Questions re: food at WHC during labor & postpartum

[Anonymous]

After you deliver, can you order hospital food at any time of day or night? How long does it take to arrive?

How is the hospital food for vegetarians?

During your postpartum stay, how does the food situation work? Can you order food whenever you like, or only set mealtimes? Are there specific meals on the menu or do you get choices? Can you get any snacks between meals? Any recommendations of specific (vegetarian) food that's better than others (or things that are especially bad)?

During labor, the midwives say you can have clear liquids only. Can you order things like broth, jello, popsicles through the hospital, or would you have to bring them yourself?

And this isn't WHC-specific, but any general suggestions for yummy/satisfying (vegetarian) snacks/shelf-stable meals to bring to eat after delivery in case it's the middle of the night and I'm starving and it's hard to get good food quickly?

[Anonymous]

All I know is that the Panera Bread at WHC looks very close to completion

[Anonymous]

Op, they give tours of L&D - maybe that would answer your question? I haven't taken one yet (I'm 30 weeks along and the queen of procrastination) but maybe someone can chime in as to whether you could get your questions answered there.

[Anonymous]

I think Panera is open! I was there last Friday and the construction workers said it was opening on Monday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Panera is open! I was there last Friday and the construction workers said it was opening on Monday.

The panera in the POB building is for sure open. Is there one in the main hospital too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Panera is open! I was there last Friday and the construction workers said it was opening on Monday.

The panera in the POB building is for sure open. Is there one in the main hospital too?

No - but it's like 5 steps away! All connected inside. Close enough for me.

[Anonymous]

i delivered there years ago but i remember generally (and this is pretty much standard in hospitals, I think) that you get food at meal times. There isn't special ordering at other times, it's not like hotel room service. But this would be something to ask on a tour.

And once you get there many hospitals will not even allow drinking clear fluids. ice chips only. I believe when I went into labor last that's all they would allow, but again you should ask. and i doubt very much you can order such a thing. i do remember there being apple juice available after I was cleared to have it. that's about it.

General rule is, no matter where you are delivering, hospital food is atrocious, bring the things you want to eat. IN labor they probably won't let you eat it but at least you'll have what you want after you deliver. This is a key reason to have someone else on call to assist you and DH--to pick something up and bring it to you at the hospital! Brookland used to be hopelessly slim pickings but now there are some places you can go to pick up take out and drive it to the hospital. I hope the in-hospital offerings have improved because they were horrible 7 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Most hospitals have a snack room with a,few snack items - popsiclrs, jello, crackers, juice, etc for patient and spouse. Meals can be ordered all day, for example at Inova the meal hotline was from 7am to 8pm (might be different now though).
Honestly, for me, the contractions were so uncomfortable (I labored at home for most of it, pushed within 3 hrs of admitted to hospital) that food was the last thing on my mind during labor. Food post partum was fine, but it was a good 2 hrs later before I was settled and able to eat.

[Anonymous]

Planera is open! Think it is open until midnight. Meals come at meal times. Hospital food is bad ? So I recommend bringing your own especially for vegetarians. I am a vegetarian and I had my family bring stuff for me.

[Anonymous]

Delivered at end of July after 5 day stay. I am vegetarian. No problem getting this accomodated, despite moving between wards often. Most days, someone came in the morning and gave me a a few things to choose from for lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next day. Nothing was stellar, but it was edible. Fruit especially left something to be desired (pears from a can, seemed like, every time). The cafeteria has a lot more options and sometimes my DH would go over there and bring something back for the both of us. The nurse station also had a bunch of menus for places that deliver. And we used the Caviar app for delivery a couple times.

As PP said, meals came at meal times. There's no ordering on demand. No snacks between meals. Nothing was particularly stellar or bad. I thought the french toast was pretty good. I enjoyed the green beans. But really, I don't remember specifics.

For labor (which I didn't end up doing, but that's another story), I brought my own vegetarian gelatin, which they kept in the fridge for me and would bring me whenever I asked. I also brought gatorade. They'll bring you popsicles, etc whenever you want because the nurses just keep them in a fridge at their station -- it's not through food services.

We also brought protein granola bars and trail mix -- shelf stable and has fat and protein, so filling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i delivered there years ago but i remember generally (and this is pretty much standard in hospitals, I think) that you get food at meal times. There isn't special ordering at other times, it's not like hotel room service. But this would be something to ask on a tour.

And once you get there many hospitals will not even allow drinking clear fluids. ice chips only. I believe when I went into labor last that's all they would allow, but again you should ask. and i doubt very much you can order such a thing. i do remember there being apple juice available after I was cleared to have it. that's about it.

General rule is, no matter where you are delivering, hospital food is atrocious, bring the things you want to eat. IN labor they probably won't let you eat it but at least you'll have what you want after you deliver. This is a key reason to have someone else on call to assist you and DH--to pick something up and bring it to you at the hospital! Brookland used to be hopelessly slim pickings but now there are some places you can go to pick up take out and drive it to the hospital. I hope the in-hospital offerings have improved because they were horrible 7 years ago.

I delivered there less than a year ago and all of the above it still accurate (and yes the food still sucks), except that there are significantly more options in Brookland now- &pizza and Potbelly would be particularly handy, I'd think. And as some other PPs have noted, the Panera on site is finally open!

[Anonymous]

I delivered in 2014 and was there for about 5 days (failed induction, c section & recovery). The food SUCKED! They would give you a menu to choose a few items and about 1/2 the time I didn't get what I selected. I.e. I don't eat a lot of meat and would end up with meat choices.

I was STARVING during the induction and all they would allow was ice chips and popcicles and then had to wait until after the c to finally eat (2+ days later). For this baby (sch c) - I will take snacks!!

[Anonymous]

I work at WHC and delivered here one year ago. Panera is definitely open, and you can even order online in advance and send someone down to pick up the food without having to wait in line! The main hospital has a cafeteria but not Panera there. The hospital cafeteria has some decent soup/sandwich/salad options, though. The food they send you after you deliver will inevitable be underwhelming, so I'd recommend sending your partner/family member down to Panera or, like I did, to Z Burger in CoHi for a delicious burger and shake. After all, you will have just delivered a baby. You earned those calories.

[Anonymous]

I work at WHC. Panera is open and amazing, and the cafeteria is good as far as hospital cafeterias go. I am vegetarian and there is PLENTY to choose from -- made to order veggie burgers, sub station, salad station, pizza area, sushi area, a rotating hot foods that always include lots of veggie options.

I also delivered at WHC and THAT food definitely sucks. My partner went to the cafeteria for me after I gave birth (this was pre-Panera).