Best hospital to deliver in DC area

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WHC is also good, but not particularly convenient to Bethesda.

God no. Do not deliver there unless you have to. The recovery rooms are terrible.

I mean, I did. Twice, even! The recovery rooms aren't anything to write home about, but they aren't "terrible."

[Anonymous]

I delivered a baby 6.5 weeks early at Sibley. Baby stayed in the NICU for 2 weeks. The doctors and care were fabulous. The hospital was close by so it was easy to go back and forth after I was released to see the baby. Sibley is much more of a calm environment than Georgetown. Teaching hospitals are more chaotic. Too many people involved in care. Not what you want after you deliver a baby and want to rest. I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please stop the fear mongering about the Sibley NICU? This happens constantly. I’ve discussed this with my OB and he said that literally only about once every two to three years is there a case where a baby needs to be transferred from Sibley’s nursery to Georgetown. It’s extremely rare. Also, the neonatologists who work at Sibley also work at Georgetown. So the staff are the same.

Let’s not pretend that a higher grade NICU means you will automatically get better care—in many cases then you are talking about teaching hospitals (which have their own issues because you’ve got a bunch of med students and residents cluttering up the environment), hospitals who have Baby Friendly designations, and/or hospitals with issues with nursing staff (ie like being constantly understaffed or using traveling nurses who may or may not be familiar with the hospital rules and protocols).

Bad things happen at all hospitals, and being in a higher level NICU or a level one trauma center or at an academic medical center does not mean you are guaranteed the best care. My good friends mom, a retired nurse, would intentionally never go to teaching hospitals for her own care because she had seen so many issues from her time as a staff nurse with students and residents. If you look up infection rates, readmission rates, patient satisfaction scores, and Leapfrog rates for some of these hospitals you’ll find the true picture is far more complex than boiling down which hospital is best simply by a measure like C section rate or NICU level.

Yes, because anyone who is known to be high-risk isn't going to deliver at Sibley. It's only the rare cases where someone is thought to be normal risk and then the baby is born with something very seriously wrong would a transfer need to happen. But that doesn't mean that Sibley could handle all the deliveries that happen at Georgetown.

Actually plenty of high risk women deliver at Sibley. Being AMA alone makes someone technically high risk. Do you really think Foxhall, CWC, Bloom, etc. only deliver low risk patients? Regardless of your opinion, Sibley still remains the busiest labor and delivery unit in the entire city. What I find interesting is this idea that somehow moms who want a good experience (ie “cushy,” which gets thrown out like an insult) when delivering (which really means they want basic things like to be treated with respect, have a calm environment, have a nursery to send their baby too if they want to rest, nurses who are professional, not to have to give birth in triage because the hospital is overcrowded, not wanting residents learning how to do things on them, etc) get absolutely blasted on these boards. As though giving birth women should only want the best for our babies and be fully willing to sacrifice all our own wants, desires, and needs at the expense of pursuing the “best” possible NICU (as though that even guarantees anything).

Yes, Georgetown handles the most critically ill and premature babies. And yes someone who is giving birth at 28 weeks should absolutely be giving birth there. But that’s not 99 percent of births. If Sibley delivers roughly 300 babies per year and lets say one of those is transferred to Georgetown every 2 years, that’s roughly a .01 chance. It’s highly, highly unlikely for the vast majority of patients.

I would love to know why people are so anti-Sibley and continue to fear monger about it’s special care nursery. Especially when so many moms jump
in on threads like this to say how great their care was. I suspect it’s largely because doulas don’t feel welcomed there and have an ax to grind, or other moms feel like they slummed it at other hospitals and put up with crappy postpartum care, the chaotic environment of a zillion residents and staff rounding, forced rooming in and breastfeeding, etc. and resent that any mother could have possibly had a better experience.

[Anonymous]

I delivered at Fairfax but my friend delivered at Sibley and said it was great. She unexpectedly had a 34 weeker who had a 3 week NICU stay as a “feeder-grower” and got great care. Even if you do need a NICU, for the majority of cases you don’t need a level IV NICU like at Fairfax or Georgetown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:INOVA Fairfax. Brand new facilities, top-notch NICU, and as of last year still had a nursery.

