St George's Vs St Thomas' in London - opinions please

[MrsBloop]

I am 6 weeks pregnant with my first baby and my GP asked which hospital he should refer me to - I have very little knowledge of London hospitals or maternity care, would appreciate hearing views of those who have recent experience of either place - many thanks!

Gave birth at Tommys. It's a VERY busy maternity hospital so you don't get much attention if you are in early labour or antenatal or postnatal wards. Some of the midwives were quite rude and abrupt but the two who delivered my son were fantastic and I was very happy with them. If you have a less than straight forward pregnancy, one of the obstetricians can be prickly and the day assessment unit takes HOURS.

Unfortunately my son ended up in the NICU for a week and I was so glad we were there because IMO the NICU is world class. I would have another baby there and I know they often turn people down if they are outside the area or not high risk, so if you can get in, I would do so.

An on my second pregnancy at St Thomas' and cannot recommend them highly enough. I'm considered high risk (history of epilepsy), which meant I was able to have my care there, as would have been out of the 'catchment' area otherwise.

DS was a complicated pregnancy and a very difficult birth, but the care was fantastic - ante and post-natally. Have had the same (amazing) consultant both times and care has been with the Tower Team (midwives based at the hospital attached to women with high-risk pregnancies). After DS' birth (an Emergency Caesarean) I was unsure of whether to go for a VBAC or an elective for this pregnancy - they are very pro-VBAC and supported me in this, but I ultimately decided to have an elective and they've been equally supportive.

A very good friend is a paediatric A+E nurse at Tommy's and always told me to have a baby there when I got pregnant. From her experience in different hospitals, they are the very best.

I've had two at st georges, first time 2 years ago was ok, the delivery part of it was amazing, you could not have asked for nicer widwives! i had a few due to a long long labour, ended up with c section and all was good there. the post natal care however was shocking.

this time round though the after care was much much better, so would recommend st georges. i gave birth there 2 months ago. i also had another c section and again it was brilliantly done, the consultants were amazing.

one factor that you should take into account is where you live, i live 5 mins away from st georges so journey was v short to get there. not sure i could have stood being in a car for any longer..also st georges have cheap parking, i think it's £10 for a whole week if you have given birth there.

St Georges have great NICU, and I couldn't fault my care in labour.

My antenatal class and mothers I know went 50:50 to Tommies and Georges and they seem very similar - both are huge, expert, have a MLU onsite, etc.

So given Lambeth traffic, I'd go for whichever is easiest for you to get to!

I had DD at St Georges just over a year ago and agree with the other posters about the experience - couldn't fault the care in labour but postnatel was a bit crap - although this seems a common complaint whichever big London hospital you end up in.

I would go for whichever is easier for you to get to. As my GP said, all the big London hospitals are much of a muchness in terms of expertise etc and if you end up giving birth when they are very busy then you might not have as positive experience as someone who was there when they were quiet....

We live where the catchments overlap, and so know people who used either. There isn't really a difference in how those who've used them describe them, so I'd go for the one you can reach more easily.

Tommy's was awesome. As I was 'low risk' we had a single ensuite room with a view of the Thames (sounds like a hotel) with a double sofa bed for hubby to stay over night. Couldn't fault it.

No experience of Georges but it was amazing having a room to myself post birth (stayed in there two nights) with my husband rather than going onto a shared ward.

Midwives were a mixed bunch but assume you get that anywhere...

Plus you can look at Big Ben and really watch the minutes tick by :-)

Good luck!

I had DS at Tommy's and it was pretty good. I had a few problems in the last month of my pregnancy and spent a lot of time in the Day Assessment Unit there which wasn't that pleasant but overall my experience was good. I was in labour for 55 hours post induction with DS and apart from one midwife very early on, they were all brilliant (saw about 15-20 during my time there. Post-natal care was also great as they put me in a special ward with only 4 beds and really looked after me. I was out of catchment so very pleased to be accepted.

I had DD at Chlesea & Westminster, even though my closest hospital is St George's. I haven't used maternity at St George's but have been there for a lot of other things and have found it OK.

Have just returned from second c-section at St Thomas' and am firm in my belief that it is an excellent place to give birth. A lot of support, a lot of care given and very clean, well-organised wards.