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Expectant and Postpartum Moms
SIBLEY MATERNITY NURSES SUCK! SIBLEY ISN'T THE ROLLS ROYCE OF HOSPITALS.............
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Anonymous
| I will be delivering at Sibley at the end of July. These posts are getting me a little scared. Is there anyone reading this that had a good experience? Or is mediocre and hit-or-miss the best anyone has experienced recently? |
Anonymous
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I had some awful night nurses when I was at Sibley after a c-section too (although there were a some good ones too. It's funny how years later, you still remember the bad ones). I was lucky enough to get a private room, but I fear going back for my second delivery that I won't be so lucky.
When we toured, I remember them stating that their policy was that fathers could stay over night in the private rooms only. They really need to figure out what their policy is and have every one abide by it. I would have been livid had they told my husband he couldn't stay, then let my roommate's stay. That is unacceptable. |
Anonymous
Yes, I had fine experiences after my two c-sections. All the nurses were really helpful and accommodating. Try not to worry! |
Anonymous
| I had a great experience at Sibley after a c-section in December. My first night nurse was excellent, and the ones after that were just fine. My daytime nurses ranged from merely good to great. I agree with the PPs who suggested being nice and remembering that yes, the nurses are there to help you, but they are also overworked. My other suggestion is to anticipate what you need in advance to the extent that you can. For example, if you know you're going to want a pain pill at 10am, but the nurse comes in at 9 for something else, tell her then that you're going to want a pain pill in an hour rather than waiting until 10 to ring for her. Obviously, not everything you'll need/want while you're in the hospital lends itself to this approach, but many things do. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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I had my first by C/S two years ago and am scheduled for my second at end of May at Sibley. The first time around, the L&D nurses were fabulous and actually warned me about the maternity nurses.
I found one maternity nurse to be practically incompetent. But the others were fine. I did have a private room, and one thing I would say is that if you want to get some sleep, send your baby to the nursery and don't take no for an answer. You need the rest and the nurses are so gung-ho on breastfeeding and you being with your baby that they push aside the feelings & fatigue of the new mom. It's not a big deal to have your baby in the nursery. IMO. |
Anonymous
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bad experience here. Posted on the c-section thread. Staph infection (from dirty Sibley) got into my incision, resistent to antibiotics, got all swollen and pussy and had to have a nurse come to my house daily to drain the fluid, could not care for the baby, lead to terrible post-partum, and the incision is still a bit tender 2 years later not to mention the scar is terrible.
I will not be returning there. |
Anonymous
| I too am delivering at Sibley in the next couple months and a bit nervous after reading this thread. I'm wondering though how much of this is unique to Sibley and how much of it may just be a testament to how understaffed and overworked the nursing profession in general is. I'd be interested to hear experiences from people in the area who delivered at other hospitals. Are the nurses much better at GW, Georgetown or INOVA? |
Anonymous
| Does anyone know anyone in management at Sibley whom we can alert to this thread? I feel like Sibley's management needs to know that these nurses have such terrible reviews so that they can address the issues. |
Anonymous
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Two points worth making to the nervous mothers-to-be... (I posted earlier about my terrible experience).
1) We're talking about the maternity (i.e., recovery ward) nurses... NOT the L&D nurses. I'm sure people have had bad experiences with nurses at every hospital, but I have heard 90% rave reviews about the labor and delivery (L&D) nurses at Sibley. Mine were simply fantastic. So, for me, the scary part was the delivery, not the recovery... and as much as I hated getting treated like a number in the recovery ward, I could (mostly) deal. If I had experienced that kind of calloused care DURING delivery, I never would've made it. 2) As bad as I think the Sibley maternity nurses are, I'm not sure they're any better or worse than any other hospital. In general, I think nurses are in such short supply, the standards have really gone down. As long as you don't commit medical malpractice, your job is pretty safe. DESPITE my bad experiences (twice) with maternity nurses at Sibley... I would go back. Their L&D nurses really saved my bacon. |
Anonymous
probably a little of both. For my 1st I was at Sibley (a terrible experience) and then for my 2nd (we moved) I was at INOVA at Loudoun. I found Loudoun extremely mom and family focused. The hospital is not terribly busy, so I really felt that the nurses took the time to work with me and accomidate any of my needs. All rooms are fairly spacious and private, so they totally let us bend the rules and have people in as late as we wanted. It was as close to a hotel stay as a hospital can get. FWIW, the nursing staff at Loudoun is fairly young, with many of my nurses being moms to babies or tots. One was telling me how she was pumping on her break. Maybe the young ones are not yet burnt out and jaded, but all of the ones I dealt with were extremely nice. I send them a huge gift basket a few weeks after, I really wanted them to know how much I appreciated my pleasant experience. They really follow your wishes, ie formula or no, paci or no, nursery or room in....there I really felt that I had some control over my experience. Also, for my 2nd at Loudoun, my DD had a medical scare and the doctor wrote some exaggerated medical justification for me to stay an extra 2 days, so I did not have to leave my new baby girl. I REALLY appreciated that, it meant so much to me and I think improved my already fragile emotional state. That could have never happened at a super busy hospital like Sibley. |
Anonymous
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I delivered my son at Sibley. It was horrible. I had to wait hours for pain medication, I could only see my son if I was able to talk and not once showed the nurses any sympathy for me, although my son was critically ill. I hated it and was glad when I was gone. I had to labor in the dark by myself and not once did the nurse explain to me what was going on. They never took me seriously when I was worried about my son't heartrate deccelerating.
I delivered my daughter at Georgetown and absolutely LOVED it! Very caring staff, I never had to wait for anything, it was just wonderful. And they were extremely busy that weekend. |
Anonymous
| pp, did you switch OB practices? which practice did you use for Georgetown? |
Anonymous
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PP here: yes I did, I was actually with the Georgetown OB/Gyns partially because I was high risk. I loved the doctors there as well, and I am grateful that they managed to keep me pregnant for 38 weeks although my daughter wanted out a lot sooner. They were listening to me, unlike the Reiter/Hill people.
I know that Sibley as well as my old OB are partially responsible for my son's ongoing health issues and have actually considered a lawsuit. |
Anonymous
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My experience at Sibley was wonderful. I had a private room, had to pay for it, and my husband stayed for 4 days (I had a c-section). I always had my pain medication on time-and my son went to the nursery every night at 11pm. I had the greatest overnight nurse the night after my son was born-Deborah, I'll never forget her. I thought some of the nurses were distant, but seemed very busy, which was fine with us, since we wanted to be left alone with our new son. The house pediatrician SUCKs, we were so down the first couple days after he was born, but Deborah calmed me, just sat down and talked to me. My only complaint is the house pediatrician. We wrote a letter to the administration-also let Dr. Reiter/Dr. Johnson know how we felt (my doctors). He was an ass. Even the dietary department brought my husband trays for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I look back at the those 5 days we spent at Sibley-and it was truly a WONDERFUL experience. I've been to Alexandria, and Mt. Vernon, and Sibley was immaculate compared to them. |
Anonymous
| It seems like everyone responding on this thread had a C-section. Is it my imagination, or is that really the norm at Sibley? |