That would not be the best if you lived in MoCo, though. As in real estate, location matters, OP.

I beg to differ. I live in moco and after having my last baby at holy cross-had my next at Inova Fairfax. It was like a spa in Comparison and worth the trip. I had a scheduled c-section though so didn't worry about driving there in labor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please stop the fear mongering about the Sibley NICU? This happens constantly. I’ve discussed this with my OB and he said that literally only about once every two to three years is there a case where a baby needs to be transferred from Sibley’s nursery to Georgetown. It’s extremely rare. Also, the neonatologists who work at Sibley also work at Georgetown. So the staff are the same.

Let’s not pretend that a higher grade NICU means you will automatically get better care—in many cases then you are talking about teaching hospitals (which have their own issues because you’ve got a bunch of med students and residents cluttering up the environment), hospitals who have Baby Friendly designations, and/or hospitals with issues with nursing staff (ie like being constantly understaffed or using traveling nurses who may or may not be familiar with the hospital rules and protocols).

Bad things happen at all hospitals, and being in a higher level NICU or a level one trauma center or at an academic medical center does not mean you are guaranteed the best care. My good friends mom, a retired nurse, would intentionally never go to teaching hospitals for her own care because she had seen so many issues from her time as a staff nurse with students and residents. If you look up infection rates, readmission rates, patient satisfaction scores, and Leapfrog rates for some of these hospitals you’ll find the true picture is far more complex than boiling down which hospital is best simply by a measure like C section rate or NICU level.

Yes, because anyone who is known to be high-risk isn't going to deliver at Sibley. It's only the rare cases where someone is thought to be normal risk and then the baby is born with something very seriously wrong would a transfer need to happen. But that doesn't mean that Sibley could handle all the deliveries that happen at Georgetown.

Actually plenty of high risk women deliver at Sibley. Being AMA alone makes someone technically high risk. Do you really think Foxhall, CWC, Bloom, etc. only deliver low risk patients? Regardless of your opinion, Sibley still remains the busiest labor and delivery unit in the entire city. What I find interesting is this idea that somehow moms who want a good experience (ie “cushy,” which gets thrown out like an insult) when delivering (which really means they want basic things like to be treated with respect, have a calm environment, have a nursery to send their baby too if they want to rest, nurses who are professional, not to have to give birth in triage because the hospital is overcrowded, not wanting residents learning how to do things on them, etc) get absolutely blasted on these boards. As though giving birth women should only want the best for our babies and be fully willing to sacrifice all our own wants, desires, and needs at the expense of pursuing the “best” possible NICU (as though that even guarantees anything).

Yes, Georgetown handles the most critically ill and premature babies. And yes someone who is giving birth at 28 weeks should absolutely be giving birth there. But that’s not 99 percent of births. If Sibley delivers roughly 300 babies per year and lets say one of those is transferred to Georgetown every 2 years, that’s roughly a .01 chance. It’s highly, highly unlikely for the vast majority of patients.

I would love to know why people are so anti-Sibley and continue to fear monger about it’s special care nursery. Especially when so many moms jump
in on threads like this to say how great their care was. I suspect it’s largely because doulas don’t feel welcomed there and have an ax to grind, or other moms feel like they slummed it at other hospitals and put up with crappy postpartum care, the chaotic environment of a zillion residents and staff rounding, forced rooming in and breastfeeding, etc. and resent that any mother could have possibly had a better experience.

Wow. Any mother-to-be should be prepared to trade off her comfort for her child's safety.

[Anonymous]

That’s completely untrue but that is what a lot of posters here imply of moms who have delivered at Sibley (even when moms who had high risk deliveries rave about the care they got). Stop perpetuating that narrative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please stop the fear mongering about the Sibley NICU? This happens constantly. I’ve discussed this with my OB and he said that literally only about once every two to three years is there a case where a baby needs to be transferred from Sibley’s nursery to Georgetown. It’s extremely rare. Also, the neonatologists who work at Sibley also work at Georgetown. So the staff are the same.

Let’s not pretend that a higher grade NICU means you will automatically get better care—in many cases then you are talking about teaching hospitals (which have their own issues because you’ve got a bunch of med students and residents cluttering up the environment), hospitals who have Baby Friendly designations, and/or hospitals with issues with nursing staff (ie like being constantly understaffed or using traveling nurses who may or may not be familiar with the hospital rules and protocols).

