Recent sibley hospital delivery experience / Dr Robert Footer

[Anonymous]

I was nervous about giving birth at sibley hospital after reading some of the comments here - so thought I would share my recent experience

I gave birth at sibley three weeks ago wtih Dr Robert Footer. the LDR rooms and nurses are wonderful - I went in around 9am with contractions every 2-3 mins but completely painless, which turned extremely painful within an hour and I got the epidural within an hour. We had nurses Emily and Patricia, both are really wonderful, friendly, encouraging and helpful. All those comments about Dr Footer pushing for c sections - what a load of rubbish!!! I had a vaginal birth, my baby was 8 lb 9oz, a little on the big side, but Dr Footer never mentioned C section - so for those mothers, like me, who is determined to have a vaginal birth - no worries!

however, i have to say the postpartum rooms and nurses at sibley are sadly a completely different story. they were HORRIBLE!!! on the first night, we tried to save some $$ and went for a semi private room, which was just damm awful. it's basicly a private room with a curtain down the middle, so there's NO space for even my husband to sit down, or my bags to go anywhere. and of course you can hear EVERYTHING. the nurses were not very understanding and gave me very contradicting advices - one time in the night, I was trying to breastfeed my little boy with no success and he was getting very frantic, this nurse came through and insisted on taking my blood pressure IMMEDIATELY even though my baby was screaming his head off - couldn't she just wait like 10 mins????!!?? and then one nurse told me to put some formula on my nipple to try get him to latch, another nurse told me i should have NEVER given my baby formula. and then another nurse kept bringing my baby back from the nursery cos he was crying a lot and insisted i should give him a pacifier!?!?!!!!!! after this aweful first night, we moved to a private room for the 2nd - shockingly the nurses there were much nicer definitely worth the extra $250/night!!

another thing i want to mention - the lactation consultants at sibley weren't helpful at all. they came by and told me my baby is latching fine etc. the night we came home, my boy was crying ALL night. the next time we went to our pediatrician, who has their own lactation consultatant, and it turns out my baby has not been latching or feeding AT ALL, meaning my baby has been without food for THREE DAYS!!!! i ended up having to pump just to make sure my baby doesn't starve cos my milk didn't come in for a while, and then now there's problems with latching cos he got the bottle early. so, for those who want to nurse and delivering at sibley - MAKE SURE YOU SEE A GOOD LACTATION CONSULTANT!!!

Hope this helps those who are delivering at sibley

[Anonymous]

I suspect these things just vary wildly from person to person -- I delivered at Sibley 4 weeks ago and had a very positive experience both before and after delivery, and I thought the lactation consultants were uniformly helpful (I was there for 4.5 days after a c-section so I saw a lot of them!), including in talking me through hormone fueled crying fits over the prospect of needing to supplement and pump for a few days instead of EBF. It all worked out and I was grateful for the support -- if we have another child I would happily deliver there again.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for this post. I'm delivering at Sibley in September and am hoping for vaginal birth. Dr DeSouza is my OB(I believe he works closely with Dr. Footer.)

Question for both of you ladies...did you take breastfeeding classes before delivery?? Do you think that would have or did help with latching etc?? Just curious b/c I'm trying to decide if I want to sign up for those classes.

Thanks!

[sybersus]

Anonymous wrote:Question for both of you ladies...did you take breastfeeding classes before delivery?? Do you think that would have or did help with latching etc?? Just curious b/c I'm trying to decide if I want to sign up for those classes.

I'm not delivering at Sibley but have heard that it's a very good idea to take breastfeeding classes before delivery because for many women, it is very hard. I'm currently reading some books on breastfeeding at the suggestion of my midwife, and I've heard that the Breastfeeding Center on K Street has a good (and free) intro to breastfeeding class for those who are still pregnant, and that it's also a good idea to pay for an individual consultation before you give birth. I'm not sure whether I'll pay for the consultation, but I think the free class makes a lot of sense. Also, the breastfeeding center apparently has a free weekly get together for nursing moms.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Sybersus!
I didn't know about the free class on K street...I'll look into that now.

[Anonymous]

Just my 2 cents on the Breastfeeding Center on K Street: hate to dis them, because I think they have a wonderful mission! However, I have been disappointed by their classes (did Breastfeeding Basics; Nurturing the Newborn parts 1&2). Not the least bit thorough, and marginally illuminating; I'm not convinced I got anything from them that I didn't also get in a book or from an experienced mother. That said, most of the classes are free, and if you don't have to go to much trouble to squeeze it into your schedule and get there, it can't hurt...UNLESS you don't get there EARLY!! The space they teach classes in is a glorified closet, filled to capacity with uncomfortable chairs (if ever there was a time in my life that I can't spent more than a few minutes in an uncomfortable chair, this is it!), and HOT. So get there 15 minutes early for a comfortable seat (and don't follow my first-timer example of flying in right on time and winding up sitting on the floor for an hour and a half), and prepare to bare some skin to avoid overheating. I imagine the 1:1 consultation is very worthwhile if you encounter trouble nursing; I will avail myself of that service if it becomes necessary. Also, they do carry a good supply of nursing bras and tanks and advice on sizing.

