Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Maternity options - Whipps X, Royal London, Homerton, North Middlesex??

31 replies

Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 09:50

Just wondering if anyone has any recent experiences to share of maternity care at these hospitals?

I'm currently booked at Whipps X which has not been great so I'm 90% sure I will switch.

This is DC2 and I had DC1 at Homerton which was ok but that was 5 years ago now. Also wondering about Royal London and North Midds. Have had some experience of Royal London which has all been positive, I know less about North Midds.

Grateful for any thoughts!

OP posts:
IrishMamaMia · 08/10/2019 09:54

Have head good things about North Mid maternity. Would UCLH also be an option ?

MatildaCat · 08/10/2019 09:55

I have birth at North mid midwife led unit. Had amazing care and a wonderful birth. Would highly high recommend the midwife unit x

Original poster
Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 10:08

UCLH is too far for me unfortunately - DC1 birth was relatively quick (which is why I went with Whipps X initially as it's just round the corner) so not keen to venture too far from home.

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General health
Original poster
Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 10:57

Any other views? Particularly interested in Homerton or Royal London but all thoughts welcome!

OP posts:
Original poster
Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 14:25

Just had another interaction with Whipps X and now 100% certain I'm switching!!

OP posts:
FrenchFancie · 08/10/2019 14:36

North mid nearly killed me with their incompetence- but that was 7 years ago (almost to the day) and the new unit has opened since.
The delivery team were ace. Postnatal not so much and they didn’t follow instructions from the delivery team resulting in a ‘near miss’ for me. It was bad enough that DD remained an only. I would treat them with caution - I hope that post natally things have improved but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

LtJudyHopps · 08/10/2019 14:44

This is completely outing for me but:
My cousin had one baby at whipps the other at north mid, NM hands down!
My sister was born at whipps, horrible place and not a good experience (5 years ago though)
My mum is under the care of the Royal Free trust (so north mid, Barnet, chase farm and royal free in london) and the best care she has had has been at North Mid - although I appreciate its not maternity related! I know the A&E department isn’t great as it’s just so busy.

Original poster
Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 16:23

@frenchfancie I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience at North Middlesex

@LtJudyHopps interesting to hear an opposite view! I def won't stick with Whipps.

OP posts:
RuffleCrow · 08/10/2019 16:31

God not whipps. Still traumatised by my experience more than a decade on.

PatricksRum · 08/10/2019 16:35

The thing is it's all subjective.
I was treated poorly at UCLH whilst zone were singing praises.
You can look online at the ratings etc but in terms of experience I wouldn't go off that.

GrimDamnFanjo · 08/10/2019 16:42

I had my first, an EMCS at Homerton. It's a long time ago but I recall that you were in very good hands with any difficult births and they were at the time one of a limited number offering nuchal scans at 12 weeks due to access to research etc.
Why not visit? They had a lovely midwife led unit there for straightforward births kitted out pools and proper beds etc too.

Original poster
Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 16:44

Thanks @grim I had DC1 at Homerton so know my way around just wondered about any more recent experiences.

OP posts:
BobTheDuvet · 08/10/2019 16:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FrenchFancie · 08/10/2019 17:19

I understand that the old T4 postnatal Ward was closed / reorganised at north mid at the same time as the new birth unit was opened. I think some of the staff were got rid of too. Sadly it was staff error and incompetence that caused my issues. The short story is that I had had a retained placenta that had to be removed manually but they weren’t certain it was all out. I was meant to have 15 minute observation done as I was numb from the boobs down and wouldn’t have felt / noticed a haemorrhage very easily until it was too late. I was left in a room with the door shut and the call bell out of reach for two hours. When the postnatal midwife finally turned up she said ‘oh I couldn’t be bothered to do your obs as i’m Off home soon’ (she was in her coat at the time). So yeah.
The delivery team at north mid were superb though and spotted and dealt with my medical issues straight away - so if they have sorted out the post natal care to te same standard they would be great.
I know postnatal care across the country is an issue though

Original poster
Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 17:41

@frenchfancie I cant believe the midwife did that, how shocking.

Funnily enough I also had a retained placenta when I was at Homerton. To be fair it was managed well though. Although the postnatal ward was indeed grim. They wouldnt bring my lunch to me after I had had a PPH, they made me walk across the room to get a sandwich and I fainted. That showed them haha.

OP posts:
moleeye · 08/10/2019 17:57

Had both of mine at North Midd (dd 5 years ago, ds 6 months ago). I cannot fault the care there both times.

