she helped my baby descend and get into position while keeping an eye on her heart rate. The anesthesiologist who administered my epidural was funny, kind, and extremely professional/competent. I felt like I was in amazing hands with him; I was never scared something would go wrong. The first OB who tried to deliver my baby during the pushing stage was relatively inexperienced (1st year resident) and I didn't click with her, and her negative attitude was discouraging to me. My doula asked our (night) nurse that a more senior doctor attend my delivery, which the night nurse kindly and quickly arranged. The senior doctor I got was the chief resident and she was just wonderful. As a first time mom, I got through labor with no perineal tearing and only needing two small stitches. Our baby was healthy and strong. I highly recommend advocating for yourself if you don't like a member of your medical team, whoever it is. You have a right to switch personnel. It made a world of difference for me.

I will say, it was a lot harder to get lactation support in the hospital than I would have liked. But we eventually got the help we needed by asking and asking. Wishing you luck!! FWIW I wouldn't hesitate to deliver at Kaiser Oakland again.

I have and the staff are great. Youll be in good hands. I had my baby right after COVID and there were tons of doctors and nurses. If you’re not comfortable with that then let them know. But everything was clean and people were helpful. Youll have everything youll need too. Don’t think I touched my bag even, except for my charger for my phone. 

I gave birth there on October 2023.

The bad:

The entrance is super public and the intake can be slow. As in, every single person will look alarmed and ask if you are OK while you have contractions in the hallway and elevator on the way to L&D.

They were SUPER weird about food. As in, I don't want "but it doesn't have any protein" to be part of the conversation when I ask for juice while in labor. 

The good:

The room was spacious and my partner was able to camp out comfortably. 

The sought informed consent for all of the steps. 

They had a lot of routine procedures that they have tuned over time to increase your chance of a smooth recovery for the parent.

They have a lot of routine and schedule for the wellness of the baby, so you don't have to think about follow up appointments.

I had a c section there almost 2 years ago. Both my sisters and my best friend delivered vaginally there within the last year. We all had wonderful experiences and were well taken care of! I enjoyed the food but loved that Piedmont Ave was close by so my husband could grab me some Belotti and Dona for dinner. The Maternity Unit is relatively new and in very good condition. 

Hi! I gave birth at Kaiser Oakland in February and I had a really great experience. We had planned on going to Kaiser San Leandro because we'd heard great things about KSL and mixed things about KO, but I ended up needing an emergency induction and we live next to KO, so that's where we went. All of our nurses and doctors were amazing. My birth experience was not easy, but the staff really made the entire experience feel okay. One thing to keep in mind is that it's a teaching hospital, so there may be extra staff involved in your experience and/or people who may not be veteran doctors and nurses, but that had no negative bearing on my experience I felt that the quality of care was really great. For what it's worth, I was relatively wary of what my experience would be going in because I was not thrilled with my Kaiser Oakland prenatal care, but the Labor and Delivery Department felt really different and it was a relief. 

I gave birth in October 2023. I’m not sure if that’s within the timeframe you’re looking for. I was induced at 37 weeks for medical reasons. I think I had just about everything done there you could have — foley bulb, pitocin, epidural… it was a process and every single provider I worked with was excellent. Some I vibed with more than others, however everyone provided exceptional care. Personally, my OB also worked in L&D and I got to see her during my multi-day stay, which was a comforting bonus. 

I gave birth (first time) at Kaiser Oakland in September '23 and had an extremely positive experience, both in terms of the birth and the post-partum and newborn care. I know every birth is unique and there are so many variables out of your control, but for what it's worth I definitely recommend Kaiser Oakland. 

The midwives and L&D nurses I encountered were incredible--problem solvers, active listeners, hands-on, and real advocates. My labor straddled a shift change so I received care from two different midwives and nurse teams, and everyone was equally wonderful. I really credit the second midwife and a tireless nurse with helping me avoid a c-section. Truly, I cannot say enough positive things about these women. I have never felt so supported and empowered in my entire life. 

The post-partum nurses were also excellent. Admittedly that time was a total blur, but everyone we met was kind, gentle, and professional. If you think you might want to breastfeed, I highly recommend asking for the lactation nurse to visit you while you're still in the hospital. She taught me and my husband so many tricks, including how to use a tiny syringe to feed the baby colostrum so that I could get a few extra hours of sleep.

