Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good friend advised me to choose a hospital where they will take your baby to the nursery overnight so you can sleep between feedings. I'm glad I chose Sibley for that reason (in my case over Holy Cross, which is "Baby-Friendly" and encourages "rooming in").

I second this. Forced rooming in for a mom recovering from surgery or who is exhausted is how babies get dropped or smothered. Baby Friendly hospitals are not where I would choose to deliver. They are not friendly to mothers and they strip women of autonomy and infantilize them by forced education on the benefits of breastfeeding and refusing formula unless medically necessary.

Can we really not achieve some sort of flexibility here? Surely for some births one is better than the other.

The BFHI is by its very nature, rigid and inflexible.

There is a female only practice in DC - Sanders and Schaffel. They deliver at DC but do not take insurance. Your other options include private mega practices (Reiter Hill, CWC), hospital based mega practices (WHC, Georgetown, GW), hospital based midwife practices (GW and WHC), smaller private practices (Bloom), or solo providers (Footer, Burke, etc). There are benefits and drawbacks to all choices.

I delivered at Sibley for all three of my kids and I have friends who delivered at WHC, GW, and Georgetown.

I think we all thought we had excellent medical care. Sibley and Georgetown had better postpartum experiences.

And FWIW I strongly preferred a female OB (I am a sexual assault survivor and was pretty freaked out about the whole process for my first). However the same male doctor was on call for all three of my births and it was a very good experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind just because you pick a woman OB does not mean you will have a woman, let alone that particular woman, deliver your baby. I can't think of any woman-only practices. Closest you can get is to go with the midwives at GW and WHC--but if you get risked out and end up in the OB practice, you're back to potentially having a male OB deliver you.

The WHC midwives are all female. I've delivered with them twice and 100% recommend them.

Right, both WHC and GW midwife practices are all female. But no all-women OB practice is, as far as I know. There's one that delivers at Shady Grove, but that's a hike for someone thinking about GW or Sibley.

Going with a midwife practice is no guarantee of not having a male physician involved in your care. If there are complications in your delivery you will get whomever is the attending physician seeing you — male or female. And also the residents can also be male.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind just because you pick a woman OB does not mean you will have a woman, let alone that particular woman, deliver your baby. I can't think of any woman-only practices. Closest you can get is to go with the midwives at GW and WHC--but if you get risked out and end up in the OB practice, you're back to potentially having a male OB deliver you.

The WHC midwives are all female. I've delivered with them twice and 100% recommend them.

Right, both WHC and GW midwife practices are all female. But no all-women OB practice is, as far as I know. There's one that delivers at Shady Grove, but that's a hike for someone thinking about GW or Sibley.

I'm at Northern Virginia Physicians to Women (VHC) and 4 of their 5 OBs are women. And I don't think Dr. Elliott does on call deliveries anymore, only scheduled C-sections with his regular patients. I really like him but I only saw him for one pre-natal appointment with my first child and zero with my second. He did stop by to send us off from the hospital and signed my discharge papers though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind just because you pick a woman OB does not mean you will have a woman, let alone that particular woman, deliver your baby. I can't think of any woman-only practices. Closest you can get is to go with the midwives at GW and WHC--but if you get risked out and end up in the OB practice, you're back to potentially having a male OB deliver you.

The WHC midwives are all female. I've delivered with them twice and 100% recommend them.

Right, both WHC and GW midwife practices are all female. But no all-women OB practice is, as far as I know. There's one that delivers at Shady Grove, but that's a hike for someone thinking about GW or Sibley.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good friend advised me to choose a hospital where they will take your baby to the nursery overnight so you can sleep between feedings. I'm glad I chose Sibley for that reason (in my case over Holy Cross, which is "Baby-Friendly" and encourages "rooming in").

I second this. Forced rooming in for a mom recovering from surgery or who is exhausted is how babies get dropped or smothered. Baby Friendly hospitals are not where I would choose to deliver. They are not friendly to mothers and they strip women of autonomy and infantilize them by forced education on the benefits of breastfeeding and refusing formula unless medically necessary.

Can we really not achieve some sort of flexibility here? Surely for some births one is better than the other.

Sibley is flexible. They have lactation consultants to support breastfeeding. They won't take your baby to the nursery if you don't want them to. The difference is they give parents a choice. "Baby-(un)Friendly" hospitals are, by definition, not flexible.