[Anonymous]

Just my 2 cents on the Breastfeeding Center on K Street: hate to dis them, because I think they have a wonderful mission! However, I have been disappointed by their classes (did Breastfeeding Basics; Nurturing the Newborn parts 1&2). Not the least bit thorough, and marginally illuminating; I'm not convinced I got anything from them that I didn't also get in a book or from an experienced mother. That said, most of the classes are free, and if you don't have to go to much trouble to squeeze it into your schedule and get there, it can't hurt...UNLESS you don't get there EARLY!! The space they teach classes in is a glorified closet, filled to capacity with uncomfortable chairs (if ever there was a time in my life that I can't spent more than a few minutes in an uncomfortable chair, this is it!), and HOT. So get there 15 minutes early for a comfortable seat (and don't follow my first-timer example of flying in right on time and winding up sitting on the floor for an hour and a half), and prepare to bare some skin to avoid overheating. I imagine the 1:1 consultation is very worthwhile if you encounter trouble nursing; I will avail myself of that service if it becomes necessary. Also, they do carry a good supply of nursing bras and tanks and advise on sizing.

[Anonymous]

sibley--def get a private room. we got a shared room at first because the private rooms were full and yes, there is no room for anything.

the LCs at sibley were not helpful at all. i also took a breastfeeding basics beforehand, but itdidn't sink it. Seeing an LC with my baby was the best thing--the personal attention, advice, etc. was priceless (well, expensive but worth it). I had horrible start to breastfeeding but went on to nurse for past a year.

[Anonymous]

I had almost the exact same experience at Sibley as the original poster. Delivery nurses were great. First night in a shared room was BAD. I moved to a private room the second night... totally worth every penny. I acutally called my husband on my cell phone crying at 3am the first night because the nurse gave me so much attitude when I asked for help changing my baby's diaper. (I had a c-section, so I couldn't get out of bed yet to change the diaper myself) Beware of the middle aged Indian nurse with short hair!!

[Anonymous]

For the poster asking about breastfeeding classes, yes, definitely take one in advance. It cannot help you much with some things -- like whether your baby's latch is really right or not -- but it goes a long way toward helping you understand the concepts, where some of the problems might come in, etc. I strongly recommend having your spouse/partner attend too as it is important for them to understand how BFing can be hard, is not as simple as just sticking the child on the breast and off you go, etc.

[Anonymous]

I delivered w/ Dr. Footer in 2009 and had a positive experience, with no pressure to induce (I went 11 days past my due date) and no pressure for c-section. Glad to hear that you had a good experience too OP. My Sibley experience was also mixed: first L&D nurse was awful, while second was awesome. PP nurses were generally good and I had minimal interaction w/ LCs.

Another great breastfeeding resource (esp. if you can't make it to a class before you deliver) is a series of videos produced by Stanford: http://newborns.stanford.edu/Breastfeeding/. They are all quite good and deal with the basics of latching, supply, pumping, etc. I found actually watching nursing to be more helpful than reading a book.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am so glad you had a good delivery. But you can't assume that because you didn't have a CS, Dr. Footer doesn't perform them on over 1/3 of his patients. That is a statistical fact. I had an unplanned CS with him for positioning issues. I had the same issues the second time and delivered med free with the MWs at GW. It isn't how a provider handles the births that go well that determines their CS rate. It is their willingness to be involved and patient on the slower, harder births. I would also mention that Dr. Footer routinely closes CSs with single sutures, which makes VBAC less safe and IMO is completely unsupportive of a woman's efforts to VBAC next time.

But I will agree with you on Sibley's PP care. Wow. That was awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am so glad you had a good delivery. But you can't assume that because you didn't have a CS, Dr. Footer doesn't perform them on over 1/3 of his patients. That is a statistical fact. I had an unplanned CS with him for positioning issues. I had the same issues the second time and delivered med free with the MWs at GW. It isn't how a provider handles the births that go well that determines their CS rate. It is their willingness to be involved and patient on the slower, harder births. I would also mention that Dr. Footer routinely closes CSs with single sutures, which makes VBAC less safe and IMO is completely unsupportive of a woman's efforts to VBAC next time.

But I will agree with you on Sibley's PP care. Wow. That was awful.

I had a c-section with Dr. Footer. I never knew anything about the types of sutures. What types are supposed to be better for a VBAC? I just know I had stitches and not staples, other than that I don't know anymore of the details. But it sounds like despite the fact that you had them the first time you were able to VBAC successfully?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I am so glad you had a good delivery. But you can't assume that because you didn't have a CS, Dr. Footer doesn't perform them on over 1/3 of his patients. That is a statistical fact. I had an unplanned CS with him for positioning issues. I had the same issues the second time and delivered med free with the MWs at GW. It isn't how a provider handles the births that go well that determines their CS rate. It is their willingness to be involved and patient on the slower, harder births. I would also mention that Dr. Footer routinely closes CSs with single sutures, which makes VBAC less safe and IMO is completely unsupportive of a woman's efforts to VBAC next time.

But I will agree with you on Sibley's PP care. Wow. That was awful.

I had a c-section with Dr. Footer. I never knew anything about the types of sutures. What types are supposed to be better for a VBAC? I just know I had stitches and not staples, other than that I don't know anymore of the details. But it sounds like despite the fact that you had them the first time you were able to VBAC successfully?

PP here. Double layer lower your risk of uterine rupture. I did VBAC and it went fine. That risk is very small anyways. But I also did not know and when I got my records I was disappointed and it felt like an assumption that I would be okay witha RCS. That is just my feeling. Anyways, I VBACd with WISDOM MW at GW. I highly recommend them.

[Anonymous]

I too had a c-section with Dr. Footer, my choice because I had a C-section with my first child. He didn't try to influence my decision one way or another. I delivered at Holy Cross, and had a great postpartum experience, but a few friends of mine who have delivered at Sibley have reported similar stories of woe. Anyway, back to Dr. Footer. He was wonderful, both when helping me through my first miscarriage, and then when delivering my second baby. Wonderful doctor!