New York’s moms-to-be are itching to deliver there.
But for one woman, the itching didn’t stop when she got home.
After a successful scheduled Cesarean birth — her second at the Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns at 68th and York — one woman claims she came home with a flea infestation that would require her, her husband, their toddler and their newborn to vacate their apartment for fumigators.
The woman, identified by the pseudonym Lindsay, recently detailed the ordeal to The Cut, noting that she first suspected something was off when she was moved into one of the hospital’s much buzzed-about private postpartum rooms — five hours after she should have been moved there — only to find holes in the bedsheets.
For years, Alexandra Cohen, the dedicated maternity unit of the NewYork–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center on the Upper East Side, was known among the pregnant elite as the birthing hotspot.
Its bespoke design and spacious marble bathrooms glistened with the promise of luxury, as did the chic Chanel goody bags sent home with each new mom and baby — the subject of multiple viral TikToks in the last few years.
Since 2004, when the private hospital received a $1.5 million endowment from Chanel, patients have brought home two bundles of joy: Their baby, plus free items from Chanel beauty. Most recently, that’s been comprised of a branded cloth bag stuffed with a facial cleanser, perfume and lipstick, totalling around $200.
The hospital stay itself isn’t free, of course, and a vaginal delivery can cost patients close to $30,000.
Lindsay told The Cut that her first experience at Alexandra Cohen had been “very nice,” though the delivery of her first-born was “traumatic” for reasons not having to do with the quality of care.
But at 3 a.m. during her first night postpartum with her second baby, Lindsay woke up to a feeling she compared to mosquito bites all around her ankles. She had been wearing “freshly laundered compression socks she’d brought from home.”
She kept itching even after she got home a few days later, and noticed that the bites seemed to be multiplying, eventually turning into “throbbing blisters.”
Her feet, according to The Cut, were “too swollen to put on shoes,” and she “could barely walk.”
Eventually, she caught a bug jumping around in her sheets.
“All I know is I left my home with not one bite and came back from NYP with several that grew to dozens,” she said, adding that her family has no pets.
The itching was so bad that Lindsay had started to reach down to her ankles and scratch, which can be dangerous when recovering from a C-section. Paranoid, she also started “obsessively vacuuming and scrubbing her apartment,” though it’s advised to avoid strenuous activities for six to eight weeks after the surgery.
To add insult to itching, Lindsay’s incision reportedly became infected, likely because of the movement, and she was prescribed two courses of antibiotics to manage it.
The Cut reported that Lindsay complained to the hospital about the fleas, only to be met with a patient-services representative who said Alexandra Cohen was “unable to identify any potential source for the infestation.”
A spokesperson for the hospital told The Cut that they “could not comment on individual cases, citing patient privacy, though they reiterated that no signs of fleas had been found and noted that the hospital follows a standardized cleaning process.” They did, however offer to pay for Lindsay’s home extermination as a “courtesy.”
Speaking to The Post, a spokesperson added: “The Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns is known and sought out by our patients for providing exceptional, personalized care. That reputation for excellence is a result of the skill, dedication and compassion of our remarkable teams.
“We’re proud that our patients choose us to deliver their babies — it’s a trust we do not take lightly.
Meanwhile, other women shared their own experiences with The Cut, alleging that the hospital is “overcrowded” and “poorly managed.”
Several have given chilling details about their deliveries, including one woman whose back was caked in dried feces from an unknown source. (It’s incredibly common for women to defecate during labor.)
“I understand that a labor-and-delivery environment is unpredictable,” one doula said. “I work in all the New York City hospitals. They all have days where it’s crazytown.”
Other doulas have complained about the “unclean facilities,” noting that the floors have been “streaked” with amniotic fluid and spotted with blood and unidentifiable brown liquid.
However, other patients have reported being perfectly happy with their experiences at the hospital, offering rave reviews in response to The Cut’s piece.
“I gave birth here and it felt like a Four Seasons compared to every other hospital my friends gave birth in/described to me,” wrote one Instagram commenter. “The nurses were incredible and the doctors were even better. I felt genuinely cared for and the rooms were so clean you could eat off the floor. I literally chose my doctor so I could give birth here.”
“Delivered December 2025 with my miracle baby girl after cancer,” said another. “This was the only hospital recommended to me by my oncology team at Memorial Sloane Kettering and my IVF team because of how amazing the care is. 100000/10 experience. They got my daughter here safely and made me feel so cared for every step of the way.”
Yet another insisted she had “amazing” care, while a fourth insisted she “couldn’t have asked for a better birth.”