surprised no one has mentioned WHC -- Level III NICU, all private rooms and in the District. I guess the fact that it's east of the park just turns folks off.....

Anonymous wrote:Surprised that more people haven't suggested making the switch to GW. All private postpartum rooms with no additional fee, level 3 NICU (on the off chance that you need it) and great food options close by.

We had a great experience @ GW.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I went on the maternity tour at Sibley yesterday and learned that as of July 1st the private room fee will be going up to $290 a night! I was willing to pay $245 but this recent jump has pushed me over the edge. I'll be looking for a new OB / Hospital tomorrow. 

This is quite reasonable, what are you complaining about?

Depends on your definition of reasonable. As you can see from this and other threads, it's not reasonable to a lot of people that, while all other hospitals in the area have private rooms as the standard of care, Sibley charges that much for a private room just because they also have a few shared ones. It doesn't even matter if I can afford it or not, I would not want to support that policy.

Anonymous wrote:DH and I went on the maternity tour at Sibley yesterday and learned that as of July 1st the private room fee will be going up to $290 a night! I was willing to pay $245 but this recent jump has pushed me over the edge. I'll be looking for a new OB / Hospital tomorrow. 

This is quite reasonable, what are you complaining about?

The only problem with Georgetown is that it is a teaching hospital and I felt like I was constantly being woken up by someone. It was quite annoying but my baby required the NICU so I was happy to be in the best environment for him. I do believe you can request to not have students in your room, although I am not certain as I did not hear about that until after my stay. Georgetown is much more quite and the nurses we a lot more attentive. At the time in 2007 there were only 5 other moms there. This was a drastic comparison to my delivery in Sibley during 2010 which was during a blizzard baby boom and they didn't think they had enough rooms for all the women in labor. I hated my labor experience as the staff was constantly changing and so overwhelmed and they never gave me a catheter after my epi and two bags of saline so my bladder almost burst. I did get the last single room. I would go Georgetown over Sibley but it depends on your OB.

I just delivered at gtown after having my previous delivery at GW. GW was ok, but Georgetown was off the charts - simply great. I would highly recommend it. Also thought all the docs I dealt with in the practice were excellent. Would highly recommend Georgetown.

RHJN, Foxhall and quite a few of the solo OBs in DC deliver at Sibley. So if you choose one of those OBs you are stuck with Sibley.

Anonymous wrote:What's the deal with Sibley? It sounds like there are better options at nearby hospitals, but everyone seems to want to deliver there. Is it that great or just a status symbol to say you were there?

I think the problem is that a lot of OBs deliver there. It's probably convenient for them.

What's the deal with Sibley? It sounds like there are better options at nearby hospitals, but everyone seems to want to deliver there. Is it that great or just a status symbol to say you were there?

The fee Sibley charges would also be a lot less irritating if the private rooms were actually comfortable. Instead, when I delivered in December, we got a room that was so tiny that we had to move the baby's bassinet in front of the door to the room and squueeezzeee by it in order to access the bathroom (as the only place the bassinet would fit was immediately in front of the bathroom door). There was nowhere to put our suitcase that was both (1) easy to access and (2) out of the way -- instead, we either had to have it lying on the floor right next to the bed/in front of the husband's couch/bed thingy, or shoved out of the way so that we could actually stand/walk around the room but impossible to get to without a lot of hassle. The room did not get much natural light. Between the size, the dimness, and the uncomfortable beds (the bed/couch thingy for the husband was hard and cramped, and the constant noise/movement from the anti-pressure-point hospital bed I was on kept me up all night) we were dying to leave after 12 hours.

Incidentally, we couldn't -- pediatrician wouldn't discharge our daughter, who was thriving, because I "was a first time mom" and because "everyone should stay in the hospital as long as their insurance would permit" (accompanied by a digression about how she thinks it is disgraceful insurance only provides for 2 days). When we finally got out of there, we felt like we'd been sprung from prison.

Anonymous wrote:I just delivered at Sibley in March and the private room rate was $265 and not $245. Not sure $20 will make it or break it for OP. I was annoyed at the thought of paying over $1000 for a private room, but sucked it up and did it. I liked my OB and it wasn't worth it to change over what will be a small amount of money in the grand scheme of my child's life. I was also able to use flex spending to pay for it, which was a nice surprise.

I appreciate that $1000 may be a small amount for you, but for some of us, that is a LOT of money all at once, especially when considering all of the additional new expenses of having a baby.

Anonymous wrote:Just so you know, OP, Gtown has private rooms, but they got rid of their nursery so you have to have the baby in the room with you at all times. No break at all even right after delivery.

Most people view this as a positive, its called rooming in and it's part of georgetown's baby friendly policy.

I'm sorry to all the rich people who think OP is being ridiculous, but I totally agree. I'm planning to switch practices after my first trimester, b/c having to spend almost $600 for a private room when I get one standard at any other hospital in the area is ridiculous. I don't have that kind of money, that $600 can buy my nursery furniture.

Speaking of, though, does anyone know when the new wing at Sibley is supposed to open???

I can't imagine NOT having a private postpartum room. I delivered all of mine at either Georgetown or Holy Cross Hospital with private rooms at no extra cost.

I'm not going to get into what you should and shouldn't be willing to pay, OP, but I'll tell you this:

My first time delivering I shared a room and it SUCKED. If my baby wasn't crying, my roomie's was. No overnight help from husband. Any visits from the nurse(s) disturbed both of us. Sharing a bathroom was just another AAAARGH! (And let me tell you, my roomie was nice, so that had nothing to do with it.)

Shared just sucked. Seriously.

The second time around I had a nice big room all to myself. I had a nurse assigned to me (just me!) and could pick up the phone anytime I wanted to call for food. Private bathroom. Visitors could come and go without any worry about disturbing my roomie.

Comparatively speaking, the single private room was heaven.

I almost didn't want to go home.