Lindo Wing consultants 2020

[maccers88]

Hi everyone, it has been a while since there has been a post on this topic. We are considering private (hopefully natural) birth at the Lindo Wing for our first baby. Has anyone got any experience of Dr Tom Prior? He sounds really nice but as he's a bit more junior than some I can't find much about him online. Also any feedback on recent experience of natural birth at the Lindo Wing? We wouldn't normally have considered private birth but are hoping it might be a bit safe in the current Covid crisis. Any advice much appreciated!

[Hollielouise]

Totally understand your thinking - we are due in July and have looked into private options. Have you checked they are accepting for your due date? Last time I spoke to them they weren't taking on any new cases, for July anyway.

[maccers88]

Thanks @Hollielouise. I'm in fairly early stages at the mo, so hoping that will have changed by the time I'm due. I'm particularly concerned for the moment about not waiting in hospital waiting rooms for antenatal appointments.

[Hollielouise]

Not sure what area you are but my NHS hospital have put almost all appointments over the phone and for those in hospital they ask you to wait outside/in the car until they are ready for you. They are quite quiet as no one is there unnecessarily! We will transfer to private in a few weeks I think.

[maccers88]

Thanks - that's good to know. Does anyone have any feedback on Dr Tom Prior?

[Cherryonthetop2019]

I used Tariq Miskry and would recommend him without hesitation. The Lindo wing is currently closed to new patients though so I doubt you are going to be able to use them.

[friskybivalves]

Another vote for Tariq miskry. He used to be at Portland as well, which I was dead against but had a great experience at. Worth considering if Lindo unavailable.

[Hollielouise]

Portland also only accepting consultant led care - no midwife led cases. Kensington Wing at C&W still taking both I believe.

[maccers88]

Thanks everyone. I've been told it'll be fine to book in for when I'm due, as it's so far away. I'd ruled out the Portland on the basis that it isn't attached to a proper hospital. I will definitely look into Mr Miskry. I am interested in Dr Prior as he seems so nice but as he's only been a consultant for a bit over a year I can't find anything about him online. The other option is William Dennes, based on a personal recommendation.

Do you have any feedback on natural birth at the Lindo? Do you know if they have any birthing pools?

[planner10]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but wondered if you went with Dr Prior or Dr Dennes?

Or if you had any other recommendations at QC?

I want to change consultant, and Dr Prior seemed really nice but his profile emphasises a normal birth and I'm having an elective (due to a previous traumatic birth).

Thanks for any insights you can give

[maccers88]

Hi @planner10, we went with Tom Prior and he delivered our baby on 9 December! I would recommend him without reservation. He was incredible, the most involved and caring antenatal experience I’ve heard of anyone having - nothing was too much trouble, including responding quickly to loads of WhatsApp’s from an anxious first time mum! I developed postnatal preeclampsia and ended up being in hospital a week and he called me and came to see me so many times to check up on me. I can’t comment on his c section skills of course but I imagine they are top level, he certainly managed my birth impeccably and he told me about half his private patients are elective Cs.

[maccers88]

Oh I’d add that if you had a previous bad experience he would be really excellent as he’s very caring and kind. Also he’s an expert in Fetal medicine as well so you get tons of extra proper scans with him which is really reassuring.

[SnailortheWhale]

This is incredibly nosey of me so feel free to ignore (!) but I was wondering what the ballpark cost is for a private birth and if you sign up at the start of pregnancy and have care from the team there throughout? It sounds amazing to be able to WhatsApp questions to a consultant doctor but I assume that level of support and service doesn’t come cheap!

[Simz01]

I am with Dr Dennes currently (privately) incase there were any questions. Yet to give birth, so can't comment on that part !

[planner10]

@maccers88 thanks for replying! He was lovely when I met him ☺️ but I've gone with Dr Dennes as I wasn't able to get more info by the time I made my decision.

Sounds like I'll be in good hands either way, but your experience of Tom doesn't surprise me from the interactions I've had with him! He restored my faith in the hospital after a previous crap doctor!

[planner10]

@Simz01 thanks for replying just wondered how you found the experience with him so far? I've heard only good things 🤞

[Simz01]

@planner10 my experience has been great and I really like him. I find him honest, compassionate and with a sense of humour too.

I had some worrying findings from 12 week scan, and he was very realistic, compassionate and moved the process for checks / tests very quickly for me (i had the CVS which he did). He also arranged a lot of those on the NHS, and arranged a detailed heart scan on NHS with his colleague.

