UCH or whittington birth centre

[hazhawken]

hello, i'm currently 32 weeks pregnant and i'm at the moment all signed up for the elisabeth garret anderson birth centre at UCH to give birth. UCH seems to be very busy and the midwife told me last visit when i asked that they are stretched and overworked becuase so many want women to go there because it's a new birth centre. She said that sometimes when women come in to give birth there, they have to wait in the reception area when they're in labour before they get a room which i didn't like the sound of at all !!

i live nearer the whittington, but had heard bad things about it, but i've since heard that the whittington have opened a birth centre in June 09 and it look lovely from the photos.

i would love to hear from anyone with thoughts on this - is it normal to wait in reception before getting a room ?? i'd love to hear anyone's experience of giving birth at UCH birth centre, and are there any new mum's with experience of the whittington birht centre ?

will be going on a tour of teh whittington birth centre, so hopefully that'll give me a feel for it too... feels a bit scary making choices based on not v much information and wihtout a crystal ball !

love harriet

[TrippleBerryFairy]

Hi, I am surprised at what the nurse has told you. I had my antenatal care at EGA and gave birth there 4 weeks ago (initially wanted to use the birthing centre but the birth went not according to my plan so didn't actually use it in the end). I asked twice (once my midwife and other time person on the phone) about whether the centre was busy and what if I come in and there won't be any rooms available. Both times I was told this is VERY unlikely to happen.

I have no experience of Whittington but my experience of EGA was superb. I gave birth on their labour ward which actually was a separate en-suite room equiped with all that's needed. The only difference from the birthing centre was- there was no pool. I had a great midwife and all the other staff I came in contact with during my birth was great. Ended up going into a theatre and really felt that everything will be taken care of and that I am in good hands.

Ah, by the way, when I was finally dilated enough to be admitted, I did have to wait in the reception area till the room was ready. But that was no longer that 15mins - which is very reasonable having in mind that they did not expect me on the labour ward.

I would say don't be put off by words of just ONE member of staff. Try talking to different people who work there before you make the decision.

Personally I was very pleased and impressed by the care I received.

[MrsHappy]

Well, my friend had her two babies at the BBC and really rates them. I don't think there was any problem with waiting around. If I lived closer that is where I would go - I live a lot nearer to the whit and all of the doctors' wives I know go to UCH.

I, however, am booked at the whit (having heard lots of good things about thier consultants) and am going to see the midwives to talk about booking at the birth centre in a couple of weeks, so can let you know what that experience is like afterwards.

TBH I have heard a lot of good things about both hospitals, so this is a high-quality problem to have!

[becktay]

i have had 2 births at the whittington, one emergency section and one vaginal birth. the staff are completely marvelous and the level of care is very high. had no chance to use birth centre as was high risk both times but good friend booked in there for her second birth at the whittington. the building is old but the staff really care and that is what matters in my honest opinion. consultant and midwives really did their jobs when it counted and i really can't rate the place highly enough.
have also had a couple of friends who had good experience of UCH too though!

[TheInvisibleHand]

Not a first hand report, but I have a couple of friends who have recently given birth in the new Whittington birth centre - both loved it, definitely sounds worth a look.

[MarsLady]

Go for the Whit. The Whittington birth centre is much nicer than UCH. The UCH birthing centre seems to have been more of an afterthought whereas the Whittington birth centre was planned and well thought out. I have had clients give birth at both and the Whit wins hands down.

[Fluffypoms]

I had my 4 DC at EGA and it was brilliant although it was in the old hospital, on the BBC. but brillant care before during and after.
Good luck

[naturopath]

I did have to wait a whole day (around 8-9 hours) in the waiting room at EGA wing to be induced - along with three other women. Around 3 others waited in waiting room in labour for an hour or two. Was v frustrating. Having said that, the care once I was in a room was brilliant (although the day midwives were much better and nicer than the night ones). Would def go back there.

