So what hospital did you give birth in?

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Following on from the epidural thread and seeign that sometimes your level of care can depend upon the area you live in, I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread on which hospital you have given birth in, or are going to give birth in and any comments ie - good, bad, excellent, etc

I often wonder if women get a rougher deal if they live say for instance, in a bigger City. I remember looking after a woman a few years ago who was having a ELCS after a really traumatic delivery in London and her after care on the wards made me so sad for her. She moved to the country and her next baby was born here, and she said it couldnt have been more different.

So fire away

Home but with community MW assigned from St Thomas'

Was all set for home from home til I had to spend a day at ADU at 21weeks and was shocked at how over worked and understaffed the MW were and decided having two on one care was better for me

Can't fault my care in any way at all

Dewsbury hospital, West Yorkshire (4 days ago)

Post birth care was fab couldn't fault it.

Induction process was crap. Left on ward for 12 hours waiting for a room in delivery suite to have waters broken despite not needing pessary they wouldn't let me go home and come back so had to start induction at midnight knackered. Had asked to try water birth if breaking waters showed progress. Was told the doctor (who never came to speak to me personally) had decided they would break my waters and start iv drip at same time so ignored my wishes about the water birth and it resulted in a pretty brutal 1 hour dilation from 1cm to 10 as they cranked the drip up too high resulting in me hyper stimulating and having no break in contractions at all , so birth of dd1 was just under 3 hours, she was 9lb and only had g&a, 2nd degree tear etc.

Its my first baby so no 'normal' labour to compare with but I still feel quite traumatised by how rushed and brutal it was and how I just felt like a number being shoved thru the queue as fast as possible.

Northern Lights Hospital, Fort McMurray, Alberta. One hospital for a city of 100,000 people.

No midwives in this city either. You see your family doctor/practice nurse for regular checks, GD testing etc. there's only usually one scan done.

There are only 3 OBs, so if your straightforward your first appointment isn't until 36 weeks. It's not unusual to be waiting 4 hours plus to see them.

There's no special care unit, so if you go into labour before 36 weeks you are flown to Edmonton, which is the next nearest city. An hours flight for you and a 5 hour drive for your loved ones.

It's not unusual for 180 babies to be born a month. No water births. If labour is uncomplicated you can be out in a few hours. If you have a c section you're in for 2 or 3 nights.

The section rate here is around 1 in 13.

The nurses are brilliant.

Zombie thread

I'm liking that if any of these hospitals have the same internet procedures as where I work, the
Hospitals have a program which scans the net for any mention of their name and contents of post/ mention are brought to their attention. Good or bad. Good way for them to receive feed back ;)

We had a case of a woman claiming ill treatment of her daughter while pregnant on an Internet forum (not this one).. She left so much detail they knew who she was and were able to deal with it. Turned out her daughter had told her mother a different story to what was actual medical diagnosis. Power of the Internet! She thought she was anon!!

Ormskirk Hospital, Lancashire x3

Care was pretty darn good.

Midwives were mostly kind and caring.

Although one complete arsehole of a dr thought it would be hilarious to stick his head in though the door and shout "PUUUUUSH PUUUSH!"
Laugh, and walk off?

That was at a point where the baby was in trouble (mdwvs were panicking) and dh couldn't leave me, or there would have been strong words had.

After care was ok each time.

All in all, quite good experiences.

I'm pregnant again, but live in NZ now. Wondering what it will be like in comparison to UK.

DS1: Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn - wouldn't recommend. The staff didn't read my notes (I've had lots of therapy for extreme needle phobia and still have issues even now) and got annoyed when I freaked out when they said I needed an episotomy and implied they'd do it whether i liked it or not. I heard the consultant call me a stupid kid (I was 20!) at one point. Was left alone a lot in labour too and was told I didn't need to start pushing when I was fully dilated and doing what felt right iyswim. Post natal ward was crap too although the staff in NICU were amazing!

DS2: MLU West Suffolk Hospital Bury St Edmunds - absolutely fantastic was treated like a human being and was consulted on everything, really felt felt like I had a say in things. We're not having anymore but if we were to have another this is where I'd go back to.

St Mary's Paddington -an absolute shithole - lucky DD and me didn 't die.

Queen Charlottes - apart from an incredibly bitchy nurse who objected to helping me clean myself up after ELCS (epidural and catheter in), the care was very good and nothing was too much trouble.

