From my own and friend's experiences I do think Thomas', C&W and Georges are much of a muchness. I'm not sure private is a guarantee as I have two friends who had dreadful experiences at the Portland.

The only NHS hospital that I everyone seems to have had a positive labour experience at is Queen Charlotte's in Shepherd's Bush which is a specialist maternity hospital.

Wow, I'd just like to thank everyone for being so frank and honest about their experiences. Obviously they vary hugely and I think that's the problem with the NHS it's totally inconsistent from one day to the next so you can never plan really.

Private is not an option (I have been told resolutely) so I suppose the only thing is to try St George's, I'm not overly convinced St Thomas' or Chelsea and Westminster even would be dramatically different, just further away, so I will have to take my chances.

I know it sounds weird but I just wanted a fully rounded idea of experiences so I can prepare myself mentally for what I may find, plan for the worst hope for the best type of thing.

There's still time to decide but I really appreciate the information.

x

Well said MrsAmanda!

I've already said how awful my experience was at St George's and you couldn't pay me to have another baby there, the delivery and aftercare was awful. Saying that though they have one of the best neonatal units in the Country so if God forbid your little one needed extra attention you would be in the best place possible.

Hi there,

I am sure that the hospitals are a much of a muchness - I was hoping for a water birth in Carmen but upon arrival there was no space there nor any beds available in the delivery suite full stop. We were asked to find another hospital! (This is after being told on the phone to come into the hospital when my waters broke, 10pm at night in a snow blizzard!). Because I had developed high blood pressure they found me a space on the acute ward then transferred me to the post natal ward whilst we waited for a delivery room to come available. 3 days later and having had contractions no stop during my stay on the post natal ward (without the benefit of my husband being able to support me as he wasnt allowed to stay over night). The whole experience was traumatic to say the least. Whilst the staff on the delivery suite were pretty good, the same cannot be said for those on the Ghillum Ward (post natal) - overworked, disinterested etc. The ward was filthy (I have photos) and noisy. I also developed infection to my c-section scar (seems to be common here) and was readmitted. Similar awful experience had. I was discharged into the care of the St Thomas' community midwifes who (when they finally bothered to turn up) were incompetent and disrespectful.
Seriously, think long hard about this hospital. If I get over the trauma someday in order to try for another baby - I will do whatever I can to avoid an NHS hospital birth, particularly St Georges.
Sorry for the negativity - I am sure there are many many positive stories.

Almaceti, I think everyone's reasons for wanting - or not - an epidural are personal and different. There is no one right or wrong way to give birth.

With my first, I was adamant I didn't want an epidural. Had nothing to do with wanting to manage without pain relief, or be any kind of heroine. More to do with hating needles, and being a bit overweight, had heard a lot about epidurals being hard to administer if you have fat around the spine and they can't easily feel exactly where to put it.
As it turned out, after an agonising and exhausting labour, I changed my mind and having an epidural was the best thing I did.

With my second, I had no qualms about having an epidural, but by the time I got to hospital I was already 9cm dilated (only 3hrs after first contraction) so wasn't allowed one. Not that I really needed it, the gas and air took the edge of nicely.

Sorry to hijack the original point of the thread, but I just wanted to make the point that every woman, and every labour is very different and what's right for one person doesn't suit another.

That's funny! my only concern when I had my second baby last year (at St Thomas') was NOT to go in the Home from Home but directly in the hospital to have an epidural. Do not believe what people say about painrelief, the only one which works is the epidural.
What is the point of being in a nice and comfortable bedroom, when you're such in pain that you can't even notice it and your only concern is to have this baby out of you... I think it is far much better to have some pain relieved, to be able to rest a little bit during the second part of the labour (as you're already very tired after hours of contractions and sometimes one or more sleepless nights) and be in a better condition to welcome your baby when he/she arrives, even if you're in a hospital room (which was great in St Thomas' - big, with clean own bathroom and a matress for my husband, and a midwife very present and helful).

So my birth plan was to go in hospital room direct, I wrote it very clearly in my maternity book, and insisted a lot at the reception when I arrived. I had to wait almost an hour at the reception ( with contractions every 3 minutes, not able to sit, not able to walk or stand...) for them to find me a room in the hospital, though there were rooms available in the Home from Home...

You will not be more a heroine if you give birth without epidural, you will just be more exhausted... I want to say to all future new mothers that the only reason why the epidural is not more promoted is because it is too expensive for the NHS, there is no contra-indication and no equivalent painrelief. See what happens in other countries...

Good luck

I think the last post is an excellent point. I was always sceptical of the 'birth plan' that we wrote (I kept my reservations mainly to myself ). as it turned out first daughter had to be induced, second time lucky it wasn't in the car park!

all's well that ends well.

I really suggest you not to make any plan, relax and think
about the marvellous experience you will have when you hold your baby.
St Georges is a very good Hospital although I had mine at Chelsea and Westminster and I was really happy.
Prepare yourself with a positive attitude do not worry for things that you cannot manage.

