Not sure about St George's... Post Reply

[leslos]

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!

[juliantenniscoach]

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.

[will1]

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

[alap.23]

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.

[juliantenniscoach]

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.

[Almaceti]

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

[MrsAmanda]

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.

[novicemummy]

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.

[moops]

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.

[EmmaVictoriaID]

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

[ready2pop]

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.