Help my birth options are running dry!! (London) question re The Royal Free

[arabella2]

I live in NW London and my options as far as giving birth are: St Mary's, Queen Charlotte's, Central Middlesex, The Royal Free and the Edgware Birth Centre (I think, unless there are more my GP has not told me about)... Ds was born at St. Mary's almost 4 years ago and I was really not happy with it for various reasons, dd was born at Queen Charlotte's in March 2004 and it was perfect (she was born in the Birth Centre) but unfortunately they are full , Central Middx I would not go near with a barge pole - dh had a kidney infection there and they are awful, the Edgware Birth Centre which I have been trying to book into now (it's midwife run and standalone) say because I am not local I have to book in somewhere else and attempt to change to them about 28 weeks (I am now 12 weeks) if they still have space, which leaves possibly a home birth except that in an emergency I would be transferred to Central Middx and The Royal Free (provided they don't also have some local policy - I phoned them and they seemed okay but then again, I had already got in touch with the Edgware Birth Centre and they seemed ok too). So my question is DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE OF THE ROYAL FREE... ESPECIALLY THE BIRTH CENTRE as I have heard they have one and if all goes well that is where I would choose to give birth.
It was too good to be true last time at Queen Charlotte's - apart from 30 minutes of awful pain at the end, everthing went like clockwork - lovely room, great midwife, very straightforward etc... it seems too good to repeat.

No direct experience of Rpoyal Free but have heard various bad stories mostly re poor postnatal care and attention (which I had at St Mary's and seems hard to avoid...). You couldn't get UCH?

I hadn't thought of that - thing is don't know how long it would take to get there on the day and time is of the essence! Also, don't want to take the tube when going for check ups cos of bombs and can't imagine going on the tube with two kids anyway even no bomb possibilities.

I dont have much experience with the birthing centre in The Royal Free as i had an emergency c-section (breech) but.....

the post natal care i got there was appaling and would never ever recommend it .....but again that is just one persons experience

HTH

In my experience there isn't a hospital in London that someone hasn't had a bad experience at. Nobody agrees on this. But FWIW my friend had a fantastic birth experience at the Royal Free birthing Unit. She has booked there again even though she lives miles away because her memories were so good. She had a natural labour in a birthing pool and said the midwives were absolutely wondeful - she couldn't fault them or the experience. The only thing I would say is that the Royal Free is one of the few hospitals in London that won't take late transfers so if you want to go there you have to make that decision now. They claim it is a Government edict but my ante natal teacher looked into it and that isnt true. So my advice is go and see for yourself and then make up your mind. Good Luck whatever your decision.

I had all 4 of my babies at the Royal Free and have had mixed experiences. I think it depends on the midwife you get - out of my 4 labours I had one awful midwife and one brilliant one. I only heard good things about the birthing unit. If you go in there you are likely to be sent home after 6 hours. Like others, I think the worst part of the Royal Free experience is the post natal wards - you would avoid this if you were sent home after 6 hours. I am high risk and cannot recommend more highly the medical treatment I got from the doctors there. I had heard horror stories about the hygiene, but the labour rooms and wards were ok while I was there.

What about a home birth?

Thanks. Yes I would consider a home birth (dh is very negative about having to clean up after but I think he is being a little pathetic) but in the event of a transfer I would have to go to the closest hospital where the homebirth midwives are based - Central Middx. and I have a total horror of this place. There is a tour at the Royal Free on Sunday so I will go on it and then make up my mind but it is looking like my only option at the moment. Bad hygiene - that doesn't sound great with all the stories of superbugs (though I know this was not your experience) - this is one of the things putting me off St. Mary's - when I went on a tour of their labour ward before ds was born they showed us a refurbished room but on the night I got maybe the only unrefurbished room which, I kid you not, had mold and fungus growing under the mattress on the delivery bed. They might have cleaned up their act since then but I'm not taking any chances. Aaargh, maybe we should move and find a whole new set of hospitals to choose from.

I'd go for a homebirth if I were you. I had both my babies (c/s) at the Whittington which was fine, but the post natal care is patchy, but ok if you are prepared imo.

ragtag, have you not popped yet?

yes, definitely go on the tour. The delivery rooms, both in the birth centre and the other part have been very recently refurbished and are very nice. I was in the non-birth centre part as I was high risk and it was very similar to the birth centre - with balls and tapes etc. i'm not sure how easy it is to get the birth pool- you should ask this, or how likely it is that the birth unit is going to be full. It was full on the night I went into labour in January.

Look at the post natal wards too - they are pretty grotty, but as I mentioned, if you have a smooth labour, you usually stay in the birth unit post-natally and then go home after 6 hours.

any news on brighton, pollyanna?

We're waiting for the schools to let us know what places are available (by the end of this week they said) and then we're going to rent somewhere in the catchment area. There's no urgency to move now as dd1 has started school in London, but we would like to go at Christmas. It's all very stressful!

may see you down there, sil lives there and rest of inlaws live in lewes..

Hi bundle - no I haven't popped yet. Not due for another two weeks. Was planning to call you on Monday re getting together this week. You around?

arabella2 - I don't know the set-up at all in London but just wanted to reiterate that there are good and bad stories wherever you go. Although your DH had a bad experience at Central Middlesex, that does not mean you would. It is a totally different department.

With your history it is likely that you would have a straighforward delivery. If so perhaps it would be best to be delivered in the place closest to your home so that you could go home ASAP. That is if you prefer not to have a homebirth.

Just trying to say look at your options for convenience and service offered rather than worrying about something that is unlikely to happen IYSWIM?

Yes I do see what you mean Mears thanks - I'm not sure if I can get over my phobia of my local though so am going to see the Royal Free tomorrow - if not I may consider a home birth (local being emergency place then)...

Let us know what you think tomorrow Arabella. If I was having another baby, I would go back to the Royal Free. (the Whittington and UCH being my other options, or the Portland!!).

The tour was okay Pollyanna - there were LOADS of people there plus partners - I have never seen so many big bellies in one place (all much closer to their due date than me). The rooms were great and there's a birth centre which is great (which only has 3 rooms though not 5 or 6 like the birth centre at Queen Charlotte's). I didn't like the hospital (big, ramshackle and strange) in general but as I said the labour wards and birth centre were fine. BUT it just all felt foreign to me - not really my part of London and I liked Queen Charlotte's so much last time (I know you are not guaranteed the same experience even if you go to the same place again but even so) that I am finding it hard to visualize myself anywhere else. Dh says to ring up the midwife who delivered dd at Queen Charlotte's but I don't see how on earth she could get me in if they are full for next March. I just really liked her - she was a little older and very understated and intelligent. The midwife who showed us the room at the birth centre today was telling people (most on their first babies) to ring up when first in labour and listen to the midwife's advice about when to come in as "she has been doing it longer than you"... this in imperious tones. I don't know if this midwife even had her own children. With both my previous deliveries I had to go to the hospital asap as I gave birth soon after getting there... anyway I know I am nit-picking I just don't really know what to do next .

friends have had babies at the Royal Free (incl midwives and paediatric nurses) and they were VERY happy with the experience!

I'm sure people were happy there, it just didn't feel right to me.