Hello,
I had my first baby there almost 9 months ago now and wouldn't recommend it. It was so busy I had to wait almost 24 hours before there was room in the labour suite. Then it's one midwife shared between 3 people to start with - not a happy thought if you are in labour - I just wanted to know they were there all the time but it just wasn't possible.

It's also worth considering if your baby is late and I think most first babys are and for any reason you are induced then you don't get the option to go into the carmen suite at all.

A friend of mine had her baby at home - it meant she had a midwife with her all the time and had her own pool. Just a thought.

Given my time again I was absolutely go private if you can afford it

Good luck xxx

My wife was very happy with the care offered by Chelsea Westminster. We don't have any experience re pre or post natal care at St. Georges.

However I do have experience as a day surgery patient, albeit a few years ago. I found it disorganised, generally unhelpful and filthy. I don't think any of my friends would consider my retentive about hygiene but it was so bad I refused to stay overnight. This is because I reported the state of a faeces soiled toilet before my operation, only to find it in an even worse condition some hours later.

So in sum, although the maternity has a good reputation, not for me.

Hi
I was booked into the Carmen suite at St Georges but when we arrived 2am on a Sunday morning it was closed due to lack of staff. I had no choice but to go into a normal delivery suite but one of the Carmen midwives looked after me. In the end I was thankful I was I there as needed an epidural!

I had my son at George's and it was fine. I actually found the after care pretty good too. Although I think I'm in the minority. To be honest I think it's best to have no expectations and then everything is easier to deal with. Plans fly out the window! I know it's hard to do this, as it's so unknown, but it's good to focus beyond the birth. I felt very prepped for a natural birth that didn't happen (and felt no disappointment about that) and wasn't really prepared for actually dealing with a new born baby.

Hi,

I gave birth (first baby) at Chelsea last July and like you I had high expectations about the birth and also wanted a water birth, and I had a very detailed birth plan. Unfortunately, the birth plan goes out of the window as soon as you get into hospital, and the water birth did not happen for a number of different reasons.

Thus my advice is:
i) Focus on the post-natal bit rather than the birth and be very very very flexible with your birth plan and be realistic that it might not happen that way at all!
ii) If I had to do it again, I would pay for a private midwife . that is the only way you can have continuous care throughout your pregnancy and also the only way you 'might' end up having the birth that you would like.

Good luck and enjoy your pregnancy, and start reading about baby after she/ he is born and also about breastfeeding cause it helps a lot to know your stuff beforehand cause when the baby is around you will have no time to read!

I had my baby in the Carmen Suite. Both rooms were empty when I arrived so there was no problem at all. It was a great but I know I was lucky that they weren't busy.
But like you, I was really disappointed by the midwives I had for ante-natal care, very rushed and said exactly the same thing about not banking on a birthing pool as you 'get what you get'. They never seemed interested and didn't seem keen to even discuss a birth plan. To be honest I felt like I could have just done my urine tests and blood pressure at home myself and be done with it. But the contrast with the midwives I had during labour was huge - they were lovely and so attentive, kind etc etc. It didn't matter one bit that I had never met them before.
Like you, I was really worried by the antenatal midwives and looked into getting a doula to advocate for me what I wanted once I was in labour and possibly unable to do so. But I looked into it far too late and couldn't find one that was available. I recommend you look into it as soon as possible if you're interested, I think it might put your mind at rest having a doula to speak for you so that in case you can't get a pool on the day, you still stay calm. At the end of the day, other than the pool the rooms are still pretty similar to those on the labour ward. I think the labour ward also has a big oversized bath that you can use, not as good as a pool but could help?
The only way to guarantee a water birth is to have a home birth and hire a pool or go privately - have you looked at The Birth Centre, its right by st georges so if there are any problems during your labour they can just transfer you to the hospital. Very expensive though!

Hi,
I agree with all of the former comments, when you actually come to having the baby all of your plans tend to go out of the window!

My first was in distress during a very long labour and I was in the delivery suite at St Georges, it was packed, we had to wait literally hours for a room (I was being monitored in waiting rooms full of people) and although it was extremely stressful and a very long labour, the staff were excellent. My baby was delivered via ventouse with a whole team of people there to help out. Post natally it was a nightmare and I had very little care or attention and as a result went home without learning to breastfeed and had a lot of problems. During labour I had had an epidural (total no no according to my birth plan!) but boy was I pleased I did!

With our second child I was adamant I wanted to give birth in the "new" Carmen Suite and have a more positive experience all round. However, when we arrived there they were short staffed and I was told we couldn't stay as there weren't enough midwives. Because I was stressed, in pain and being totally neurotic... the absolutely lovely midwife at the Carmen Suite allowed me to labour in one of their empty rooms - I ended up delivering there as it all happened very fast - I know she shouldn't have let me but I'm so pleased that she did as it was fantastic. The aftercare was nothing short of superb and I was helped right through the night - leaving the following day with a chilled, happy baby who I was able to feed with no problem!

I guess I have had both experiences and would say that although St George's is regularly overstretched and the post natal care can be dodgy, I felt, both times, that the welfare of me and my baby during labour and childbirth was always paramount and for that reason I would recommend them!