Bad things happen at all hospitals, and being in a higher level NICU or a level one trauma center or at an academic medical center does not mean you are guaranteed the best care. My good friends mom, a retired nurse, would intentionally never go to teaching hospitals for her own care because she had seen so many issues from her time as a staff nurse with students and residents. If you look up infection rates, readmission rates, patient satisfaction scores, and Leapfrog rates for some of these hospitals you’ll find the true picture is far more complex than boiling down which hospital is best simply by a measure like C section rate or NICU level.

Yes, because anyone who is known to be high-risk isn't going to deliver at Sibley. It's only the rare cases where someone is thought to be normal risk and then the baby is born with something very seriously wrong would a transfer need to happen. But that doesn't mean that Sibley could handle all the deliveries that happen at Georgetown.

Actually plenty of high risk women deliver at Sibley. Being AMA alone makes someone technically high risk. Do you really think Foxhall, CWC, Bloom, etc. only deliver low risk patients? Regardless of your opinion, Sibley still remains the busiest labor and delivery unit in the entire city. What I find interesting is this idea that somehow moms who want a good experience (ie “cushy,” which gets thrown out like an insult) when delivering (which really means they want basic things like to be treated with respect, have a calm environment, have a nursery to send their baby too if they want to rest, nurses who are professional, not to have to give birth in triage because the hospital is overcrowded, not wanting residents learning how to do things on them, etc) get absolutely blasted on these boards. As though giving birth women should only want the best for our babies and be fully willing to sacrifice all our own wants, desires, and needs at the expense of pursuing the “best” possible NICU (as though that even guarantees anything).

Yes, Georgetown handles the most critically ill and premature babies. And yes someone who is giving birth at 28 weeks should absolutely be giving birth there. But that’s not 99 percent of births. If Sibley delivers roughly 300 babies per year and lets say one of those is transferred to Georgetown every 2 years, that’s roughly a .01 chance. It’s highly, highly unlikely for the vast majority of patients.

I would love to know why people are so anti-Sibley and continue to fear monger about it’s special care nursery. Especially when so many moms jump
in on threads like this to say how great their care was. I suspect it’s largely because doulas don’t feel welcomed there and have an ax to grind, or other moms feel like they slummed it at other hospitals and put up with crappy postpartum care, the chaotic environment of a zillion residents and staff rounding, forced rooming in and breastfeeding, etc. and resent that any mother could have possibly had a better experience.

Lady, I think you are insane.

All the hospitals are fine, being close to your house is important and helpful especially if your spouse will be juggling other kids/pets.

[Anonymous]

For me, the important part wasn’t necessarily the hospital. It was the provider who would deliver and see me for all my appointments and postpartum. For most people you are looking at a hospital stay of 2-3 days. The provider I ended up liking didn’t deliver at Sibley. I don’t like the idea of teaching hospitals or catholic hospitals for labor and delivery. I ended up delivering at a non cushy baby friendly hospital and had a lovely experience. I’ve heard wonderful things about Sibley, OP, and the NICU sounds sufficient for like 90% of anything. But almost everywhere you pick around here will be okay. I would make sure you are happy with your providers and the scheduling and lab work/imaging are all easy to schedule and not located in a place that is a hassle for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s completely untrue but that is what a lot of posters here imply of moms who have delivered at Sibley (even when moms who had high risk deliveries rave about the care they got). Stop perpetuating that narrative.

I agree. I went with the OB/GYN I had been seeing since I moved to DC and they just so happened to deliver at Sibley.

My pregnancy was not high risk but during labor I lost so much blood that I needed emergency care. They did an excellent job and I went on to deliver 2 additional babies with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

mommy2be wrote:Thanks everyone! So for more context - we currently live and work in DC but will be moving to Bethesda soon. DC will probably be more convenient since we would typically be coming from work for our appointments. I prefer a doctor over a midwife. I am not high-risk, but would prefer to be at a place that has a great NICU. Based on that, do people have suggestions? What do people think about Georgetown Medstar?