I'm diabetic and the treatment I received was fantastic. EMCS first time, elective the second and we were in neonatal for a week second time around as he wasn't doing so great at first.

I'd recommend them wholeheartedly x

triplelucky · 08/10/2019 18:25

I had two kids at RLH and one at HOmerton 4 months ago.

I only have horror stories about RLH, I would not wish it on anyone. I know a lot of work is going into improving things there but my experience were there were more bad eggs than good. The facilities are new and amazing - the bed can morph into a throne like chair for deliver baby, just a shame the consultants and midwives I experienced were awful. Only my opinion but it needs nearly a whole new staff before it has a hope of providing adequate care to women and babies. Horrible midwives, horrible consultants, no one taking their duty of care seriously. We were readmitted a few days after discharge and were palmed from pillar to post. No one wanted to deal with a poorly baby.

Homerton on the other hand was a very peaceful experience. I was in and out of the ward in the latter stages of pregnancy and experienced nothing but kind and caring compassionate midwives and doctors. Birth and aftercare were so much nicer than RLH. Even though this was number 3 I still felt we got the same attention as first time parents. Would not hesitate to recommend.

Gamorasgran · 08/10/2019 18:37

Sad to hear about Whipps. I had my 2 there 10 years ago and they were lovely. I did have an elective section and consultant care though so was quite sheltered I guess.

SIL had awful experience in north mid and I had a traumatic early pregnancy experience there (whereas Whipps were lovely).

This is AGES ago though. Good luck whatever you choose.

FreiasBathtub · 08/10/2019 19:05

Had both DCs at Homerton, 5 and 1 years ago. Both relatively good experiences though neither straightforward. Think a lot of it depends on who happens to be working at the time - for DS (born a year ago) some of the midwives were much more understanding than others when I explained that I was nervous as DD had ended up in NICU with suspected brain damage. The registrar for DS clearly thought I was a paranoid wimp so I was almost pleased to see her in the theatre when they pulled him out of me in a crash section! But on both occasions, when it came to the crunch point, I could not have asked for better care for me and the baby and I had absolutely outstanding pre and postnatal care. I'd definitely recommend, based on my experience last year.

PeaOp · 08/10/2019 21:00

Had my dc st north mid a yr ago on the labour ward as I was high risk. Couldn’t fault the midwife and trainee or the fab obstetrics team who rescued us when dc changed mind about coming out.
Postnatal care was ok - although the admin side was slow - the staff in ward were helpful and kind. I need to add that they were so busy when I was in that they were opening up extra wards in the main hospital to cope so that’s probably why the admin was a little slow.
I would definitely go back if another one was on the cards.

Original poster
Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 22:08

@freiasbathtub that sounds dramatic! So glad it all worked out ok. Out of interest did you also have a CS with DC1 or just for DC2?

OP posts:
Original poster
Switcher88 · 08/10/2019 22:10

@triplelucky sorry to hear you had such a bad experience at RLH. I have no experience of maternity there but have had a good experience in other parts of the hospital so that's why it was on my list.

OP posts:
FreiasBathtub · 08/10/2019 22:25

@Switcher88 yes it was a bit! V scary at the time but looking back you realise it's probably just another day at the office for all the professionals involved! Only had the one c section, DD came out the old fashioned way (ish, episiotomy and ventouse). Funnily enough, c section was a BIG fear for me before this birth and it was totally fine, much easier healing than from the episiotomy in fact. Did you have a c section first time round? You'll know that the postnatal wards at Homerton are a bit intense, we paid for a side room both times as there wasn't anyone who needed them medically and that was a good decision from a resting point of view, so worth bearing in mind as an option if you do end up there.

Original poster
Switcher88 · 09/10/2019 06:47

@freiasbathtub no I didn't have a CS first time. I do worry about CS too (although tbh I worry about every type of birth!) so I'm really glad to hear yours was a positive experience.

I thought the postnatal ward was awful at Homerton but based on everything I've heard I have very low expectations of postnatal wards everywhere, sounds like they're universally bad! Private room is a good idea.

OP posts:
FreiasBathtub · 09/10/2019 17:09

@Switcher88 I found Homerton v helpful after a rubbish first birth, they spent a lot of time with me discussing what we could do to make the next one less terrifying. I'd definitely recommend asking about this if you do decide to go with them for this baby. Good luck!