Delivered at George Washington University?

[Anonymous]

I am entertaining the possibility of switching to the WISDOM Midwifery Associates at George Washington University. I really want to have a VBAC, but also know there is some risk that I could end up needing a c-section. I have heard fabulous things about Whitney Pingner, but don't know about the other midwives nor do I know anything generally about GW's facilities/doctors/NICU, etc.

I would appreciate your sharing any experiences you have had with labor and delivery either with the midwives or OB/GYN and at GW in general. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

There have been a lot of threads about this, so I recommend you do a search for more stories.

I delivered there over the winter, and it was great. I was an OB patient (Dr. Gaba) but saw Erika (midwife) for the last six weeks or so of my pregnancy. The delivery was done by residents (dr showed up after LO was out). My nurse was fantastic--made sure I had the wireless monitor and basically left me alone the whole night. They let me eat and drink, didn't hold me to a clock, and followed my birth plan (which had been scanned into my record several weeks earlier). I wanted an unmedicated birth and I got one. The l&d rooms are massive and comfortable. The recovery rooms are small but private.

There was meconium in the water, so we had extra pediatric staff in the room for delivery, but everything turned out fine. I was concerned that if LO needed the NICU, we'd need to transfer because, while the regular hospital and doctors accept my insurance (Carefirst), the NICU does not. But that was my only concern.

The lactation consultant was okay. I really wanted to BF and she told me LO had a tight frenulum and encouraged me to pump immediately and possibly supplement--two things the Breastfeeding Center had recommended against. Conferring with Erika after (she came to visit me both mornings after), she said that a remarkable number of babies there are diagnosed with "tight frenulum." FWIW, the ped wasn't concerned at all, and we've been BFing successfully and easily the whole time.

The midwives have a long waiting list, so if you're considering it I would go ahead and get on the list. But even if you go with an OB, they seem to be pretty open-minded and supportive.

[Anonymous]

PP - this is the 1st I've heard that the GW NICU doesn't take CareFirst. Did they explain how the transfer process would work? I assume they would make the transfer by ambulance? Would that be covered?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - this is the 1st I've heard that the GW NICU doesn't take CareFirst. Did they explain how the transfer process would work? I assume they would make the transfer by ambulance? Would that be covered?

Yeah, I'd be interested too.

[Anonymous]

19:24 here. I believe I read that here, and when I checked my coverage it was confirmed. But I didn't ask what the process for transfer would be.

Here's an article along the lines of what made me check into it:

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Features/Insuring-Your-Health/michelle-andrews-on-neonatal-ICU-health-costs.aspx

[Anonymous]

But that's from Kaiser, not CareFirst. I'm curious whether that's universal to all CareFirst policies...I was under the impression that I had universal access to covered services at GWU. I'll have to call Monday - thanks.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'll have to check on my insurance too to make sure I wouldn't need a NICU transfer. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield FEP.

[Anonymous]

Kaiser Health News is a different company from Kaiser Permanente: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/About.aspx (see last sentence before the staff bios).

I absolutely checked my Carefirst coverage and the NICU wasn't part of the plan. Georgetown was.

I didn't mean to upset the apple cart here. I *loved* GWUH and MFA. But I was glad I knew this little twist just in case.

[sybersus]

I love Whitney and Laura (the two midwives who do deliveries right now -- two more are coming on board as of May, but obviously I haven't met with them.) If there is any problem they can transfer you to the doctors, who will have all of your info. Overall, I've been really happy. We took a hospital tour of GW and it was very nice -- private rooms for delivery and after, nurses seemed great, etc. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I am very interested in this Carefirst issue too. Delivered DD at GW 2 years ago - also had meconium in water, but luckily she checked out OK. Never knew we would have an insurance problem if that was necessary. Planning on a VBAC in June with the MFA doctors, so I will have to double-check the NICU insurance options too.

[Anonymous]

UPDATE

I finally got CareFirst on the phone this morning. The services of the NICU, as a part of an in-network hospital, are covered under my plan (BlueChoice Open Access) as long as my OB submits preauthorization. HOWEVER, I would still be liable for charges related to the consulting physician in the NICU if that physician is not an in-network, CareFirst provider.

So, my next step is to research whether who the attending physicians are in the GW NICU, to see how many of them are in-network, and to see whether it's possible to specify that care be provided by an in-network physician. Since GW MFA has a neonatology dept and Children's has a number of in-network doctors with GW privileges, I'm hoping this may be a non-issue. Will update as I learn more.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if the babies stay with you in the recovery room after or go to the nursery at GWU? Or do you have the option?

[Anonymous]

While my info is somewhat dated, here is one data point: I had a baby in the GWU NICU in 2006 while being insured by BCBS FEP. To the best of my recollection, I paid some minor copay or deductible (definitely < $500 and maybe less than <$200) and everything else was covered. I remember being amazed and feeling so lucky to have health insurance when the Explanation of Benefits form came and I saw what the NICU stay actually cost, which was many thousands of dollars. $16k or something to that effect, if I'm remembering correctly.

[Anonymous]

UPDATE II

Thanks, PP - that's reassuring and seems to gel with what I've learned:

Drs. Hany Ali and Mohamed Mohamed are the attending physicians at the NICU per the unit desk clerk. They're both a part of GW MFA. I called GW MFA and they confirmed that both should be covered under CareFirst because of their affiliation with the practice. By all appearances, there was either a miscommunication or circumstances have changed since the PP (04/01/2011 19:24) delivered and NICU care at GW should be covered.

One other heads up: my insurance vendor confirmed that the birth of a child is a qualifying life event, so I'll also have the option to change to a more comprehensive policy upon the birth of my child, which would allow me to get out-of-network benefits and limit the out-of-pocket cost of NICU services even if they weren't covered under my current policy. Good safeguard to be aware of if you end up needing services not covered under your current plan.

[Anonymous]

Baby stays with you in room generally.

Had an excellent delivery experience at GWU in 11/2009. Incidentally I had CareFirst and our guy was briefly in the NICU and we didn't pay a dime, but that was then, and everyone's plan is just a little different, so whatever... I ended up with c/sec but when I was laboring there was no pressure about drugs, rushing, moving on to doing the c/sec... and everyone involved in the c/sec was outstanding. Am planning to deliver #2 there this fall but am going with the midwife practice this time to maximize my chances for a vbac. If you want to go with the midwives then you should email Whitney Pinger asap b/c their caseload is quite full - google "wisdom midwifery" and you'll find her address. But my experience with delivering at GW was really top notch. Do note, however, that a teaching hospital means just that - you will have a number of "visitors" coming around (moreso in recovery than L&D - they seem to be careful to let you be when in labor) to check on you - med students, interns, residents - just with questions mainly - it's not like they are giving you exams I didn't find it very obstrusive and actually sort of liked the learning vibe, but some people might be annoyed with that aspect. Best wishes!