UCL-Elizabeth Garett Anderson anyone given birth there?

[mamamelly]

I am due in July and after appalling care so far at UCL i am really looking forward to moving maybe to Queen Charlotte? Im hoping im not going from worse to worse!Help, its causing me so much anxiety- I dont even know if ill be able to move there what if they are full???

[theory]

I just booked there for Oct, so really early in the process (only had first booking appt). Would you mind sharing some of the problems you've had?

[champagneSupernova]

Really? I am due next week and am planning to go into the Bloomsbury Birthing Centre (despite being Group B Strep +)

At every appointment and during my labour ward tour and an AN class I attended I have had excellent care.

The waiting time for AN appts was very extended and the rooms very grotty, I would agree but every person I've spoken to has been kind, patient and caring and I have no qualms about the location of the birth at all.

Now the birth itself, is a WHOLE different story ;-)

[beforesunrise]

is it still in the decrepit old victorian building? if so i would say that is the worst part of the whole thing. had dd at the BBC 2 years ago and had wonderful mw despite totally overstretched. postnatal was awful though, overcrowded wards, no support whatsoever.

i think the people who work there are very good and committed, but let down by the appalling facilities and amount of work they're expected to do.

[mamamelly]

1.I was told that i had high blood sugar and would need to start being treated with insulin for pregnancy onset-diabetes, only to discover the consultant had pulled up the wrong results on the computer
2.Having had a emergency c-section for my last pregnancy I have lots of concern but have only been seen by a consultant once (which i had to force) and a home visitor once and im almost 24 weeks!!!!

Am I asking tooooo much??

[theory]

Thanks for telling us--I'm new to this country (from New York) and this is my first pg, so sort of freaking out in general, and esp since I don't know the system... It's only on these boards, for instance, that I learned the post-natal/recovery rooms are shared here

[PollyParanoia]

I'm having my third at UCH in July. I swore I wouldn't get pregnant again until they'd moved into swanky new building (went to EPU there, it has very fine views alongside very clean floors). Tragically not moving until November.
Yes EGA very grotty, but if something goes wrong they are the best in the world. I don't know quite what the point of seeing a consultant would be - I certainly only saw a consultant once by 24 weeks second time round (first was em cs). There's not a lot they can do at the moment. Do you want a VBAC or not? I found my consultant to be a bit of a bully in terms of being very very pro vbac (i was caught between him and dh and couldn't make up my mind).
I've heard some dodgy stories about Queen Charlotte's - maybe better devil you know?

[PutThatInYourPipeandSmokeIt]

Hi Theory,

My DH is American and his advice to all parents-to-be from the US is this.....the medical care is excellent - just don't expect to be treated as if you are in a hotel. You're not. You are in a hospital and if you need the care, you get it and if you are well enough to do without it then you are one of the lucky sods and should be grateful.

He pushed quite hard for us to go private at first until he realised that all you get is egyptian linen, champagne and your own room. If the sh*t hits the fan and you need proper medical attention, you end up being transferred to nearest NHS hospital as the private ones don't have all the facilities.

I gave birth at the birth centre at UCH Dec 06 and I found them faultless. It was like private care to me in that I had all the attention that I needed from competent and friendly midwives and we both left alive and well. It depends what your expectations are as to whether you will feel disappointed or not.

[PutThatInYourPipeandSmokeIt]

p.s. I know you're not after private care by the way!

[Louandben]

I had DS at Queen Charlottes birthing centre in Aug 05 and the care there was fantastic, the facilities are great, midwives were lovely, there are large rooms with ensuite bathrooms and DH could stay the night with me after the birth. Of course being in the birthing centre means pregnancy must be complication free and you are not planning on pain relief other than gas/air/pool/tens - I couldnt speak for the normal maternity ward.

Having said all that, the ante-natal care I got at QC was pretty poor - no scan until 16 weeks, no midwife appt until about 18 wks, lots of waiting around, different people seen every time. The worst point was when, having been sent to their specialist fetal medicine unit over concerns about the size of baby at 24 weeks, we were advised that we were probably going to have either a child with Downs Syndrome or dwarfism and that we should have amnio to check. Luckily we sought a private second opinion on this before amnio and it turned out that everything was fine but the QC scan measurements of our DS arms had been transposed (23mm noted instead of 32mm, on both arms! ). The scan at QC was done over about 30 mins, by 2 sonographers who were then joined by a consultant.....

I am now due to have 2nd baby and am registered at UCH (I tried to go back to QC for the birthing centre (we have had private scans!)but they were full). I have to say the midwives have been great and the ante-natal care so far much better than QC. Having looked at the birthing centre though, I have decided to go for a home birth !

[IlanaK]

I am due to give birth to my third at UCH at the end of July by c-section. I had my last one at St Mary's which was dire. So I thought I would try UCH this time.

