Lewisham Hospital birth centre - anyone used it yet?

[Muser]

Just wondering if anyone has used the shiny new birth centre that opened in April yet? I want the inside story. Anyone wanted to use it and not been able to? I know it's meant to be 'low-risk' but I kind of got the impression from my midwife that 'low-risk' equals hardly anyone uses it.

I supported a couple in there in June, lovely place, friendly mw's, (ie happy to crawl around under my client on floor, :) )

Would recommend on my one and only visit.

hth

I'm booked in and due next week so will report back if I can... It seems fabulous... They have very strict criteria, one of the midwives I met on my tour told us that they have to prove themselves to justify their existence at the moment, and hopefully when it's less new and more established they can relax some of the criteria slightly. Even more strict than criteria for a home birth - although the labour ward is literally just 3 floors above it.

Ooh, good luck 2ndDestiny. I hope it goes well. Do you know what the criteria are? Hope to hear a report from you at some point.

The criteria we were told are that everything has to be 'totally normal'. I don't think I can remember all of them, but it's things like, if you have any existing health condition, if you test positive for Group B Strep, if you've had a previous C-Section, if you have GD, etc. then you won't be able to use the Birth Centre. And then if anything happens during the labour, e.g. meconium in the waters, your temp goes up, etc. they'll send you straight up to the maternity ward. However in spite of this, the midwives I spoke to said that transfer rate was 'not that high'. Fingers x'd I'll get to have my birth there and report back... when are you due?

Not until February next year so plenty of time to gather stories. I'm just thinking ahead!

Yes, lots of time. If you get your MW to book you on the antenatal classes at the hospital, they take you on a tour of the Birth Centre. Otherwise you are still offered a tour, but not til quite late on, and DH and I found it really helpful to have a nose around a bit sooner so we could make a decision about where we would prefer to have the birth.

A friend had her baby there recently and said it was fantastic.Looks like a hotel judging by the pictures.

I had my daughter at Lewisham in 2008,it was bloody awful but that was before the Birth Centre.

I am due in November and really wanted to use the birth centre but as I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes I am now deemed higher risk and not allowed to go there.

I have really questioned this as I am very borderline, blood sugars are fine and baby is measuring average. I have had no other complications. While I don't want to put my baby or myself at risk, it is very disappointing that they are being so strict at the moment.

I have also been told that the rules may be slightly relaxed once the centre has been going a bit longer, so you may be lucky in February! Meanwhile it will be the labour ward for me :-(

poppy if you are high risk and need the labour ward I would recommend Kings over lewisham.I have had baby's at both and Kings was way better.Also my son went into SCBU for a week and the staff were fantastic.
Of course you might be too far away.

Mumcah what was awful about Lewisham for you? Would like to be prepared in case I have to transfer (really hoping I don't).

I did consider Kings but as I have read both good and bad reviews on both hospitals, I decided to stick with Lewisham as I can get there in less than 10 minutes if need be. Kings can take 30 mins in traffic which may make all the difference when in pain!! I've looked round the labour and post labour wards at Lewisahm and they seem ok, I'm not checking in to a 5 star hotel after all. I was very sceptical about Lewisham havng not heard good things but can honestly say the care I have received to date has been thorough. Just hoping thst continues.......

Poppy, I've had the same experience - heard both good and bad reviews but all my care at Lewisham to date has been pretty good. In fact the other day I spoke to a mum who gave birth in the labour ward there 4 months ago - she had quite a traumatic birth with a third degree tear, had to stay in 5 days for surgery etc. but she couldn't fault them, said the care was excellent, so i hope that's a sign things have improved. Although I'm still interested to hear Mumcah's experience if she feels like sharing - it's useful to get different viewpoints...

I had my daughter at Lewisham Birth Centre 6 weeks ago, I am 19, she is my first baby and I cannot fault it one bit! I had a fantastic birthing experience, the midwives were amazing- so supportive and caring; they really got me through. The atmosphere is very relaxed and it really felt like a second home. I presonally found the birthing pool a godsend as I was getting intense contractions- really eased the pain and huge so plenty of room to move around. Once I'd given birth the midwives who looked after me for the few hours til I went home were very nice- helped me get baby to latch on and always offering food/drink/help. Deffinately reccomend it!!

Does anyone have any more recent experiences of the Lewisham birth center and would like to share? I have a perfectly normal pregnancy so far and no previous health issues / pregnancies so keen to explore this further.

thank you!

I'm booked in at the Birth Centre, due in a couple of weeks. It looks amazing!

However I can also say that I had to spend 5 days on the labour ward (& antenatal) at 30 weeks as I had my appendix out. Baby and I nearly died and the staff were amazing, really couldn't fault them. So either way I feel that I'm in good hands!

Hello ST82! I saw this pop up and didn't realise it was me who started it all that time ago! I didn't end up giving birth at the birth centre due to last minute complications. But I did do a tour and was booked in, and got checked up on there to start with. The midwives are lovely, the centre is just amazing, and I am gutted that I didn't get to give birth there. I have friends now who did and they all had amazing experiences so I would definitely recommend it.

I had a great birth on the labour ward though. Staying in isn't much fun, but I'm not sure it is anyway. Great support from the breastfeeding specialist there. I would give birth there again if I wasn't planning a homebirth next time!

Thank you Muser! I am planning to go in for a tour as well. Traditionally, i have not heard very good and positive things about Lewisham, which has made me nervous. This is why i am very keen to find out as much as i can about both, the birth centre and the labour ward at Lewisham.

I've heard loads of good things about the Birth Centre - seen it too and it's lovely, very comfortable with lots of privacy. They are getting brilliant feedback from mums who've used it.

The labour ward is supposed to be fine if you have to go there, but the postnatal ward has had a terrible reputation for ages. To be fair they are pulling out all the stops to tackle the problems now, and have some fantastic midwives.

I am looking for mums or dads in Lewisham who use:-
Child care
Child Minders
Nursery
Pre School Clubs
Breakfast Clubs
Kid Zones
It is a campaign for quality accessible, affordable child care and if you meet the criteria then you will be invoted to a group discussion with other parents and you will be paid for your time.
The group discussion will be taking place in Lewisham on 19th or 21st February.
Please contact Lin on 07736 524217 for further information or e-mail [email protected]