I believe three days after birth we returned for our baby's first check-up which was with another lactation nurse. I'm not sure why all providers don't do it this way because everything with feeding and milk supply in those first couple days can be so stressful. Being able to see someone in person and get real-time feedback was invaluable. We luckily did not have a lot of issues with feeding, and I probably owe some of that to all of the lactation support we received early on. My understanding is that this amount of lactation support is standard practice at Kaiser Oakland.

The only negative thing I can think of is that the recovery rooms in the hospital are pretty small and uncomfortable, mainly for the non-birthing person. This really wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things given how positive the birth was, but in hindsight my husband wished he'd had slippers for the hard floor. Also the couch/bed feels like it's made of concrete so a plush blanket or sleeping pad would have been nice. 

Best of luck!

Unfortunately no, I do not recommend Kaiser Oakland. 

I gave birth there a year ago and personally know 7 moms from mom's groups, birth class and friend circles who have given birth there in the last 2 years. Only one of us had a positive experience, and I believe it was because she was induced. The rest of us all had negative experiences in triage, most of us felt like we were kept waiting in triage for an excessive amount of time because "a room was not ready". This caused me to be 10 cm by the time my epidural was placed, and caused my friend to give birth without her (repeatedly) requested epidural in the triage room. 

There aren't enough reserved parking spots for delivering patients, and i had to drag myself up the elevator alone while having strong contraction s while my husband parked the car. The first time we visited triage we were kept waiting from 11pm to 4am waiting for multiple tests because the microscope on their floor was broken... only to be sent home and have to rush back a few hours later. 

In fairness, I've also heard of these issues happening at Alta Bates. Also, I felt like my care during delivery and postpartum was adequate, and Oakland has the best pediatric facility for complex cases. However, in the end, I felt like I was not listened to during the most painful and vulnerable experience of my life, and I will not be going back . I've heard that San Leandro Kaiser is less overcrowded, so I will be looking into their facility or WC for my next baby.

I would recommend checking the link below. Kaise Oakland is not among the top maternity hospitals among the Kaisers         

https://ratings.leapfroggroup.org/search/results?distance=50&address=Oa…

I had my baby boy at Kaiser Oakland in Nov-23. Honestly I’m shocked to read any of the negative comments. I had such a wonderful experience. I felt heard and taken care of. At one point, baby’s heart rate dipped and I’ve never seen a team of doctors, midwives and nurses move so quickly. At another point when the real pain started, the nurse was petting my head. Yes we had a resident in the mix, but no i didn’t feel less cared for or delayed. There was a registrar there and you better believe that whenever anything was even remotely an urgency/emergency, no one was waiting for the resident to think things through. Yes we got kicked out of our private room pretty quick but that’s business and a product of the healthcare system, not Kaiser. 

The lactation consultant we first had sucked, but then the next lady we had (should out to Sandy RN in Richmond) was a true angel.

I will say - almost 8 months later - we still haven’t received our bill, which is wild. But that’s another matter. 

All in all, highly recommend.  

I gave birth at Oakland Kaiser in March of 2022. I was scheduled for an induction but they were full. I ended up going into labor that night. I didn’t have to wait for a room at all, but I was 6cm dilated. Someone I know gave birth two weeks later and none of the Kaiser's had space anywhere, so be warned that you might now get to choose. They had to drive all the way to Redwood City, but she wasn’t far enough dilated for them to accept her. 

The labor and delivery room as spacious and nice. The recovery room was small. The nurses were great. The doctors were kind. I felt like they did a good job with informed consent each step of the way, even when it became an emergency. The epidural went well. 

I do think my recover could have gone a lot better but I don’t think that’s really Oakland Kaiser’s fault as much as Kaiser in general. Kaiser has very specific guidelines that I am pretty sure they follow everywhere. One thing is I had multiple tears and they stopped the epidural before stitching me up so it was quite painful. My pain was not adequately controlled in recovery and I was never offered anything besides Advil and Tylenol. I was shocked to learn that other women were given better pain control elsewhere. I do think this impacted my milk production. There was no nursery to allow me to sleep while they watched the baby for a bit. I got lactation support multiple times but some of the advice was conflicting and out dated. 
 

