Maternity ward tours in GW

[Anonymous]

I can't find anything on the website but does anyone know if there are tours of the maternity ward in George Washington Hospital?
I'd really like to see this hospital before I decide to go along with Sibley (where my OB delivers).
Also is it true that children under 12 can not visit unless their siblings (I mean, I read that on GW website but is this standard hospital policy everywhere?)

[Anonymous]

You can sign up for the free tours at momease.com.

[Anonymous]

I don't know the rule on children visiting at GW, but it is the rule at Sibley -- siblings only.

[Anonymous]

The hospital I worked at Anne Arundel MC has the same policy - not sure of exact age but under a certain age- siblings only.

[Anonymous]

That is the rule at GW. I would suggest to go with the hospital where you are going to like the doctor doing to the delivery. I just delivered at GW and, yes, the accommodations were great, but, I ended up with a doctor who was not part of my doctors group who I had never met and my baby was delivered by a resident.

[Anonymous]

I delivered at GW and it was fabulous. Yes, my usual OB did not do the delivery but from past experiences of others it is rare that your actual OB will deliver your child due to all the variables of time, delivery length, date etc. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I was planning on delivering at GW until two people I know who delivered there said it was AWFUL, especially the nurses. I delivered at Sibley instead and had a good experience.

Also, if you go to the Original Site on DC Urban Moms and search for it, you may be able to find some old threads discussing GW and Sibley. The overwhelming consensus was that people had better experiences at Sibley.

[Anonymous]

I disagree, I know several people who delivered at Sibley and had bad experiences with the nurses, responsiveness to requests and room-sharing. There are a lot of factors that go into the selection of a hospital and I don't think you should go solely on the horror stories here. I picked my hospital bc I had a positive experience on the tour, with the drs and nurse on my visits and they had the best NICU in the area (just in case).

[Anonymous]

I do think experiences are truly individual at all the area hospitals. If you search the threads you can find the best and worst of any area hospital. I think we all need a bit of luck of the draw in terms of staff, nurses, lactation consultants, etc. I honestly think it helps to not expect an exceptional experience, just go with the flow and hope for the best.