Sibley/GW/VHC

[Anonymous]

I had a great experience delivering two kids at Sibley. It was very calm and not hectic, despite giving birth to my first child 6.5 weeks early. I couldn’t imagine giving birth in a large teaching hospital. I had one trip to the Georgetown ER less than 2 weeks before I gave birth. It was not a pleasant experience. I was seen and examined by four different medical providers with various titles. Everyone told me something different. I left confused and not sure what my diagnosis was or whether my baby was at risk. My water broke a week and a half later and my baby was born more than 6 weeks early. The staff at Sibley were wonderful and made us feel at ease.

[Anonymous]

I delivered at Sibley with CWC pre renovation. I liked the L&D nurses but was really unhappy with the recovery nurses and special care nursery. After I was discharged my newborn was unexpectedly readmitted to the Special Care nursery. I was 2 days postpartum and bleeding through my pads and they refused to loan me anything. My infant was sick. I was a mess. We hadn't expected to be there that long. And they just shrugged that I wasn't a patient. My husband had to drive to a store to buy me something while I sobbed in the bathroom. I also had a doctor in the Special Care nursery accuse me of starving my baby because I was bfing.
And they told my husband he was taking up a seat in the lobby meant for an expectant grandparent when he was waiting for news about our sick baby. They told him to go sleep in his car. I have lots more stories, but that's the flavor. Just cruel.

I had a great experience with VHC with Kaiser. Short 2 hour labor so I don't really remember L&D. Great service during recovery. Really good.

[Anonymous]

I delivered at GW twice to be with the midwives and would not recommend it to anyone. Love the midwives but post partum care is lacking.

[Anonymous]

I just delivered my second at GW with the OBs. I knew I wanted an epidural so the midwives were not for me. L&D was great both times and post-partum care was much better this time. I was nervous about PP care due to some issues last time and was pleasantly surprised this time. I only had one so-so nurse during one of the nights. The rest were wonderful and made me feel taken care of, unlike the nurses during my first experience.

Also, my epidural didn’t work with my first child so, this time, I spoke with a GW anesthesiologist early in my third trimester. Per her advice, when I got to L&D, I requested to have the attending do my epidural, not the resident. They listened, were understanding, and respected my request. Both times, there were very few other women delivering when I was (second time I was the only one in triage and they got me into a room within 10 minutes) so I never felt that it was crowded or frantic. Unfortunately, I think this was just luck. I’ve heard of women having to deliver in triage so who knows.

That being said, I made the decision to stick with GW based on my experience with their prenatal care, which I found superior to CWC.

[Anonymous]

I delivered at VHC in August with Arlington Women’s Center. I had a C section, not emergency but something I decided with my doctor bc my water broke, I was basically zippo progressed, and my DD was measuring huge.

We were really happy. We had a large private room, the NICU was absolutely fantastic (although I hope you won’t have to use it, it’s great to know it’s there if you do), the facility was clean and modern, the food was prompt and decent, and the L&D nurses were pretty good. They kept me up on my meds like clockwork and answered calls super quick. I loved the lactation consultant in the NICU but the regular LC on rounds was bananas, so that’s one downside (although I’m sure they have more and I just pulled the short straw). I think they are doing construction on the parking now but it was super easy at the time. Contrast we had to take DD to Georgetown for a tongue tie clip and OMG the saga to get in and out.

[Anonymous]

I've delivered 3 times at Sibley, twice before renovation and this past time post-renovation. All 3 times, I"ve experienced wonderful service with the nurses and doctors that were on call. I had C-sections each time and no issues. The new rooms are awesome and the maternity wing itself is very modern with amenities for relatives visiting. I did get the private room with each delivery. Lactation consultants were easy to work with and they had no problem supplementing if that was what I wanted or what the baby needed. This last delivery, my baby had some jaundice and needed extra testing. They took care of everything and were very accommodating and reassuring that all would be OK. All in all, good experiences each time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just delivered my second at GW with the OBs. I knew I wanted an epidural so the midwives were not for me. L&D was great both times and post-partum care was much better this time. I was nervous about PP care due to some issues last time and was pleasantly surprised this time. I only had one so-so nurse during one of the nights. The rest were wonderful and made me feel taken care of, unlike the nurses during my first experience.

Also, my epidural didn’t work with my first child so, this time, I spoke with a GW anesthesiologist early in my third trimester. Per her advice, when I got to L&D, I requested to have the attending do my epidural, not the resident. They listened, were understanding, and respected my request. Both times, there were very few other women delivering when I was (second time I was the only one in triage and they got me into a room within 10 minutes) so I never felt that it was crowded or frantic. Unfortunately, I think this was just luck. I’ve heard of women having to deliver in triage so who knows.

That being said, I made the decision to stick with GW based on my experience with their prenatal care, which I found superior to CWC.

Must be nice.

[Anonymous]

Hi - We just delivered last week at Sibley, and went with Foxhall. We were extremely happy with both - both for the prenatal phase and during delivery. I wanted a natural birth to the greatest degree possible, and to be able to try different positions, move around, etc. Despite my water breaking and some additional concerns that led to the use of pitocin, the doctor and nurses were supportive of our wishes, didn't rush anything, didn't push pain meds, let me move around, etc. (Our doula was also EXTREMELY helpful here.) And the follow-up support and care was excellent. We were very happy.

