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Expectant and Postpartum Moms
Experiences with Reiter & Hill
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Anonymous
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I am with Reiter and Hill and due to deliver in March at Sibley, but I would like to explore. I like them so far, I have been happy with the people I've met and I heard they are one of the oldest practices in DC. That, personally, gives me a lot of confidence that if something goes wrong they will know what to do to provide safety for me and my baby . Now, I haven't yet met any of the doctors that assist birth there yet and I read the posts about Dr. Reiters' manners and other weird stuff, so I am not interested in people sharing that since I already read it.
What I would like to know is: Did anyone have an experience where Reiter and Hill induced and did c-sections without that being necessary? Or experiences with the opposite? And how about after the birth, spending time in the room with your husband/baby/breastfeeding? How much in control can you be? and can you recommed a Dr. from that practice? Also, do you get to use the doctor you pick or you ger whomever is at the hospital at that moment? thanks, Maria |
Anonymous
| Since you already read the other posts, the only two that haven't been addressed is that you get whoever is at the hospital (unless you have a c-section). They are all pretty pushy about inductions a week after your due date (some docs let you wait until 2 weeks after). Don't count on anyone calling you back for test results on a regular basis unless you call them or any sort of hand-holding. I was coughing up blood one weekend and Dr. Johnson (who is usually very nice but was obviously at a dinner party or something) testily told me that it was nothing. |
Anonymous
| I just wanted to note that some of your questions really relate to Sibley procedures rather than dr. procedures. I'd recommend taking the hospital tour at Sibley to see if your comfortable wih their policies following the birth. |
Anonymous
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I'm due in three months and am with Reiter & Hill. You can see as many or as few of the OB doctors throughout your pregnancy as you like. Personally, I'm meeting most of them, and the ones I really like more frequently.
During delivery, you get whoever is on call that day. I have the whole on-call schedule for the two weeks before and after my due date now, so I know at least in advance which doctor will be there on a given day. (Of course if the baby comes early, then I'll just have to find out when that time rolls around). I'm not sure if it can be much different. A OB these days can't be available for office visits 24/7 as well as be on call... |
Anonymous
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Reiter Hill is a large practice-I've been with them for 10 years now. Dr. Johnson delivered my little boy-both my husband and I loved her. My scar is very tiny (c-section and necessary)-she let my husband watch everything. Dr. Reiter was fantastic during his visits while I was at Sibley-he circumcised our son. Sibley is fantastic hospital! All around-my son's birth went well and we had a positive experience.
My neurologist is a patient of Dr. Jackson, a dr. in the practice. She's had 4 children-Dr. Jackson delivered all 4. |
Anonymous
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Dr. Johnson delivered my son - c-section, also necessary.
Found her to be very calming presence, and very professional in her dealings with me. I also like Dr. Jackson - saw her for most of my prenatal visits. |
Anonymous
Yes-Dr. Johnson is very professional and calm. When the house pediatrician was scaring the living hell out of us-she was our rock. Turns out-the house pediatrician was wrong about everything. She's a wonderful doctor. |
Anonymous
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I personally like Dr. Loveland the best. She reminds me of a "cool big sister" in terms of her beside manner. She's opinionated, (but I think open minded), direct, funny, and I think very knowledgeable. Others I know find her mannerisms to be too offputting... but I really like them.
She delivered my second son (vaginal birth), and I think did a superb job. Very positive, encouraging, and professional. |
Anonymous
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I think you'll like R&H if you appreciate a very medical birth. There's many good docs (Johnson, Jackson and Loveland all seem lovely), but they don't respond very well if patients have strong opinions about the birth process. I had posted previously about their lack of calling back re. test results. If everything's normal, maybe you don't mind that.