I was low-risk and planned to deliver at Georgetown because it was convenient for me. Ended up suddenly developing HELLP at 32 weeks, needed an emergency c section and baby spent 6 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t have been happier with my decision to deliver there! If I had chosen Sibley for a “cushier” experience I would have been separated from my baby as she needed care that the special care nursery at Sibley couldn’t have provided. I stayed at Georgetown for 5 full days and have nothing but good things to say about the staff and quality of care. Only real complaint I’ve heard from other people about Gtown (and do agree with) is that the food is quite lousy. But that’s not exactly within the realm of things I’d base my delivery decision on.

My tip would be to rotate between doctors each appt. I really don’t see a benefit from only getting to know one when the likelihood that they’ll deliver you is very slim. (Only OB I really disliked was Dr Leah Orta Nieves. Everyone else fell in the good or great category. Anecdotally, Dr Tara Kelly seems to get the most favorable reviews.)

How do you know Sibley couldn’t have handled your baby’s needs OP? You didn’t deliver there.

Ummm....because she said her baby was in the NICU for 6 weeks, and sibley does not have a NICU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

mommy2be wrote:Thanks everyone! So for more context - we currently live and work in DC but will be moving to Bethesda soon. DC will probably be more convenient since we would typically be coming from work for our appointments. I prefer a doctor over a midwife. I am not high-risk, but would prefer to be at a place that has a great NICU. Based on that, do people have suggestions? What do people think about Georgetown Medstar?

I was low-risk and planned to deliver at Georgetown because it was convenient for me. Ended up suddenly developing HELLP at 32 weeks, needed an emergency c section and baby spent 6 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t have been happier with my decision to deliver there! If I had chosen Sibley for a “cushier” experience I would have been separated from my baby as she needed care that the special care nursery at Sibley couldn’t have provided. I stayed at Georgetown for 5 full days and have nothing but good things to say about the staff and quality of care. Only real complaint I’ve heard from other people about Gtown (and do agree with) is that the food is quite lousy. But that’s not exactly within the realm of things I’d base my delivery decision on.

My tip would be to rotate between doctors each appt. I really don’t see a benefit from only getting to know one when the likelihood that they’ll deliver you is very slim. (Only OB I really disliked was Dr Leah Orta Nieves. Everyone else fell in the good or great category. Anecdotally, Dr Tara Kelly seems to get the most favorable reviews.)

How do you know Sibley couldn’t have handled your baby’s needs OP? You didn’t deliver there.

p

Ummm....because she said her baby was in the NICU for 6 weeks, and sibley does not have a NICU.

Sibley has a NICU. Google stuff before you post lies.

“If your baby should require specialized care, the Silberman Family Special Care Nursery is available to care for newborns who are 32 weeks or older.

As a Level II nursery, we are staffed with experienced neonatal nurses and neonatologists who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and attend all complicated deliveries.

The Silberman Family Special Care Nursery is equipped with state-of-the art technology and delivers optimal around the clock care to babies with special needs.

Parents are welcome 24 hours a day and are encouraged to spend as much time as possible with their baby.“

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/sibley-memorial-hospital/patient-care/specialty/maternity-services/special-care-nursery.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

mommy2be wrote:Thanks everyone! So for more context - we currently live and work in DC but will be moving to Bethesda soon. DC will probably be more convenient since we would typically be coming from work for our appointments. I prefer a doctor over a midwife. I am not high-risk, but would prefer to be at a place that has a great NICU. Based on that, do people have suggestions? What do people think about Georgetown Medstar?

I was low-risk and planned to deliver at Georgetown because it was convenient for me. Ended up suddenly developing HELLP at 32 weeks, needed an emergency c section and baby spent 6 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t have been happier with my decision to deliver there! If I had chosen Sibley for a “cushier” experience I would have been separated from my baby as she needed care that the special care nursery at Sibley couldn’t have provided. I stayed at Georgetown for 5 full days and have nothing but good things to say about the staff and quality of care. Only real complaint I’ve heard from other people about Gtown (and do agree with) is that the food is quite lousy. But that’s not exactly within the realm of things I’d base my delivery decision on.