Same with VHC -- lactation consultants on staff, baby can stay with you the whole time OR go to the nursery, they will happily give your baby formula or a pacifier (gasp!).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good friend advised me to choose a hospital where they will take your baby to the nursery overnight so you can sleep between feedings. I'm glad I chose Sibley for that reason (in my case over Holy Cross, which is "Baby-Friendly" and encourages "rooming in").

I second this. Forced rooming in for a mom recovering from surgery or who is exhausted is how babies get dropped or smothered. Baby Friendly hospitals are not where I would choose to deliver. They are not friendly to mothers and they strip women of autonomy and infantilize them by forced education on the benefits of breastfeeding and refusing formula unless medically necessary.

Can we really not achieve some sort of flexibility here? Surely for some births one is better than the other.

Sibley is flexible. They have lactation consultants to support breastfeeding. They won't take your baby to the nursery if you don't want them to. The difference is they give parents a choice. "Baby-(un)Friendly" hospitals are, by definition, not flexible.

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind just because you pick a woman OB does not mean you will have a woman, let alone that particular woman, deliver your baby. I can't think of any woman-only practices. Closest you can get is to go with the midwives at GW and WHC--but if you get risked out and end up in the OB practice, you're back to potentially having a male OB deliver you.

The WHC midwives are all female. I've delivered with them twice and 100% recommend them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good friend advised me to choose a hospital where they will take your baby to the nursery overnight so you can sleep between feedings. I'm glad I chose Sibley for that reason (in my case over Holy Cross, which is "Baby-Friendly" and encourages "rooming in").

I second this. Forced rooming in for a mom recovering from surgery or who is exhausted is how babies get dropped or smothered. Baby Friendly hospitals are not where I would choose to deliver. They are not friendly to mothers and they strip women of autonomy and infantilize them by forced education on the benefits of breastfeeding and refusing formula unless medically necessary.

Can we really not achieve some sort of flexibility here? Surely for some births one is better than the other.

Anonymous wrote:Drs Jamshidi or Valentine at GW. I had two kids there and had excellent experiences both times. Good luck!

I second Dr. Valentine. She's great.

Anonymous wrote:What about Virginia Hospital Center? Anyone delivered here before?

I delivered my son at VHC last year. I have nothing but positive things to say about the experience. It is a teaching hospital so you may have nursing and/or med students present for some aspects if that matters to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A good friend advised me to choose a hospital where they will take your baby to the nursery overnight so you can sleep between feedings. I'm glad I chose Sibley for that reason (in my case over Holy Cross, which is "Baby-Friendly" and encourages "rooming in").

I second this. Forced rooming in for a mom recovering from surgery or who is exhausted is how babies get dropped or smothered. Baby Friendly hospitals are not where I would choose to deliver. They are not friendly to mothers and they strip women of autonomy and infantilize them by forced education on the benefits of breastfeeding and refusing formula unless medically necessary.

+1 they are not really friendly to babies either.

Anonymous wrote:A good friend advised me to choose a hospital where they will take your baby to the nursery overnight so you can sleep between feedings. I'm glad I chose Sibley for that reason (in my case over Holy Cross, which is "Baby-Friendly" and encourages "rooming in").

I second this. Forced rooming in for a mom recovering from surgery or who is exhausted is how babies get dropped or smothered. Baby Friendly hospitals are not where I would choose to deliver. They are not friendly to mothers and they strip women of autonomy and infantilize them by forced education on the benefits of breastfeeding and refusing formula unless medically necessary.

What about Virginia Hospital Center? Anyone delivered here before?

Anonymous wrote:If hospital is important to you, then choose the hospital first and find an OB that can deliver there second. Sibley is my first choice hands down. All private rooms. A community hospital is MUCH more calming and less chaotic than a teaching hospital. I have had two babies at Sibley, including one with a 2 week stay in the Special Care Nursery. I could not imagine having done it at GW or Georgetown. You don’t want 3-4 different people claiming to be your doctor and coming in at different times (telling you different things) when you have your first kid. It’s too confusing.

You must be simple because I didn’t find it confusing at all and can’t imagine not being able to tell medical professionals and their respective roles apart. I actually found it helpful and refreshing to see different faces during my stay. It was nice to get different perspectives and I personally LOVE med students and residents. They give you more time and listen more intently. I never feel rushed or guilty for raising random concerns. After delivering at Georgetown we chose their pediatric dept for the same experience with our child.