I think that postnatal care in London is pretty dire everywhere. My medical care during delivery (section) at St Mary's was excellent and I am expecting the same at UCH. Postnatally, they are all stretched, you will get no care or attention and it will be dirty. I think you just have to accept that really. I plan to check myself out as soon as the catheter is out.

As to antenatal care, I have found UCH better than St Mary's was. Both have extremely long waits. I knew this, so I requested (insisted) on being on "shared care" so my GP could do most appointments. There are some I will have to have at the antenatal clinic though.

Unless you can afford private, I think it is just one of those things we have to accept is crap.

[PollyParanoia]

Actually I don't think that UCH was that dirty, it's just so old that it can never really sparkle. The loo attached to the post natal ward I was on seemed to be permanently cleaned - at least half a dozen times a day.
As to Theory's point about recovery rooms being shared, I don't think they are. Mine never was.

[nezelette]

I'm due in two days and planning to go to the birthing centre in UCH. I know the waits are v long for AN appointments but apart from that I've been very impressed so far. I have an underactive thyroid and the consultants and midwives have been amazing. At some appointments there were three different doctors in the room to see me, all knowing my notes by heart, I was amazed.
I really trust the staff there and don't think it's that grotty or horrible, despite being French and used to posh health care in spotless hospitals

[ScarletPimpernel1976]

UCH is like any other inner city maternity hospital - a bit like a factory and have to wait for ages for your appointment. I had a homebirth with their midwives and was pretty fed up with all the antenatal "care" i had received but they were good on the actual day when it mattered most i guess. Not sure i'd go there again but it is the best place to be if you have a high risk pregnancy or baby needs help after the birth. The Birthing Centre is ok though, i've had a couple of friends give birth there.

[ingles2]

I had ds1 at UCH, it was ok,... (dirty, victorian but the care was fine) mind you you could nearly hear the collective sigh of disappointment, that we were very bog standard and ordinary. Didn't see them again and was discharged very quickly.
had ds2 at homerton. It was fantastic

[mamamelly]

SCARLETPIMPERNEL1976, how did you find the staff was with homebirth as I am thinking of having one, but dont think they will let me as I have had a previous c-section?

[ScarletPimpernel1976]

Mamamelly -

the homebirth team were fine and calm and knew what they were doing. The problem was they hadn't approved me for a homebirth until I kicked up a fuss at 37+4 and then they didn't come round to do a house visit and bring the homebirth pack and i went into labour at 38+3 and no one really knew who i was, how to get to me or what to bring!! My labour was very fast (5 hours start to finish) and i was fully dilated and ready to push but there were no widwives there (they got lost) so called 999 just to make sure someone medical was present. The midwives did turn up in time and then everything was fine and they were very nice and the delivery was calm and they let me lead the way on how i wanted it to go. If you are thinking of a homebirth with them, i think you just have to be quite vocal and pushy or it will be assumed that you'll be having it at the hospital. My tactic was to go straight to the consulatant midwife (Astrid) and bombard her with emails and calls until she saw me (she co-runs the birthing centre) and gave me the answer I wanted!

[ScaryHairy]

I don't think there is really a great deal to choose between QC and UCH.

My friend had her child at UCH (I think in the midwife-led centre) and had amazingly good care, resulting in a totally natural birth.

I was at QC, where I was made to labour on the bed, pestered until I allowed them to break my waters and ended up with failed forceps and a cs. The post natal care was dire, so while the building may be new unfortunately some of the staff leave a lot to be desired. And new building does not equal clean - they had carpet on the post natal ward floors! Yuck yuck yuck! When things went wrong the doctors were great, but I suspect that is not too unusual. Ante-natal appointments took three hours each time and involved an awful lot of waiting around.

Generally the impression I get of inner city hospitals is that they are very stretched so the "soft" side of the care is lacking, but medical care can be excellent, especially at the teaching hospitals.

Having moved from Fulham to North London, I have every intention of having my next one (if I ever conceive) at UCH.

[Jenwig]

I had DD1 at UCH birthing centre. Very friendly midwives but changed a couple of times during the 5 hours I was in and during the crucial stage they were quite young and inexperienced. As a result I think I was told to push too early and this resulted in a third degree tear. I then had to have an epidural for the extensive stiching which needed to be done by a doctor in theatre. Overall though, I was happy and all went fine. Agree though that the post natal ward was a bit grim. Because I'd been in theatre my bed didn't fit in the curtained cubicle and I was right by the door which banged all night preventing any sleep. Nevertheless I think UCH is a great place if any problems occur.

DD2 was born in Lincoln Hospital and labour was 2hrs from start to finish. I had one midwife with me the whole time and had a natural birth with minimal tearing so was great. Am now due in a week with my third and hoping for a similar experience!