I delivered a month early at Sibley and they did a great job with me and my baby. There were neo natologists from Georgetown present when i delivered because the baby was so early. Lots of people will say to go with the highest level NICU, and that's one approach. The other side of the same coin is that you might find a hospital with a lower level NICU has the resources and availability to help you if you have a healthy pregnancy and birth but some minor complications because they aren't dealing with extremely high risk cases. We are very fortunate in DC to have access to lots of great hospitals that can help moms and babies. Good luck with your decision.

Anonymous wrote:Can we please stop the fear mongering about the Sibley NICU? This happens constantly. I’ve discussed this with my OB and he said that literally only about once every two to three years is there a case where a baby needs to be transferred from Sibley’s nursery to Georgetown. It’s extremely rare. Also, the neonatologists who work at Sibley also work at Georgetown. So the staff are the same.

Let’s not pretend that a higher grade NICU means you will automatically get better care—in many cases then you are talking about teaching hospitals (which have their own issues because you’ve got a bunch of med students and residents cluttering up the environment), hospitals who have Baby Friendly designations, and/or hospitals with issues with nursing staff (ie like being constantly understaffed or using traveling nurses who may or may not be familiar with the hospital rules and protocols).

Bad things happen at all hospitals, and being in a higher level NICU or a level one trauma center or at an academic medical center does not mean you are guaranteed the best care. My good friends mom, a retired nurse, would intentionally never go to teaching hospitals for her own care because she had seen so many issues from her time as a staff nurse with students and residents. If you look up infection rates, readmission rates, patient satisfaction scores, and Leapfrog rates for some of these hospitals you’ll find the true picture is far more complex than boiling down which hospital is best simply by a measure like C section rate or NICU level.

Yes, because anyone who is known to be high-risk isn't going to deliver at Sibley. It's only the rare cases where someone is thought to be normal risk and then the baby is born with something very seriously wrong would a transfer need to happen. But that doesn't mean that Sibley could handle all the deliveries that happen at Georgetown.

Anonymous wrote:WHC is also good, but not particularly convenient to Bethesda.

God no. Do not deliver there unless you have to. The recovery rooms are terrible.

Anonymous wrote:

mommy2be wrote:Thanks everyone! So for more context - we currently live and work in DC but will be moving to Bethesda soon. DC will probably be more convenient since we would typically be coming from work for our appointments. I prefer a doctor over a midwife. I am not high-risk, but would prefer to be at a place that has a great NICU. Based on that, do people have suggestions? What do people think about Georgetown Medstar?

I was low-risk and planned to deliver at Georgetown because it was convenient for me. Ended up suddenly developing HELLP at 32 weeks, needed an emergency c section and baby spent 6 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t have been happier with my decision to deliver there! If I had chosen Sibley for a “cushier” experience I would have been separated from my baby as she needed care that the special care nursery at Sibley couldn’t have provided. I stayed at Georgetown for 5 full days and have nothing but good things to say about the staff and quality of care. Only real complaint I’ve heard from other people about Gtown (and do agree with) is that the food is quite lousy. But that’s not exactly within the realm of things I’d base my delivery decision on.

My tip would be to rotate between doctors each appt. I really don’t see a benefit from only getting to know one when the likelihood that they’ll deliver you is very slim. (Only OB I really disliked was Dr Leah Orta Nieves. Everyone else fell in the good or great category. Anecdotally, Dr Tara Kelly seems to get the most favorable reviews.)

How do you know Sibley couldn’t have handled your baby’s needs OP? You didn’t deliver there.

Can we please stop the fear mongering about the Sibley NICU? This happens constantly. I’ve discussed this with my OB and he said that literally only about once every two to three years is there a case where a baby needs to be transferred from Sibley’s nursery to Georgetown. It’s extremely rare. Also, the neonatologists who work at Sibley also work at Georgetown. So the staff are the same.

Let’s not pretend that a higher grade NICU means you will automatically get better care—in many cases then you are talking about teaching hospitals (which have their own issues because you’ve got a bunch of med students and residents cluttering up the environment), hospitals who have Baby Friendly designations, and/or hospitals with issues with nursing staff (ie like being constantly understaffed or using traveling nurses who may or may not be familiar with the hospital rules and protocols).

Bad things happen at all hospitals, and being in a higher level NICU or a level one trauma center or at an academic medical center does not mean you are guaranteed the best care. My good friends mom, a retired nurse, would intentionally never go to teaching hospitals for her own care because she had seen so many issues from her time as a staff nurse with students and residents. If you look up infection rates, readmission rates, patient satisfaction scores, and Leapfrog rates for some of these hospitals you’ll find the true picture is far more complex than boiling down which hospital is best simply by a measure like C section rate or NICU level.

