Kingston or C & W maternity ward with Twins?? Post Reply

[Twinmumtobe24]

Hi!

I am currently 10 weeks pregnant with twins. I had my first at Kingston which was a natural water birth. I had a really good experience during labour and my labour midwife was amazing! I didn’t enjoy the ward afterward. It wasn’t bad though, I just had two or three other mums in the room with me and I just remember wanting to go home. That was 8 years ago now so things might have changed.

I am now in the middle of Kingston & c&w so have a choice. I have done my first midwife appointment at KIngston and met my midwife who I would have throughout my pregnancy. She was nice and this was reassuring. She said that I can change to C&W if I choose. I would also be having scans every 2 weeks as they are MCDA so it’s high risk.

My partner is probably more wanting c&w as they have a Level 3 NICU at c&w. I’m conscious as I am having twins, it’s a possibility they could come early.
I have seen some comments about c&w being more medically driven, and I do want to try to have another natural birth.

What are your birth experiences of C&W? Did you have twins? Were partners allowed to stay? Did you get a private room? What was parking like? Were you encouraged to have a natural birth? Did you feel listened to and supported labour/post labour?

All comments are welcome twin or single mums! Sorry I know this is long but wanted to give you a good background.

[ACA]

C&W was a good hospital with my singleton pregnancy, good parking but expensive, really pushed for a natural birth, there are options for private rooms either on ward (though when I gave birth it was Covid so they were used for Covid patients) at £300 a night, or you can transfer to the Kensington wing for £1000 a night. I ended up staying there 8 nights so if you are high risk it can end up costing you a bit. However, C&W after care was NOT GOOD, so I wouldn’t go there if after care is a factor. I had my second at St George’s hospital, which is a centre of excellence in London. It is no frills compared to C&W but it’s a miles better hospital - I felt more supported there and the after care was better. Waits were equally long at both and at St George’s there wasn’t really an option of a private room. I don’t know Kingston well but I’ve had mixed feedback from others.

[Sue Lewis]

As an Antenatal (PN/ Gynae) Women’s Health physio I have just run an AN session for 5 twin mummies to be who are delivering mainly at Kingston Hospital. I is my own Dr . daughter who is 34 weeks with identical twins - if you email me suelewisante@hotmail.com I will ask her to answer all your questions.

[Emzeesw11]

Congratulations! I just had twins at CW (and had a previous singleton pregnancy there) and while I can’t speak to the other hospitals, in my experience the care was great. There’s a midwife there who is dedicated to pregnancies of multiples. Partners are allowed to stay 24/7. You can try to get a private room for recovery on the Kensington Wing (I believe they’re around £1000 per night) but it’s a first come first serve basis and I haven’t been able to get one for either of my pregnancies. I believe there are two private recovery rooms on the NHS ward, but given to those with complications as a priority. They were respectful of my desire to have a c-section and didn’t try to persuade me otherwise (I had a previous natural birth). There’s a parking lot under the hospital. Finally, the multiples midwife will put you in touch with all the other expectant twin mums via a WhatsApp group which is great for support, questions, etc. There are a fair amount of MCDA twin mums in the chat. Best of luck!

[HadTwins]

Hello,
Congratulations on your pregnancy!

For my twins pregnancy which also became high risk, I chose based upon 1) the hospital with the highest NICU level as the most important factor then 2) the geographically closest hospital. As my pregnancy became high risk, we wanted to do everything we could to make sure that we would be well placed for quick access to the most experienced and capable neonatal care. A natural delivery, while lovely under the right circumstances, seemed a very distant concern and far less important and maybe not even desirable if it became more important to deliver the babies rapidly due to health concerns .

My twins were both boys and as I learned during the pregnancy, baby males lungs typically mature around 1-2.5 weeks later in pregnancy than female babies. In the event of early labour, getting to the hospital in time for a steroid injection to mature babies’ lungs 24 hours before delivery can make a big difference in reducing health problems and also increased the chances that the hospital could give the mother something to delay labour before it is too late. Also, second labours can progress much faster than first labours.

For much of your second trimester you may look and feel like you are in your third trimester. Since you will be in your second trimester in the summer, if it is a hot one, it maybe worth having access to air conditioning planned if you think you might get uncomfortable in the heat. Also, it maybe worth planning ahead with the babies’ nursery ( they can share a cot initially )and arrangements for your 8 year old so that you’re mostly ready at the end of the second trimester as if it were your third trimester- just in case things get trickier and you have to curtail your activities sooner and possibly even enter hospital before the anticipated birth. This was the advice I was given and it turned out to be very helpful.

Planning for the worst scenario doesn’t make it more likely to happen. You can still be optimistic that you will have a full length term with no issues, but planning will make the stress much lower and possible a better outcome if you do actually encounter difficulties later in the pregnancy.

Wishing you a smooth easy pregnancy and delivery!