Sharing Sibley Birthing Experiences

[kristinah]

Can anyone share with me their experience of giving birth at Sibley? I am due in April and my Dr. delivers at Sibley and I am trying to find out as much as I can about what to expect.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

There was a big discussion on delivering at Sibley on the original DCUM website:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/dcurbanmom/index.php?module=phpwsbb&PHPWSBB_MAN_OP=view&PHPWS_MAN_ITEMS[]=39129

[Anonymous]

I found so many of these comments scary and negative - ugh -and of course got worried as I had a good experience at GW for my 1st baby but will be delivering at Sibley this Spring. So I checked with some friends at work and both have wives who delivered at Sibley twice in the past couple years and had four very good experiences. Just worth noting, as an anecdote.

[kristinah]

Yes, after reading the earlier discussion, I have to say I am quite nervous about delivering there. Thanks for 4 positive experience you've heard. The more positive experiences I hear... the better. I am planning to have a Doula and my Mother to be an advocate just as a back-up. I would hate for my first delivery to be a terrible experience due to poor nursing care.

[Anonymous]

In my opinion, Sibley is over-rated. The hospital is riding off of it's outstanding reputation from many years ago. I was born there in the early 70s and
delivered my first born there in 2005. Much has changed. I did not find the staff, nurses or facilities up to par. The facilities and private rooms
are dreadful.

I decided to have my 2nd baby at Virginia Hospital center. What a wonderful place. Everyone is guaranteed a PRIVATE room. At Sibley you are not,
it's first come, first serve. I was lucky to have a private room at Sibley however, it was so small, every time by husband moved around he hit my bed.

I think there are much better hospitals in this area for delivering than Sibley.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone recommend a better place to deliver in the area? I am located in Chevy Chase DC.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure, but I think Shady Grove is opening up an whole new, state-of-the-art maternity wing very soon (with all private rooms.)

[Anonymous]

I think every DC-area hospital has its pros & cons. For example, GW (where I delivered in 2006) has HUGE labor & delivery rooms, all private recovery rooms, and an excellent NICU. BUT, it also is a teaching hospital, so there are residents and med students in & out. Also, the food service is horrible, the parking is v. expensive, and the place is not well run (visitors did not need to check in with anyone -- they just strolled right on into my room). And so much about your experience will depend on the luck of the draw in terms of the nursing staff, and they switch every 12 hours, so even that is not a constant. Bottom line, GW, Georgetown, Sibley are all excellent hospitals and you shouldn't let the Sibley horror stories scare you away. I've heard similar stories about GW and Georgetown. You just never know what your experience will be like, and you need to be prepared to be a vocal advocate for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Outside the extreme examples, the average experience at Sibley seems to be like mine (I watched that post on the old board and have talked with others): very good L&D, mediocre to bad post-partum. Sibley, like most other community hospitals (as opposed to teaching hospitals like Gtown and GW) that do maternity services, is totally overwhelmed by patients because so many maternity programs have closed; that means that they throw their resources at L&D (which makes sense, given liability, etc.) and give shorter shrift to recovery.

Practically speaking, what does this mean? Here's what it was like for me: Big, beautiful L&D room, wonderful and responsive nurses throughout labor and delivery (and I had nurses than most because I delivered during an especially busy time when they kept calling new nurses in). The only negative part of my L&D experience occurred during the insertion of my epidural; the anesthesiologist was bitching about one of the OBs to my nurse and addressed me only to scold me for crying while he was inserting the epidural. Truly awful bedside manner, clinically competent. But then I couldn't get a private room my first night because it was so busy, and the nurses on the shared-room wing were overworked and not particularly helpful. I was able to get a private room my second day, and that made a huge difference -- it was quiet, and the nurses were much more responsive.

Bottom line: I'm having #2 in March, and I've spoken with my OB about the possibility of delivering at Gtown (where she also has privileges). We likely won't decide until I go into labor, and I'm OK with going to Sibley again. It's not my first choice, but I know that I can have a positive delivery experience there, which is really the most important part.