I had to go where my insurance allowed me to go. And where my OB office had privileges. Both times it was Reston Hospital. Not the best, but I had no issues. A little jealousy when people talk about their birthing experiences as mine was very hospital like, but it was good. I had a major issue during my 2nd delivery and they handled it with aplomb. I had nightmares after that my kid could have had birth defects if it wasn't handled so well.

Anonymous wrote:

mommy2be wrote:Thanks everyone! So for more context - we currently live and work in DC but will be moving to Bethesda soon. DC will probably be more convenient since we would typically be coming from work for our appointments. I prefer a doctor over a midwife. I am not high-risk, but would prefer to be at a place that has a great NICU. Based on that, do people have suggestions? What do people think about Georgetown Medstar?

I was low-risk and planned to deliver at Georgetown because it was convenient for me. Ended up suddenly developing HELLP at 32 weeks, needed an emergency c section and baby spent 6 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t have been happier with my decision to deliver there! If I had chosen Sibley for a “cushier” experience I would have been separated from my baby as she needed care that the special care nursery at Sibley couldn’t have provided. I stayed at Georgetown for 5 full days and have nothing but good things to say about the staff and quality of care. Only real complaint I’ve heard from other people about Gtown (and do agree with) is that the food is quite lousy. But that’s not exactly within the realm of things I’d base my delivery decision on.

My tip would be to rotate between doctors each appt. I really don’t see a benefit from only getting to know one when the likelihood that they’ll deliver you is very slim. (Only OB I really disliked was Dr Leah Orta Nieves. Everyone else fell in the good or great category. Anecdotally, Dr Tara Kelly seems to get the most favorable reviews.)

this is very helpful - thank you!!

which OB at georgetown have people had good experience with?

mommy2be wrote:Thanks everyone! So for more context - we currently live and work in DC but will be moving to Bethesda soon. DC will probably be more convenient since we would typically be coming from work for our appointments. I prefer a doctor over a midwife. I am not high-risk, but would prefer to be at a place that has a great NICU. Based on that, do people have suggestions? What do people think about Georgetown Medstar?

I was low-risk and planned to deliver at Georgetown because it was convenient for me. Ended up suddenly developing HELLP at 32 weeks, needed an emergency c section and baby spent 6 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t have been happier with my decision to deliver there! If I had chosen Sibley for a “cushier” experience I would have been separated from my baby as she needed care that the special care nursery at Sibley couldn’t have provided. I stayed at Georgetown for 5 full days and have nothing but good things to say about the staff and quality of care. Only real complaint I’ve heard from other people about Gtown (and do agree with) is that the food is quite lousy. But that’s not exactly within the realm of things I’d base my delivery decision on.

My tip would be to rotate between doctors each appt. I really don’t see a benefit from only getting to know one when the likelihood that they’ll deliver you is very slim. (Only OB I really disliked was Dr Leah Orta Nieves. Everyone else fell in the good or great category. Anecdotally, Dr Tara Kelly seems to get the most favorable reviews.)

Thanks for that! What do people think of Sibley? That's the one that has the cushiest experience, but not as good a nicu right?

Georgetown or sibley. For Georgetown, you’d need to be with their practice and just be warned the parking and sometimes appointment delays can be a pain. I considered several times switching out because of these two factors but happy that I stuck with it. The delivery and post partum were excellent (as far as they can be excellent).

mommy2be wrote:

Anonymous wrote:do you want the place that will be the cushiest for you? or that has access to the highest-level NICU? Because those are not the same place.

i definitely prefer access to the highest level NICU in case something goes wrong. where would that be?

Georgetown or INOVA Ffx for highest level NICU. Given where you live/work, go w Georgetown. I delivered there in 2012 & 2015 and was very happy there. I was not high risk but my son DID unexpectedly need triage team from NICU at birth. No stay in NICU but was glad we were there. I’m sure people who have delivered more recently can reflect more on their experiences and doctor choices there. Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:do you want the place that will be the cushiest for you? or that has access to the highest-level NICU? Because those are not the same place.

i definitely prefer access to the highest level NICU in case something goes wrong. where would that be?

Yes I will already be in Bethesda by the time I am due.

For those who liked Georgetown Medstar - what did you like about it? And which doctor?

WHC is MedStar Washington Hospital Center?

do you want the place that will be the cushiest for you? or that has access to the highest-level NICU? Because those are not the same place.