[Anonymous]

I delivered at VHC last year, as a patient of the Arlington Women's Center midwives. I plan to deliver at VHC again in the spring, this time as an AWC OB patient (I had a wonderful experience with the midwives, but Karen is no longer delivering though I will see her throughout pregnancy).

I don't have another reference point but our experience was good. The rooms were large enough for me and my husband, the nurse assigned to us was young and excited about an un-medicated delivery, and they were cool with our doula. An AWC nurse walked me over to L&D from a regular check-up so I don't have much knowledge on how the triage experience looks; they were perfectly fine at taking my info.

I had a good experience with 3/4 nurses or nursing assistants, including one who really gently counseled me into realizing that I would not be a bad mom for sending baby to the nursery overnight so that he could stay under the bili lights and I could sleep. The one nurse I was less excited about overshared with one visitor about an earlier one - awkward for me (family drama - "Oh, that woman earlier wasn't the "real" grandmother?") but not tragic.

Food is fine enough - standard hospital stuff, make sure you understand how the process works (have to place orders by a certain time, mom's meals are free, can place an order for an additional meal but have to pay cash). The dinner cut-off is early enough that if you deliver in the late afternoon you'll have to order delivery from Lost Dog once you're transferred to mother & baby or skip eating til the morning.

I had an acceptable experience with the LC, a friend who has delivered x3 at VHC had a less positive interaction with the same LC (came away feeling as though she was told she'd never be able to breastfeed; she's breastfed all 3 until ~18 months old). I have heard from friends and neighbors that the lactation support group is very good.

I've had good experiences with the MFM group if you need a transfer.

The parking situation is kind of dumb but no worse than the other hospitals you're considering.

If your health and baby's are good during the pregnancy, to be quite honest, one of the biggest things I realized during my pregnancy was how important proximity / convenience were to me. If baby's health was at risk, I would be much more focused on a high-level NICU. With a healthy baby, though, you are still going in every two weeks starting at roughly 24 weeks, and then every week at the end. All other things being relatively equal, I prioritized that being as convenient as possible.

[Anonymous]

I’ve delivered 3 times at Sibley - twice in the new wing. It is the complete opposite of frantic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi - We just delivered last week at Sibley, and went with Foxhall. We were extremely happy with both - both for the prenatal phase and during delivery. I wanted a natural birth to the greatest degree possible, and to be able to try different positions, move around, etc. Despite my water breaking and some additional concerns that led to the use of pitocin, the doctor and nurses were supportive of our wishes, didn't rush anything, didn't push pain meds, let me move around, etc. (Our doula was also EXTREMELY helpful here.) And the follow-up support and care was excellent. We were very happy.

Your spouse/partner didn’t deliver anywhere. But we are all relieved he is happy with the care we received at Sibley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi - We just delivered last week at Sibley, and went with Foxhall. We were extremely happy with both - both for the prenatal phase and during delivery. I wanted a natural birth to the greatest degree possible, and to be able to try different positions, move around, etc. Despite my water breaking and some additional concerns that led to the use of pitocin, the doctor and nurses were supportive of our wishes, didn't rush anything, didn't push pain meds, let me move around, etc. (Our doula was also EXTREMELY helpful here.) And the follow-up support and care was excellent. We were very happy.

Your spouse/partner didn’t deliver anywhere. But we are all relieved he is happy with the care we received at Sibley.

Way to be a jerk to someone who just had a baby last week and (unlike you) is contributing on-topic information. PP - congrats on your newborn!

[Anonymous]

Thanks all - NP here, I'm with Kaiser and trying to decide between VHC and Sibley. So far all I've got is that VHC is 10 minutes closer and Sibley seems to have nicer rooms and may be slightly less intense about monitoring ("we need a doctor's order to switch monitor types if you want to walk in the hall" vs "uh we just let you walk"). These do not seem like significant differences, so I'm interested in hearing people's actual medical experiences!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all - NP here, I'm with Kaiser and trying to decide between VHC and Sibley. So far all I've got is that VHC is 10 minutes closer and Sibley seems to have nicer rooms and may be slightly less intense about monitoring ("we need a doctor's order to switch monitor types if you want to walk in the hall" vs "uh we just let you walk"). These do not seem like significant differences, so I'm interested in hearing people's actual medical experiences!

I’m with Kaiser also and had the exact same dilemma (we’re in Arlington). My recommendation is to go and tour both places. I immediately assumed that I’d go to VHC due to proximity and the better NICU. Then I toured it and it stressed me out. It just wasn’t for me. Told my Dr (Dr Lee at Tyson’s) and she recommended that I look at Sibley. She said that not many Kaiser patients go there so you have your own private Kaiser Dr and Anesthesiologist with you the entire time that you’re in labor, granted it wouldn’t be her because she doesn’t deliver there. Toured it, was much more comfortable there and she was exactly right. The doctors didn’t leave my side during labor. Overall, it was a wonderful experience (as wonderful as childbirth can be).

[Anonymous]

I delivered at Sibley in June. Loved it. DD spent a night in special care and everyone was great. I had my first there in 2014 and also liked it. First was delivered by Dr King (now at Bloom) who I love. Second was by a doc at CWC who I hadn’t seen but did like. I considered Bloom, but Dr King wasn’t there at the start of my pregnancy and by the time I realized it, it was close enough to the end that I didn’t want to switch, although if I could have guaranteed DrKing for delivery, I would have switched in a heartbeat.