[Anonymous]

I think all hospitals have their pros and cons, but I really had VERY GOOD experiences delivering at Sibley BOTH times, and I credit their awesome L&D nursing staff to helping me through a very difficult labor on #1 that I think would've ended in a C-Section almost anywhere else.

I agree that the post-partum nurses range from good to horrible, the food is yucky, and the post-partum rooms are bleak. But for me, I can deal with all of those things. As a first time Mom, I was most scared about the delivery process, and I really think Sibley is VERY VERY good at that. The rooms are very nice, and most importantly, the nursing staff is excellent.

The rest I can deal with. I can put up with a yucky room after birth. I can get my husband to bring food. And I can advocate pretty well on my own for post-partum treatment. Its the delivery process that had me worried... what would I do in the "heat of battle" if I had nasty unsupportive nurses or substandard care?

In that way, I think Sibley is really really good. I'd go there again in a second.

[Anonymous]

I had a great experience with Sibley overall for a scheduled c-section. Some of the pp nurses we could have lived without but overall it was really good. My husband (a natural charmer) became so popular with the nurses that we left with months' worth of diapers, wipes, A&D, etc. So I guess my advice it to kill them with kindness! April is far off, though, so if you're going to be so nervous about it that it ruins your pregnancy you should definitely look to switch as there is plenty of time. But in my humble opinion, it's just not necessary (worrying or switching). Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

I loved Hotel Sibley. I had one bad night nurse--we'll just go ahead and call her Nurse Ratchet, but outside of that, I loved everything about it and had a great experience.

The one thing I would recommend is to spring for the separate room, and if you're scheduling a C, do it for like Sunday or Monday as your chances of getting an individual room are much higher.

[Anonymous]

I've delivered there 2x in last 2 years and thought the nurses ranged from satisfactory to superb and even though I got the teeny private rooms both times I was happy with the room. Nurses called when answered, food delivered on time and promptly picked up.

Some advice: they will post on your door if you don't want to be disturbed. This was great and I wish I'd known sooner (verbal instructions did not seem to work).

As others have said: follow up on everything. Just because you are told something is being done -- or even that it has been done -- does not mean it's so. So, e.g., with respect to hearing tests, bloodwork, calls to your pediatrician, etc. follow up to make sure it's been done. We had baby literally strapped in her carseat and were in the hallway ready to walk out the door when we found out her bloodwork had never been done.

My only big beef with Sibley is the anesthesiologists. First time it took nearly 2 hours to show up with the epidural after I asked for it. Second time they never showed up (I had baby before they came -- after about an hour of waiting). Nurse told me later he was in a c-section and there were no others available in the hospital. One of the primary reasons I gave birth in a hospital was to get help with the pain. Based on my experience, I have to question whether Sibley is appropriately staffed in this area. My advice is to plan for a wait and ask for the epidural well before you need it.

[Anonymous]

Wow, i had a great epidural and found the anesthesiologists incredibly responsive. I started having some discrepancies in sensation (i.e. one leg feeling more) so they returned to bolus and reposition the catheter within 15 minutes of my request. I guess it depends on who is on. I actually had the non-OB assigned doc do my epidural because the assigned doc was in the OR tied up with a c-section. Overall I had a very good experience. My Labor and Delivery nurse was superb. I was one of the unlucky ones to get a semi-private for the first night - not ideal but I was moved to a private by noon the next day where I took a nice hot shower. Plus/minus on the post partum nurses- a few excellent and one or two not so good. The food is not so great so get family/friends to bring carryout !

[Anonymous]

I had both of my kids at Sibley. Anesthesologist was the same for both (how random to get the same doc more than 2 years apart). The L&D nurses I had were GREAT. The 1st time my L&D nurse helped me to get my son out who was have some issues (heart rate decels, oxygen levels , etc.) without resorting to c-section. My second time, different, but FABULOUS nurse. My practice delivers most babies at Sibley and my delivery experience was great, but I agree with PP, post-partum nurses, not so hot, but good lactation group/nurses, but doesn't seem to be enough of them.