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Childbirth

Lewisham hospital anyone?

7 replies

PollyPops1 · 15/03/2017 17:34

Hi there,
I'm wondering if anyone has experience having their baby at Lewisham hospital?
And by that I mean the labour ward, not the birth centre. While I read that the centre is brilliant for uncomplicated births, I feel it's unlikely it will be where I end up.
To give some history, I had my dd at Kings a few years ago, and while I had an emergency cs, I was pretty happy with how it all went. I've now moved to the borough of Greenwich and when I tried to self refer to Kings (my new gp doesn't do anything antenatal), I received a letter saying "sorry, but we don't have the resources for you". Lewisham is my nearest hospital but the reviews online are just... frightening, to say the least. Saying that, most of them are a few years old. So I would really love to hear from anyone who has experienced the whole gamut- from midwives to delivery (or particularly, cs), to postnatal care. Basically, the works :-)
TIA!!

OP posts:
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Womble75 · 17/03/2017 01:01

I had my DD there 4 years ago. Not sure if anything has changed but I've just had DS in another trust and the experiences couldn't be more different.
Lewisham was a shambles quite frankly. Post natally it's rubbish. No support, made to feel a burden, no communication. Labour was similar - things not explained, many mistakes made, pressure to birth a certain way.
I made an official complaint after my birth which was upheld and I was told would be used in training going forward.
My saving grace was my DH - he was such a support there and I honestly don't know what o would have done without him.
One of the main problems was the vast majority of staff were bank workers who didn't seem invested in their work. All the staff I came into contact with this time were all employed by the trust and I think that made a huge difference.
I really hope things are different there now.

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Getmeouttaherenow · 17/03/2017 05:10

I had a baby at Lewis ha just under 2 years ago and my experience couldn't have been more different. In around 2012 I think it was, the hospital was in some trouble and it looked likely the maternity and various other units might close but they haven't, and I think they've had a refurb since then.

I had a pretty complicated and traumatic labour, absolutely nothing to do with the hospital itself and I will sing their praises!

I had bought into the natural labour trend and was booked into the birth centre, refused interventions after due date and agreed to being monitored every few days against advice of my mw to ensure I ended up in the birth centre not the labour ward. This resulted in me and the baby having all manner of complications. At about 40+9 I reached the point where I had pre eclampsia and the baby was distressed and I finally agreed to be induced in the labour ward. (They recommended cs but I pushed to try naturally) There was a bit of waiting round - as much because of us as them (I had just popped in to get blood pressure checked so didn't have my bag, my husband was hours away) but after all that was sorted my waters were broken. I was in agony, they gave me an early epidural which was the kind i could control myself, and the hormone drip to speed things along. I ended up needing pretty much every intervention available and they were very respectful of my birth plan so gave me the choice along the way and explained the risks of everything. I wasn't pressured into anything but by this point had to prioritise the safety of the baby so agreed to most of it. It ended in emcs 12 hours later and the team were fantastic. It was such a positive experience and my only regret is that I was hell bent on a natural birth and disregarded their advice along the way - but some women will see the ability to make those choices as a positive.

Recovery ward was amazing and supportive, the postnatal ward was noisy but when I asked mw to tell others to be quiet they did. I had good support with feeding and tongue tie was diagnosed within a few hours (and also could have got it treated quickly there but chose to go private as we moved A few days before birth so it was a long way from us). Staff were friendly in all the wards and I had great care. I'm genuinely disappointed that I will be having this baby elsewhere due to moving house.

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HereBeFuckery · 17/03/2017 05:44

I had DD there in 2014. It was appalling. I'd give birth in a ditch before returning - I made a formal complaint to the hospital about how they treated me (including incorrect meds). Do you have other choices?

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Newname12 · 17/03/2017 06:14

I had both mine there.

The post natal ward is very understaffed, yes. When it's busy it's manic. If you are the kind to need/want a lot of help and support chances are you won't get it. Medical care is fine though.

Pre-natal care was great. Appointments generally on time, modern equipment so no need for full bladders at scans etc.

It's a teaching hospital so are also very up to date on best practice- no shaving for cs, for example, and infection control is very good. They also have excellent "extras" like vbac clinics where you get impartial advice on risks and benefits.

Most importantly, they saved my baby's life. The m/w and junior dr recognised very quickly something was wrong and the emcs protocol swung into action very very quickly.

I had my second there too.

I

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misomiso · 17/03/2017 09:57

Had my 16m old dd there, planned for the birth centre but ended up being induced. My experience was fine, the midwives on the induction ward were absolutely lovely and attentive, the midwife I first had on the labour ward wasn't the best but they switched shifts halfway through and the new staff were amazing, I was close to having a Caesarian and so tired but the midwife I had really motivated me to push her out!
Post natal ward was horrendously understaffed and we were kept in for longer than i would've liked due to there being no doctors around to discharge us.
Overall I guess it was okay, I think they've ploughed a lot of money into the birth centre and the normal maternity ward has kind of been neglected. Oh and the food was shit, but I think it's probably shit everywhere.

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NerysHughes · 17/03/2017 09:59

I had awful treatment there. Gave birth late 2011.

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piglet81 · 17/03/2017 23:32

I had my son there in 2015 - emcs. It was OK, I guess - have nothing to compare it to so it's hard to judge. Had planned on birth centre/natural-ish birth but then ended up getting pre-eclampsia which scuppered my plans and had a long labour, failure to progress and foetal distress. Not a great experience but then it probably wouldn't have been anywhere, esp as I was so frustrated and disappointed about having to have a caesarean. Postnatal ward was mixed - some kind staff but I felt largely abandoned (esp when I read on here about people in other hospitals ringing bells for nurses who would come and lift baby out of the cot for you), eg if I wanted a meal I was expected to hobble down the corridor pushing baby's bassinet and carrying a tray, hours after an emcs! I thought the food was decent though, so perhaps it varies. Also, they didn't pick up on feeding issues and we ended up back in hospital on day 5 with baby dangerously dehydrated. So on reflection it wasn't great...don't mean to put you off though.

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