Abbey Birth Centre - St Peters hospital Surrey

[TopKittyKat]

Hello all,

Does anyone have any experiences of giving birth at the Abbey Birth Centre at St Peters Hospital In Chertsey Surrey?

I was just wondering how likely you are to be able to go there as there appear to be only 4 birthing rooms.

St Peters and Ashford Hospital Trust covers a large area so I am guessing there is a high chance you may not actually get to go there and could end up on the ward if all the rooms are in use.

I'd be interested to hear people's experiences....

[YellowTrain]

Hi OP,

I didn't give birth at the birth centre, but had my DD at St Peter's on the labour ward. Just wanted to let you know that I had a really positive experience there and was very impressed with the care I received. Just in case you end up being transferred across/there isn't a bed at the birth centre, I thought you might like to be reassured that the actual labour ward is still really nice and can be very non-medical if that's the experience you are after.

Anyway, hopefully this little bump up the page will get you some proper answers!

[peaceloveandbiscuits]

My experience was exactly that of a PP. I wasn't able to go to the birthing centre, but I did get to use the pool room on the labour ward and had a fantastic experience from start to finish. I have friends who used the birthing centre and both really rated it - one was transferred due to PPH but delivered in the centre itself.

[peaceloveandbiscuits]

There's also a home from home room on the labour ward, but even the standard delivery rooms are pretty nice tbh.

[MamaLyon]

I had dd2 in the Abbey Centre at Sr Peters and it was absolutely fab! Had been set on a home birth but dp was worried in case we needed any intervention so this was our compromise. I'm so glad we had her there in the end. It was the Best of both worlds for being relaxing and non surgical/sterile but still the support of midwives. When I was pregnant I spoke to the head community midwife and he said it was quiet unlikely that the birthing centre would basically be full at any given time (I don't know how true that is- two of the four rooms were in use whilst I was in). I'd recommend the tour if you haven't been already, it gets very busy though, so get there early. Good luck!

[TopKittyKat]

Thanks ladies. I was starting to think no-one from this area was on mumsnet.

MamaLyon - that's interesting that they say it is unlikely to be full. The hospital covers such a large area, and the abbey centre looks so lovely, I thought it would get full up.

Thanks for reassuring me.

[peaceloveandbiscuits]

Might be a question of how many people are eligible for it, or who even want to use it.