Royal London v's Homerton v's Barkantine

[wildalice]

Does anyone have any recent experience of the above hospitals for giving birth? I live in Limehouse, East London so am looking at my options for a May birth.

Cannot answer personally, but 2 friends and my boss have given birth at the Homerton in the last 11m, and have nothing but fantastic things to say about it...from nurses and doctors to the cleanliness to the overall experiance...I was pleasantly suprised by it when I visited friend in there

Thanks Milk no sugar. That's encouraging. Was the refurbishment complete when you visited? Sounds like a lot of work has gone into developing the maternity wing from what I have read.

Not when I visited, but one friend gave birth in it (water birth at birthing centre) and couldnt praise it enough

I've heard a ton of awful stuff about Homerton itself but as far as the maternity department is concerned a ton of good/great stuff!

hope someone who's used it comes along in a minute!

I gave birth at the Barkantine in March 2009 and am hoping to again in December this year. It was a great experience - wonderful midwives, private facilities, huge birthing pool and DH could stay over night afterwards rather than being thrown at at 2.30am! I have a wonderful birth and am really looking forwards to going back assuming everything stays problem free. You have to be low risk and between 37 and 42 weeks. No epidurals and the the transfer rate for first time mothers can be high (can't remember the %age - I asked when looking round). Give them a call and go for a look. Definitely worth considering. Good Luck!

I gave birth at Homerton in 2008. I had a mixed experience but that was partly due to my situation and the fact they were VERY busy. The first two days while I was being monitored for high blood pressure and being induced were bad as they had nowhere decent for me to sleep. During the labour they were fantastic - a couple members of staff were especially lovely and supportive. The aftercare was mixed but like I said they were bursting at the seams with new mothers and babies. They weren't awful but I didn't get much help or attention or support and they sent me home without my meds or informing me I had lost a lot of blood and needed a lot of iron... But I hear a lot of money has been invested since then. I've also spent a fair amount of time at A&E and on the children's ward since and the staff there are great. So not exactly a rave review (sorry!) but I'll probably be going back there when I have another (party because we live around the corner) so it can't have been that bad either (and I suspect I was pretty unlucky on some counts too).

I had my ante-natal care at the Barkantine in 2008. I had a great experience before the birth, but I found the labour a disappointing experience there. I didn't feel I received a great deal of support from the midwives during the labour and was transferred to the Royal London during transition (not a fun experience!). The drive by ambulance from Barkantine to Royal London was about 20 minutes which is a real problem having the birth centre and hospital so far apart. My labour at the Royal London was great - had a fantastic midwife - but felt that I didn't get help or support after the birth. I'm pregnant again and am at the Homerton this time. Have had a great experience so far - the hospital is smaller and it has been quick and easy to have scans and blood tests. I'm planning a home birth and the midwives have been fantastically supportive.