The newborn care and pediatrician were actually out of San Leandro and they were fantastic, but I don’t know if that says anything about their Labor and Delivery unit.
 

My wife and I avoided going to Kaiser Oakland for some of the same reasons that are mentioned in these posts. My SIL was a resident there and although they don’t jump to c-section immediately it seemed like residents can be eager for as much  varied experience as possible and that can be a barrier for patient experience, ie being asked to wait for several hours before pushing so the resident can attend. We went to San Leandro, which is not near us, for both of our births (two moms), and were treated with respect, compassion, patience, and a persistence to help us have the experience that we wanted. Even though both of our births ended up being a c-section, we look back at our experiences (2020 and Dec 2023) as a success and the staff helped us exhaust every single resource/option possible. Also, Kaiser SL has one of the very few MDs in the East Bay that can use forceps if needed. This is a delicate specialty and an intervention that may help avoid going into surgery. The midwives and nurses at SL often stayed past their shifts to help us. It was amazing. We met with 3 different lactation consultants in post care. The support is phenomenal. 
Note that Kaiser advocates to discharge patients after 2 nights if they’ve had a c-section. This changed from 3 to 2 during the pandemic. If you are able to stay (and if you have a c-section), I recommend advocating for staying the 3rd night - overall it helps in many ways. 

I gave birth to both of my daughters at Kaiser Oakland in May 2021 and February 2023, and in both cases I was very happy with my experience and the care provided. 

With my first, I had a long and difficult labor and came very close to a C-section as my daughter was facing up and stuck at my pelvis, but the team was able to help me deliver and coached me through 3.5 hours of pushing. With such a long labor and delivery, I went through multiple shifts, and every care team was competent, communicative, and supportive and the transition between them was seamless. The post-delivery care was very thorough, and they had many specialist providers come to check on me and the baby and to teach us about infant care. The rooms all felt very comfortable, clean, and well-equipped and they provided many essentials including a great diaper bag that became our go-to. I would agree with a previous poster about the sleeping space for non-birthing partners, and would recommend they bring a pillow and sleeping bag to make it more comfortable (we did the 2nd time!).

My second delivery was much quicker but the care was equally supportive and everyone was attentive to my needs. They followed my plan and checked in on me regularly without being intrusive or pushy in any way. The doctor who helped me deliver was fantastic. She had residents observe, but she led the delivery and coached me so I had no tearing or stitches which made the recovery much smoother. With the smooth delivery, I was feeling strong the day after delivery, so we were trying to rush out of the hospital to get back home to our toddler, and they supported us in getting all of the health checks for baby so we could discharge quickly. 

All decisions around pregnancy and delivery are so personal, and no environment can guarantee a perfect delivery, but in general, I was very happy we chose Kaiser Oakland both times and I would recommend it to family and friends. 

Both my boys were born at Kaiser Oakland. My older son was born Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 2017 and my labor was truly a horrible experience, for me. The labor staff, midwives, residents and nurses, didn’t seem to really know what they were doing and my husband was too focused on me to fully advocate at first. My son was fine but I ended up with a lot of external bleeding(needed a transfusion) and a rare internal clot. It was honestly very much of “where did the grown ups go” experience. 

My second son was born in October 2022 and it was a night and day situation, the experience went so much better that it honestly surprises me still it was the same hospital! The staff was so on, so helpful, so encouraging and they were so incredibly competent. We went home after 48 hours. 

So I guess, it really very much depends who is on staff that day, at least in my experience. 

I gave birth at Kaiser Oakland in late 2022 and I don't have anything to compare it to, but thought it was a good experience for my uncomplicated delivery.  
We got one of the reserved parking spots but it did require talking to someone in the garage first.  
Agree with others that the walk to the maternity ward felt long when you're having contractions every minute, there's a bunch of different elevators and I just could not make it into the one that opened up before another contraction would hit!  But I found it kind of funny.  
Triage where they assess how dilated you are and get you prepped did take over an hour, but the nurse was helpful in showing me some breathing techniques which helped.  
I felt like the part where they have you sign a bunch of informed consent documents wasn't great, I honestly didn't process at all what I was signing and they'd have to stop every other minute to wait for a contraction to pass.  Wish some of those could be signed at your last appointment instead. And somehow it took like 2 hours, plus more time to wait for the anesthesiologist to do the epidural.  
They were very neutral about what kind of pain relief you should have, they don't want to pressure you one way or another.  
When it came time to push, there was a single midwife who guided me and moved me from back to sides over and over with my husband's help.  Loved that they had a mirror so you could see all the action.  