One thing that a PP said simply isn't true though: I now go to a solo practitioner and between him and his back-up (DeSouza and Footer), I always get a call back about test results, even if they are normal and between the two of them, I have always gotten sympathetic and speedy replies after hours. |
Anonymous
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I got to R&H and will deliver #2 w/ them in Dec. Dr. Nevin, who I LOVE, delivered my 1st. While my pregnancy was normal w/ no complications, my labor and delivery were unexpected, somewhat complicated, and very rushed. Dr. Nevin did everything to make sure that my baby arrived quickly, safely, and healthy. (It was a vaginal birth.) I met most of the doctors when I was pregnant w/ #1 but many new obs have joined that I still haven't met w/ this time around. I knew in my head that my least favorite (Reiter) was going to be on call when I arrived, and guess what, he WAS! But, he was completely different in the hospital than out. Same goes for McPherson who I didn't care for at ALL but delivered my neighbor and said she was totally different in the hospital. I think all of the doctors have their good and bad days.
We spoke at length at my last appt about how my first delivery wasn't what I expected and what my expectations were for this birth and the dr. gave me wonderful ideas and a plan that both my DH and I feel very comfortable w/ (of course it's very far in advance to plan everything). I plan to follow this conversation up with others in the practice to see what different thoughts and opinions might be. BTW, birth #1 was not about how R&H performed, it was about some medical complications out of my control that were very unusual. The drs and nurses were GREAT to help me achieve what I wanted, I'm just STILL unhappy. There are a lot of "issues" w/ R&H, I certainly won't tell you otherwise, BUT my DH and I feel that birth should be fairly natural. If it's not, then what do we want? We want the BEST medical care available to us, with all the bells and whistles for both me and our baby. I'm confident being my own advocate and making my own informed decisions so I look to them (and others) for advice, not to decide for me. To me, good medical care, if needed, is WAY more important than a dr. attitude if I bother them on a weekend or if I wait for a long time in the waiting room. An aside, R&H usually only call w/ abnormal test results but I was pleasantly surprised when they called me with normal results last month because it would be a few weeks until my next appt. They have always returned my calls promptly otherwise and fit me in for an unexpected appt quickly as well. |
Anonymous
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I've been very happy with the practice. I almost always go to the Falls Church office.
I also find that they return my calls promptly. They may not call you if your results are normal, but I personally don't mind calling when they're due and getting them proactively. They always return my calls. |
Anonymous
I think it's worth noting that many if not most OBs don't spend much time with you after the birth, with your husband, or on breastfeeding. I had a very good solo OB for both of my births, and I don't really remember seeing much of her after I delivered, although I know she stuck around (obviously) to make sure I was fine. And she came by each morning to check on me (and to do my sons' circumcisions), but she was in and out pretty quickly. I guess what I'm saying is that this isn't a measure by which I'd judge an OB. I'll also add that R&H was the practice who covered for my solo OB, and I did need to see them while she was away at the end of pg #2. It took a long time and some badgering for the nurse at my OB's office to get someone at R&H to pay attention (I had possible pre-eclampsic symptoms), but once she did, they had me go to the hospital, and the R&H OB on call was fine -- not warm, particularly, but seemingly knowledgeable and thorough. |
Anonymous
| OP - You may want to do a search on the forums Reiter and Hill and Sibley. There have been several very long threads with many people leaving Reiter and Hill, referring to it as baby factory, being rushed in and out, ruse treatment from doctors, tendency for interventions and other problems. Views on Sibley are more mixed. |
LatinMom
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Dr. Hill delivered my son by C-section and he was great - very calm, very soothing. The only wrinkle was that I had to push 3 hours before they realized my son had gotten stuck and there was no way he was coming out on his own.
Although I've read some negative comments about the support staff (as in not calling with results), I found them to be incredibly helpful and supportive. My son is now 8 and I've been going there for now 9 years and I've never had any problems with the drs. |
Anonymous
| I have been seeing Reiter for almost ten years and I think he is a very knowledgeable, experienced doctor. No, he's not going to be your BFF so if that's what you are looking for, another doctor or practice may be better for you. I want to second that a lot of your concerns are more hospital practices, not R&H practices, so you should see if Sibley is the right fit. My understanding is that they only deliver at Sibley unless you are high risk, then at GT. Reiter is only on call a few times per month so your chances if getting him are smaller anyway. I really like and have heard nothing but good things about Dr. Jackson and also heard very positive things about Dr. Osmun. I do NOT like the new OB, McCanders. She had no time for me until we started talking about non-pregnancy things and then she chatted for ten minutes about herself. Just my two cents. |