I very much trust what he has to say with all my scans etc. You are in good hands :)

[Rubyscissors]

@planner10 dr Dennes delivered my baby and he was wonderful... I had an ELCS after previous traumatic births and recovered in no time.. as @Simz01 says he is so lovely and empathetic and I actually cried when I had to say goodbye to him

[ColdToesHere]

@SnailortheWhale the hospitals usually have price lists on their website to give you an idea.
They charge by the night and you add your consultant fees on top of that too.

I was in the Portland. Luckily covered by insurance but DS was a surprise preemie (Portland can handle babies from 30+ weeks) and 2 nights in NICU added 14k to the bill. So worth bearing that in mind.

[Simz01]

@Rubyscissors I actually had my babies (twins) 3.5 weeks ago. Dr Dennes decided to deliver early due to some issues we were having as per scan. I think I just want to reiterate how great him and his team were before, after and during the birth of my twins! Actually I just sent him a hamper today ! My
Last follow up appointment is in a couple weeks and I think I will cry too!

[Rubyscissors]

@Simz01 ah bless you! At least I won’t be the only one 😉 I am so sad I won’t get to see him again but that was definitely my last baby 😔 congratulations on the birth of your twins... I hope you are recovering well and finding your feet and all is well with your babies xx

[planner10]

Thanks everyone - Dr Dennes was absolutely fabulous and my daughter was delivered safely a couple of weeks ago!

Random question - those that had sections with him, is your incision lower than expected? Everyone keeps commenting that they've never seen one as low as mine so wondering if that's just me personally or his method?! I'm very happy that it's lower so no complaints from me, just curious really!!

[Simz01]

@planner10 mine is very low too! But has healed nicely. Congratulations on your daughter:)

@Rubyscissors thank you, recovered well luckily , but still finding my feet with twins! Sad I won’t see him again but these were my first and last ! X

[Heartbrokenmama]

Hi ladies, does anyone have a recommendation for consultants for high risk pregnancy, and more specifically pregnancy after loss? I’ve recently been through the horrific experience of a full term stillbirth after an otherwise uncomplicated, supposedly low risk “textbook” pregnancy. Not in a million years did I think this could happen to me but my precious angel baby died suddenly at 40+1 and I had no idea whatsoever anything was wrong until we went to the hospital after my waters broke and they told us the worst words any parents could ever hear: “there is no heartbeat”. We are reeling. I was under private care (at the Lindo) and had had a check up just 3 days before this happened and saw her little heartbeat on the ultrasound with my own eyes. All our tests and scans throughout the pregnancy were completely normal and she was a very active and healthy baby until the very end. Really struggling to wrap my head around how we could go from healthy baby to dead baby in the blink of an eye with no warning signs, no signs of distress, nothing. Physically and mentally I’m not yet ready to think about another pregnancy as I think my body, hear and mind need time to heal, but I feel like I now have all this love with nowhere to go and my husband and I both feel like although we can never replace our precious baby girl, the only way to bring some joy back into our shattered lives is to have another baby sooner than later. I’m not sure how to feel about our consultant - we loved him throughout the pregnancy as he was very relaxed and reassuring but obviously the outcome throws everything into question. I definitely feel like I need to shop around and seek second, third and fourth opinions before thinking about getting pregnant again because so far we have not been given a reason why this happened and I’m obviously terrified it could happen again. I’ve been told that any future pregnancies after a stillbirth would automatically be classed as “high risk” but in the absence of a clear reason I don’t know what could have been done differently. I don’t have any underlying conditions like diabetes or preeclampsia. There were no obvious issues with the cord or placenta but we are waiting for results from a more detailed analysis. I’m not overweight. I don’t smoke. Never taken drugs.. so I just feel i will be terrified for 9 months in my next pregnancy and I am torn about how to navigate it. Is it even worth paying for private care?! We did it because we felt it would protect us from an outcome like this particularly in the middle of a pandemic but clearly not.. I’m equally unsure about whether we go back to the Lindo Wing - the care I had was outstanding and every single midwife we interacted with was exemplary. But it’s also where I experienced the worst trauma of my life and I don’t know if going back would be too overwhelming.. sorry for the long rambling post but basically I’m completely at a loss of where to go from here and any advice would be appreciated.

[maccers88]

@Heartbrokenmama I just saw your message and wanted to say how truly sorry I am to hear about your devastating loss. I wouldn't want to offer any advice but just wanted to send support. I am sure you will get more answers as time goes on and it will take a long time to process what has happened. If you do decide you'd be interested in being in contact with an OB either about your loss or a future pregnancy, I would certainly recommend Dr Tom Prior as a hugely emphathetic doctor who is also an expert in fetal medicine (he also practices at Queen Charlotte's if you didn't want to use Lindo again). Of course I don't know who was your doctor before. Sending love and sympathy at this awful time for you xxx