Bad News for Giving Birth at Reston Hospital
If you are at all interested in having a say in how your baby is born, it's a good idea to have your baby born somewhere other than Reston Hospital. There are quite a few reasons, but basically they are very interventionist (meaning they like to do medical things even when your birth is normal and low risk) and they are not very open to parents who want to make decisions. Here's a mixture of fact and opinion.
1. The Caesarian rate is off the charts
My friends who asked the hospital staff recently were told that the Caesarian section rate is an astounding 47% for 2006. When my wife enquired about the 2005 numbers, it was 42%. There is no excuse for a caesarian rate to be so high. In our area, Fairfax Hospital handles the bulk of the really high risk mothers, neonatal intensive care, and other unusual circumstances that would push statistics higher. Reston has no such formalized role. If you're having a birth at Reston, you have a seriously good chance of having a Caesarian section. There are a lot of reasons you don't want that, but those reasons are not the subject of this rant.
2. My Way or the Highway
This boils down to a few specific issues:
2.a. No Doulas
It is my understanding that Reston has banned doulas of all sorts from the labor and delivery process. Want a doula to be part of your birth? Go somewhere else. They're not welcome here. [update: This seems to have created some confusion. If you don't know the difference between a midwife and a doula, check out my post "Midwives and Doulas: Not the Same Thing"].
2.b. No Dads in the Nursery
This is a bit more hearsay than some of the other statements here. My friend's wife recently gave birth at Reston and he was not allowed into the nursery to bathe his newborn daughter, nor was he allowed in the nursery when the PKU test was administered.
Loudoun Hospital, where my second son was born, was more reasonable on this point. I bathed my son in the nursery, and I was present for the PKU test. There are times when non-staff are not allowed in the nursery at Loudoun—namely when the doctors and/or hospital staff are discussing the particulars of a patient. That makes sense. Categorically denying dads in the nursery does not make sense. My friend says he was explicitly told, during their hospital tour, that he would be allowed into the nursery.
2.c. No Midwives
The hospital, as far as I know, has no policy against midwives. In fact, in 2003, my first son was delivered there by a midwife. (Our experience at that time wasn't so bad) When we looked in 2006 to have another child, we could not find any midwives practicing at Reston. Probably due to the hostile attitude, but that's just conjecture and opinion on my part.
3. A Bright Spot
Sounds to me like the anaesthesiologists at Reston have a somewhat unusual and good practice with respect to epidurals. Nevermind that epidurals are administered way too often It sounds like my friend's wife was administered the lowest effective dose, enabling her to feel something, but still eliminating most of the pain. As far as i know, the vast majority of anaesthesiologists fully numb the mother from the waist on down, and don't consider the option of leaving her some sensation.
My Point
My point in all this is that doctors and hospital officials are pushing childbirth towards unnecessary interventions and are really not giving women the benefit of options. Through "policies" that unnecessarily restrict the woman's options, they artificially create a "norm" of pitocin, epidural, caesarian births.
April 16th, 2007 - 07:23
Some of what you say is true and some is overstated. My daughter recently gave birth at Reston H. Out of nine or so births that day she was only one of two naturals. Yes, epidural was given early, but she could move and feel some pain.
It was the doctor who started to talk, C/S after only 5 hours on pit. My daughter was pre-eclamptic. No I did not want her to have the births I had, but I did feel the doc was pushing C/S too early. I expressed my discomfort. They internally monitored the baby and increased pit. The baby was delivered naturally after 12 hours of labor. Of course, with the increase, the dilation went from 3 to 10 CM in one and one/half hours; and she delivered one half hour later.
The nurses were superb. One stayed on her off hours.
They coached like champs.
I did feel the doc entered the scenario a tad late.
I also feel if if was a really busy day with short staffing; I would have seen a C/S.
Her experience though in L&D was positive.
Post partum was another matter.
Their lactation expert should be retrained. The baby was not latching and caused extreme pain for my daughter. The Expert never corrected the matter. I retaught her when we came home. There was very little care on the floor. The night nurse asks “Would you like to give your suppository to yourself?” Quite a trick when you are in so much discomfort.
Yes, I am an RN. I do not believe in home births or doulas. Why? I was eclamptic and hemmorhaged. I was a placenta abruptio. My daughter was delivered emergent, and they cut her forehead going in. She has the scar, her little badge of courage, to this day.
May 23rd, 2007 - 15:16
But to clear up the air a bit, we had 2 kids in the reston hospital over the last 4 years and both were delivered vaginally.
The high rate of c-sections can’t be attributed to the hospital but to the various (private) doctors who deliver there.
Our doctor didnt push for the c-sections even when the goin was tough (for our first child).
I agree with the hospital’s decision not to allow doula’s and mid wives as sometimes they are more of a distraction than help (many a times they argue with the doctors/nurses, right or wrong…, and create a chaotic environment).
Yes, they do not allow family in the nursery and why should they. We have enough bozo’s out there that will do stupid things in the nursery and potentially cause harm to other kids there. Also there is the issue or legal risk stemming from the above.
So in a nutshell Reston hospital is just another hospital in the area and I wouldnt badger it.
If it is closer to you than fairfax or Loudoun hospitals then go ahead and use it.
Overall I would rate it at a B+.
July 17th, 2007 - 14:19
Although I have never given birth at Reston, I have read the comments with some interest. I am both a doula and a lactation consultant. To cover all areas, my “paid” job is a NICU specialist. Any birth should belong to the baby and the parents. In this fast paced and litigation crazed world, the patient or a loved one has to be the advocate. Don’t be intimidated by the medical personnel. Although they are overworked, stressed and understaffed, you have the right for the care that not only are you paying for, but that you morally deserve. Ask questions, be informed. The birth process is an exciting, once in a lifetime (for that child) experience.
September 15th, 2007 - 09:22
ihad my daugther in july 2006 i can tell everything went out right the nurses were very nice and very helpful. ihave avery good experience.
September 26th, 2007 - 12:18
I both my kids at Reston, 1992 and 1996. My son was a c-section because he was laying on the cord andthere was no way to move it. My daughter was a v-bac(vaginal birth after c section). Both times I was asked when I wanted the epidurals. Both my husband and myself were allowed to take the babies when we wanted. The actually slept in my room. Both times nurses and lactacion consultants sit with me for over an hour in the middle of the night to help me nurse. My son and sister were allowed into the room to see his sister 15 minutes after she was born. I didn’t even get the epidural for her until after he left the night before because I wanted to wait. Nobody pushed me to do anything I didn’t want to do.
October 10th, 2007 - 13:07
Unless things have changed, I’d advise not to delivery at Reston hospital. I gave birth at Reston hospital in 2006. The delivery experience went well and the staff on the delivery floor were very nice. However, the recovery floor was an awful experience. The day after birth I mentioned to one of the nurses that my son looked yellowish. She just shrugged her shoulders and left. It wasn’t until we were checking out that the doctor told us somehow he missed seeing our son and he just performed the checkup. He said our son was 95% jaundice. I asked if they could put him under the blue light since we wouldn’t be leaving for a few hours. He said no, that we could put him in the sun when we get home and address the issue to our pediatrician. There were several other discomforting issues I experienced on the recovery floor. The list could go on. For example, I had problems urinating and the nursing staff was anything but compassionate to my pain. They never came to my room when I called and I had to beg to be put on a catheter. I felt both my baby and I were neglected on the recovery floor. I only hope that things have changed there since then.