My tip would be to rotate between doctors each appt. I really don’t see a benefit from only getting to know one when the likelihood that they’ll deliver you is very slim. (Only OB I really disliked was Dr Leah Orta Nieves. Everyone else fell in the good or great category. Anecdotally, Dr Tara Kelly seems to get the most favorable reviews.)

How do you know Sibley couldn’t have handled your baby’s needs OP? You didn’t deliver there.

Because she weighed less than 1500 grams and needed CPAP for more than 10 days. Sibley is a level II special care nursery. I would have been allowed to deliver there because we had made it to 32 weeks but level II nurseries do not take babies under 1500 grams or do CPAP for more than about 24 hours. You don’t have to deliver somewhere to do your research. I had to make a decision on where to deliver my second in case I had the same issues and it was confirmed that my daughter would have been transferred. (Baby number two was also born early and IUGR but no breathing issues and over 4lbs so he only needed a level 2 but I had no way of knowing.) I got lucky with where I delivered my first and I was intentional about my choice the second time to be safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s completely untrue but that is what a lot of posters here imply of moms who have delivered at Sibley (even when moms who had high risk deliveries rave about the care they got). Stop perpetuating that narrative.

I agree. I went with the OB/GYN I had been seeing since I moved to DC and they just so happened to deliver at Sibley.

My pregnancy was not high risk but during labor I lost so much blood that I needed emergency care. They did an excellent job and I went on to deliver 2 additional babies with them.

It was always my understanding that most of the private OB groups deliver at Sibley. I’m not sure, but I think it you deliver at WHC you’re with the in-house OBs or Midwifes. I am liking the convenience of that, and having the perinatal people down the hall. I don’t hate Sibley though the way that nutbar PP seems to hate teaching hospitals. It’s just too far away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

mommy2be wrote:Thanks everyone! So for more context - we currently live and work in DC but will be moving to Bethesda soon. DC will probably be more convenient since we would typically be coming from work for our appointments. I prefer a doctor over a midwife. I am not high-risk, but would prefer to be at a place that has a great NICU. Based on that, do people have suggestions? What do people think about Georgetown Medstar?

I was low-risk and planned to deliver at Georgetown because it was convenient for me. Ended up suddenly developing HELLP at 32 weeks, needed an emergency c section and baby spent 6 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t have been happier with my decision to deliver there! If I had chosen Sibley for a “cushier” experience I would have been separated from my baby as she needed care that the special care nursery at Sibley couldn’t have provided. I stayed at Georgetown for 5 full days and have nothing but good things to say about the staff and quality of care. Only real complaint I’ve heard from other people about Gtown (and do agree with) is that the food is quite lousy. But that’s not exactly within the realm of things I’d base my delivery decision on.

My tip would be to rotate between doctors each appt. I really don’t see a benefit from only getting to know one when the likelihood that they’ll deliver you is very slim. (Only OB I really disliked was Dr Leah Orta Nieves. Everyone else fell in the good or great category. Anecdotally, Dr Tara Kelly seems to get the most favorable reviews.)

How do you know Sibley couldn’t have handled your baby’s needs OP? You didn’t deliver there.

p

Ummm....because she said her baby was in the NICU for 6 weeks, and sibley does not have a NICU.

Sibley has a NICU. Google stuff before you post lies.

“If your baby should require specialized care, the Silberman Family Special Care Nursery is available to care for newborns who are 32 weeks or older.

As a Level II nursery, we are staffed with experienced neonatal nurses and neonatologists who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and attend all complicated deliveries.

The Silberman Family Special Care Nursery is equipped with state-of-the art technology and delivers optimal around the clock care to babies with special needs.

Parents are welcome 24 hours a day and are encouraged to spend as much time as possible with their baby.“

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/sibley-memorial-hospital/patient-care/specialty/maternity-services/special-care-nursery.html

Sibley does NOT have a NICU. Google stuff before YOU post lies. By your own quoted info Sibley is a Level II Special Care Nursery—that’s it’s official designation. It has to have Level III or IV status to be considered a NICU, which handles more serious cases.

MOST women would be fine delivering their baby at home? Why did you choose a hospital? It’s the same thing with a NICU. Most women may not need it but if it gives a woman peace of mind to be at a bigger hospital with more resources why would you shoot them down for it?