Labor and Delivery at Washington Hospital Center

[Anonymous]

Anyone deliver at Washington Hospital Center recently, i.e., within the past year or so? Especially if your insurance is with Kaiser.

Interested in what it was like, any tips or suggestions? Really any and all details would be helpful! This is my first time at WHC, but delivered my other kids at Sibley and HC Germantown.

[Anonymous]

I delivered my son there in January 2023. You’ll be greatly disappointed with the postpartum unit after having a baby at Sibley. It’s pretty awful. L&D was fine. NICU, which we spent a week in sucked and was really not family or baby friendly, and postpartum unit was like a Russian psych ward.

[Anonymous]

Yikes Sibley to WHC. You are in for a shock.

[Anonymous]

I laughed at PP Russian psych ward. They're not wrong. Also delivered there.

[Anonymous]

I have had a baby there in 2018, 2020, 2022, and will have another in 2025. I also laughed at postpartum being a Russian psych ward--I don't think that's entirely fair but it isn't entirely unfair either 😂 WHC is a good place to have a high risk delivery or unexpected complications because they are the hospital where they do the coordinated deliveries with Children's so they see a lot of tricky and complicated situations. But they don't really go all out on the creature comforts/experience. The food delivery takes forever so I would bring snacks (granola bars etc) in your hospital bag and don't wait till you're hungry to order your meals. Or make your husband go to Panera on the first floor, which you will probably have to do anyway because as far as I can tell food services doesn't have caffeinated coffee. (I feel like that's almost a human rights violation in a postpartum unit 😅)

[Anonymous]

lol I am trying to remember the postpartum room and all I remember is that it was kind of small and worn. But really, who cares? Maybe because I was only there for one night it just didn’t bother me. We had a big window, there was a chair thing for DH and the nurses in both units were lovely.

I wouldn’t sweat it.

[Anonymous]

Agree w PP - it was totally fine (2x, once in last six months), and the L&D nurses are amazing. I had some things that no one expected and the level of coordination across care providers in L&D including pediatrics/nenoatals was truly exceptional. Yes, post delivery rooms are small but I was there no more than 1.5 days (one vaginal, one section), and it was fine. I don’t even think the food was that bad, and they offered to go pick up my uber food too. It’s absolutely fine.

[Anonymous]

SIL did .. All of it was horrible.
She had twins.

[Anonymous]

Why are you switching?

[Anonymous]

A little off topic but why are you switching? I’m considering HC Germantown for my second child and I’m a bit worried they won’t be prepared for complications due to being a smaller/less established hospital.

[Anonymous]

The care from the human beings at WHC is exceptional. Every doctor, midwife, nurse, tech, anyone who cared for me was so kind and thoughtful caring.

The facility is an absolute shit hole. The bathroom in my L&D room had someone else's bloody handprint on the wall. It was dirty, crumbly, old, just downright icky.

Postpartum is TINY. Which is fine but boy is it tight. My child was born at 10pm after a 3 day induction and we made it to postpartum at like 4am not having really slept in days. We finally get settled and went to sleep when LITERAL JACKHAMMERING began above us. Somewhow the nurses were just as confused? How the f is a hospital doing jackhammering construction in the middle of the night?? It was a nightmare.

They just straight up didnt bring my my food multiple times. Like I would order at 530 and it would just never show up and then I would call at like 7 and they would be like oh well sorry we are closed now. Plan to have someone there with you who can pick you up panera from the first floor. You will be eating a lot of panera. I was recently inpatient at Sibley and realized I had hospital food insecurity trauma. I kept ordering extra food at sibley in case the next meal never showed up so I wouldnt starve. Well the next meal always showed up and on time too. Imagine making sure basic needs like food are met for a patient in a hospital, wild!

Anyways I am having another baby there anyway so make of that what you will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol I am trying to remember the postpartum room and all I remember is that it was kind of small and worn. But really, who cares? Maybe because I was only there for one night it just didn’t bother me. We had a big window, there was a chair thing for DH and the nurses in both units were lovely.

I wouldn’t sweat it.

Similar take, but multiple nights after c-section (x2).

Actual care was good, and my expectations for the facility and food were low going in, so it was fine by me.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Kaiser doesn't delivery at Sibley anymore (REAL bummer) and HC Germantown was *awful* when I had my last in 2022. Much can be chalked up to COVID staffing issues, but I'm not convinced they've been solved. I had to beg for basic OTC medicine, and finally just gave up and sent my husband to CVS to buy me Tylenol and stool softeners. Calls weren't answered. I never received any food that I ordered. Most of the time no one picked up for food orders. When it was time to deliver, there was a single nurse in the room. No OBGYN, no one else. My mom helped deliver my son!

I'm going to WHC because I'm a little older this time, and worried about complications. My OBGYN said that WHC is the "place to be" if there are complications given that it's such a large hospital and its proximity to Children's National.

Again, I suspect most of the issues at HC Germantown were due to COVID staffing issues. But I just can't ever go back there.

[Anonymous]

Op, I was at holy Cross in silver spring in 2020 and it was horrible due to the lack of support by the staff. They basically closed the door and said "good luck!". I had some complications due to it.

Whc was so much better. There were so many people kind and supportive to me, it felt great. Even though that delivery didn't go very smoothly, I have very positive memories because everybody cared.