[Mammina]

gave birth at the whittington in 2007 and again 6 weeks ago. first was an elective section, second was VBAC, so wasn't allowed to use the birthing centre. both times the staff at the birth were fantastic, but was a bit disappointed with post natal care - second time round i didn't care as I was out after 9 hours of giving birth & I (sort of) knew what I was doing! post natal ward is so much better than it was 2 years ago though (in terms of space and tattiness)
A friend of mine had hers at UCH and also had a good experience.
Good luck. Personally I'd go for the Whittington if it's nearer and the birth centre will be brand spanking new

[hazhawken]

That's great to hear all your thoughts - thanks everyone. MrsHappy, i'd be interested to hear you thoughts after your booking appointment for the whit birth centre. Also, Marslady, would be great to hear about in what way UCH birth centre seems to be more of an afterthought than the bc at the whit - not poss to go on a tour of the UCL one and can't really get a feel for it from the virtual tour. we went on our tour of the whittington today and were impressed with the birth centre - rooms looked really good and i liked the midwife who gave us the tour - seemed to be on our wavelength in terms of natural birth and space for us and the pools in most rooms. we're going to talk to the mw when we next go for the next antenatal appointment at UCH and then make a decision. at the moment, swinging towards the whitt based on what we saw and all your comments. feels positive ... thanks again

[MrsHappy]

Well I've just been so can fill you in!

It was a pretty nice chat, really. I liked the midwife I met and it seemed to me that they "get" the concept of woman-centred care. For example - my iron levels are lower than average and she had looked up my booking levels before my appointment to see how low they are for me.

We talked about a lot of things that would normally be covered in a chat about a birth plan. This is one up on the last hospital I gave birth in where noone discussed anything about, e.g. Vit K, having a managed third stage. And she gave me leaflets on perineal massage, natural pain relief etc. She also discussed the various circumstances which might lead to transfer to the normal labour ward.

They have quite strict standard criteria for giving birth there but I have had a section (and so fall outside of the normal criteria) and they are not dismissing the idea out of hand which I do appreciate.

Altogether it seemed a very good set-up to me.

[ylenia]

Do not go to the Whittington please! I gave birth to my son Rory at the Whittington and I was made to wait in the reception for nearly 2 hours. A matron then arrived and told me that they were transferring me to another ward because there was no room in the labour ward. I was left alone for 8 hours in this ward with a nurse who only visited me twice. When I finally asked for a midwife one came after about an hour and I was 6cm dialated. I had been asking for an epidural but no one seemed to listen. Anyway to cut a long story short they gave me an epidural at 8cm (silly).

I was unable to bfeed my son because he was tongue tied and this was not picked up. The staff were horrible to me and didnt even bother to try and help me. Everytime I rang the buzzer for the midwife I was told that I should only ring if it was an emergency and if I was ok to walk I should just walk up to reception. The midwives are horrible. I would not recommend it in the least. The prenatal care was good but I was low risk so I didnt really have an problems. The after care is horrible. UCH is a far better place from what I have heard

[hazhawken]

Hello all,
Ylenia - sorry to hear that you had a bad experience at the whittington..
I did choose the whittington in the end and didn't regret it. I got the last room in the birth centre and gave birth in water and it went really smoothly - i had a lovely midwife who respected our birth plan completely and we felt really well looked after and supported. After 6 hours i was transferred to another ward, the cairns ward (i guess there was no room on the post natal ward) and it did take a loooong time to be discharged teh next day.. the midwives were obviously very busy but kind when they were there. I have heard bad stories about UCH too - people having to wait in reception a long time and then having to wait 4 hours for an epidural, so it seems to be luck of the draw...
anyway, i would recommend the whittington birth centre, definitely. thanks to everyone for their advice on this thread !
x

[Anabel83]

Does anyone know how long they keep u in UCH after a normal delivery? I've heard they ship u out after 6 hours and am very worried as I plan 2 have my baby there in April.