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Childbirth

Has anyone given birth at Homerton hospital recently?

16 replies

SabsFabulous · 10/06/2013 18:17

I had DD in September 2009 at Homerton (before the major refurbishment). Following a 37 hour labour with all manners of induction and pain relief, it ended in an EMCS where I lost 3 litres of blood so had to have a blood transfusion. Thankfully DD was fine, weighing in at a healthy 9 lbs 1 oz.

Although the labour ward was excellent, the post natal ward, like all London postnatal wards, was quite horrific, I hardly had any support from the midwives and I paid for a side room just to get some privacy. I also constantly requested breastfeeding support but didn't get any, so wasn't able to establish breastfeeding, although at followup appointments, they told me that the lack of milk could also have been due the to the trauma I faced at childbirth.

I'll be making a decision this week about whether to attempt a VBAC or book myself in for an ELCS (I'm having a glucose tolerance test tomorrow to check for gestational diabetes and a growth scan on Wednesday as they think the baby is quite big again) but I have heard from friends of friends who have given birth recently at Homerton that standards have really slipped again and that it is really overcrowded in the maternity units. This is despite the consultant midwife reassuring me that they have really improved standards by employing more midwives and they have more wards to use.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to know if there is anyone else on here who have had babies at Homerton over the past weeks and what their experiences were.

TIA.

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 11/06/2013 01:09

here is a link to a dedicated site it's a bit worrying.]]

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SabsFabulous · 11/06/2013 07:19

Neo thanks for replying. That is worrying! Do you know where I can find more information about this?

I know CQC recently inspected the hospital but that was the ante natal unit and not the labour or post natal wards.

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 11/06/2013 07:38

Do you know it's so hard to find info but I almost regret linking to that survey as I notice that it is only signed by 20 people.....there are 2 ways of looking at that...20, in the grand scheme of a busy hospital is not many...but it COULD be seen as too many to any women whose care was less than satisfactory.

I think if you post this in chat you should get more answers...it's busier there. It's very hard...don't worry too much though as that's no good for you at all.

xx

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janey1234 · 11/06/2013 16:03

I'd ignore that petition - I'm giving birth at homerton in a couple of weeks and saw a thread encouraging people to sign it. When asked for information about why people should sign it the OP couldn't give any information at all...


There's a really good site to compare london hospitals with real, substantial and up to date data - will try to find it and link to it now...

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janey1234 · 11/06/2013 16:06
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SabsFabulous · 11/06/2013 16:25

Neo I agree, it is really hard to find good information when all you want is people's experiences. I also feel, like you said, that it is a low number of people who have signed the petition compared to how many people have their babies there.

janey thanks for the link. I'll try to copy and paste it. Best of luck with your imminent arrival. Might even bump into you there. We'll have to use one of the MN signs (like chasing away the bounty ladies maybe Grin) to recognise each other.

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janey1234 · 11/06/2013 16:31

I will be in on 28th it's looking like for my elcs. So yes, maybe see you there! Grin

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SabsFabulous · 11/06/2013 16:37

I'll get a clearer idea at my appointments tomorrow about whether its a ELCS or not for me. Due date is 23rd but I'm hoping it will be earlier for me. Will have to wait and see!

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StripeyOrangeTrousers · 15/06/2013 20:38

I gave birth at the Homerton last October and have two good friends who've given birth there recently and another who is about to. I was induced at 37 weeks but my labour and birth experiences were mostly good; the midwife who was with me most of the time was amazing. I was only on the postnatal ward for a few hours, but it was busy and I didn't get any breastfeeding support once they'd seen that things seemed to be going OK. My friends both found it to be good as well. I'd probably go there again even though we're closer to the Royal London.

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StripeyOrangeTrousers · 15/06/2013 20:39

PS Good luck!

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SabsFabulous · 18/06/2013 16:43

Thanks stripey. I actually went into labour last Tuesday night and had DS on Wednesday by c-section Smile.

The labour ward, theatre and recovery were brilliant like last time and I am happy to report that the post natal stay was much better than last time. The midwives were much friendlier, cheerful and helpful, although they seemed very stretched and busy, maybe even more than normal.

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millimax · 21/11/2013 10:39

I am trying to get into the Homerton as currently allocated to whips x which has an awful rep. Anyone got any tips to get in when you are out of the area (walthamstow) ?

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SabsFabulous · 21/11/2013 23:12

I think you should be able to ask your GP to refer you. I know someone who lives in Waltham Forest who did this. Have you checked Homerton's maternity pages on their website to see if you can self-refer?

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SabsFabulous · 21/11/2013 23:12

Congratulations btw Smile

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millimax · 02/01/2014 13:38

All well - got into the Homerton no trouble just by calling their midwife run helpline and self referring. They said they get loads of women from this area who don't want to go to whips. Have had a couple of anti natal appointments and a scan all of which have been great.

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SabsFabulous · 06/01/2014 14:58

That's great.

How many weeks are you now?

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