When the head was ready to come out, she went and called the full team in (with advance warning there would be a lot of people in the room).  It was clear that some were only there for if things went sideways, as they quickly left when baby came out without complications.  
Students were definitely part of this and helped with the stitching process.  This didn't bother me, they were directly monitored and when the student wasn't able to finish the required stitching, the attending quickly stepped in to finish the job.  I didn't have any issues afterwards, so I assume they did a good job.  
One weird thing was they wanted us to order food, but then basically wanted to hustle us out of the delivery room before we could do that.  I just could not get up, stated I NEEDED to sleep, passed out, and they left us alone until I was finally ready and we ate.  Food was surprisingly good and included!  One meal for husband was also included, but my meals were so big we could just share anyway.
Recovery room was spacious and there was a couch for husband to sleep on.  Toiletries were provided.
Lactation consultant quality varied, the first one who came by wasn't that helpful, the one who came later on was amazing.  So was the one we saw at our first follow-up appointment.

One thing I wish was that there weren't people stopping in the room at all hours.  Our fault for not realizing there was a Do Not Disturb sign we could've hung, though.
One bad thing was that we almost walked out of the hospital without getting the birth certificate registered, they somehow missed that until the last minute.
Overall I'd say it was good, and I felt like they had patient safety guiding all their decisions.

I had an excellent experience there. Wonderful nurse-midwife taking the lead with great support. OBGYN MD there for delivery. Baby came out a little blue, and they had the CPAP machine there already in the room less than five feet away. When CPAP time was starting to go a little longer than they wanted, another OBGYN MD who specialized in NICU came in the room from her NICU literally across the hall and then calmly chat with me and the team already in my room. They talked calmly to me and the team, baby was fine after another 2 minutes or so. But I felt sooooooo comfortable knowing that if this situation were to go sideways, I’ve already got a top tier care team right in the room with me and the high-level NICU right there if I need it. Everything about the  exoerience  before and after delicwry was excwllent. 

I had a negative experience. I had an induction that went for 3 days and ended in a c-section due to the positioning of the baby's head. They didn't realize until I was 10cm dilated, when an attending obgyn finally checked, that the head was in a position that couldn't be delivered (face first). Residents were checking prior to that and didn't pick up on the fact earlier. An intern or early resident also inserted a probe that left a scar on our baby's nose, which probably shouldn't have been placed at all due to the baby's head positioning. It was centimeters away from his eye, and I was really upset for months that it could have poked his eye. I had not wanted trainees on my team at all (and didn't even want to go to Kaiser Oakland, but Walnut Creek was full when it was time to go), but it didn't seem to be a real option to opt out of trainees. Some of the senior residents I worked with were good, but I was not impressed by the interns or a couple other residents. I'd recommend San Leandro or Walnut Creek.

I gave birth at Kaiser Oakland late November 2023, and had a WONDERFUL experience.

It was my first child. I was induced at 40+2, which I scheduled ahead of time due to hypertension (they allow induction at 39wks and recommend it at 40 for hypertension, I wanted to give LO a chance to come naturally). I went in for the balloon insertion and that hurt like hell, went home for 12 hours then came back. I arrived around midnight and was admitted pretty quickly.

The nurses and midwives in L&D are fantastic. I had 2 nurses during my 15 hour labor, the second was really helpful with pushing etc. My placenta was troublesome and not coming out, and they handled it without worrying me at all (my parents who were there told me afterwards how close I was no needing a c-section for the placenta). The anesthesiologist who did my epidural was kind and good at explaining what he was doing.

The maternity/recovery room felt small after L&D, and you have much less attention from nurses, but the rotating cast of lactation consultants are really helpful (if you don't like one, you'll likely see another half a day later).