Glan Clwyd for all 3.

DC 1 almost twenty years ago, it was just awful. The senior midwife who stitched me up is still on my shit list. I was so exhausted and drugged up with god knows what I couldn't even hold my baby. She hit me ( slapped my inner thigh hard) and told me to keep bloody still and then stitched away as I cried with the pain. I should have reported her but it was so traumatic I just wanted it to end.
DC 2&3 2 and 4 years later.
Lovely midwives, brilliant care. Home the same day.

Harrogate hospital, 4 times.

13,11,8 and 3 years ago.

All positive experiences.
Only complaint (not really a complaint though) would be that midwives should give consistent breastfeeding advice, as it was, the advice differed wildly from mw to mw.

Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother hospital in Margate
Induced on due date due to polyhydramnios, lovely midwives, failed ventouse (sp) episiotomy and forceps delivery. Not happy with some of the doctors comments. After care was good. Asked for my own room as I was having toilet problems, and then ds was jaundice. Stayed in for 4nights after ds was born. The midwives were so helpful and friendly, however did not ask if I was breast or formula feeding so bf was not established at hospital

Aboyne Maternity Unit, in Aberdeenshire.

FABULOUS! Just me, DH and two midwives. A big bonus of using a very small place like this, way out in the sticks is I was the only woman in there! Had a private room with en-suite, and tea and toast on tap (even if I did drop most of it into the pool).
Sadly it is now closed. Makes me furious. Our only choice now would be Aberdeen or Dundee hospitals.

The Lister in Stevenage nearly two years ago.

Very bizarre mix of experiences. They have a new birthing suite - well, it's 2 years old now, it opened just before I have birth - with the MLU downstairs and the CLU upstairs. Gorgeous new building, huge rooms, great atmosphere, loads of pools, a bath in pretty much every room (even in the CLU I think), midwives great, consultants amazing etc. I had a very urgent emcs and everyone was wonderful, the experience and care was as good as anyone could hope it would be. Baby was in the brand new NICU and the staff and facilities there were amazing too.

However - the ante and post-natal care there is shocking. Run down wards, nowhere near enough midwives, a catalogue of errors at every stage. Essentially I was on the pre-labour ward for 12 hours completely ignored despite throwing up everywhere the whole time and becomming dangerously dehydrated, which ended up being a significant contributory factor in baby being in NICU for 5 days.

I've complained and had a debrief and do feel that they are making some good changes there and know that things went horribly wrong when the new centre first opened. It's our only maternity unit, there's no choice around here. I'll happily have an elcs there, and hopefully should get one, but I HATE the thought of being in labour again there.

Dd was born in Whittington hospital in 2011. We were in mlu also had anti natal care there. Anti natal care was a mix bunch sometimes it was nice sometimes very horrid and rude. Birth was nice for most part in the water. Mlu is beautiful with pool almost in every room. They let student MW deliver even though I said no to students for that. She did not guide me and I had tears. They did not stich well and I think should of had a consultant to do that. I also had labia tear that they did not tell me about i had to find for my self. Came back for retained membranes, care was good but much of waiting around. Again student doctor, I do not like to be a subject for teaching... I was lucky not to end up in scary postnatal wards but from aside it looked beyond terrible. I still would recomend MLU and Whittington for uncomplicated birth.
DS was born just recently at lister stevenage. For pregnancy I had community midwife. Birth was at mlu. I arrived at 4 cm and they left me labour in a room without pool. The walk to the pool room was horrendous. Mw were great during delivery and guided me well. DS was stuck and they really did well dealling with near emergency situation. They ignored my birth plan completely. Told me my second degree tear was just a small cut and left it unstiched. Post care was pure crap. Random people walking into the room trying to discharge. Hearing test lady was completely uncapable and misinformed about the tests she was giving and made me stress for 2 weeks after thinking my baby has hearing issues.

I saw the postnatal wards and thanks god I had no business of being there rather than just a tour.
Sorry for typos I am on the phone :)

Pembury (tunbridge wells). It was amazing!

St John's, Chelmsford. Wonderful both times (c-sections), and didn't want to go home. It's now closed and maternity stuff all at Broomfield Hospital. St John's site is being turned into a housing estate. Horrible.

Ds was born in Milan

Dd Exeter rd&e

Kings college London. Pretty shitty, was unable to see a midwife at my local surgery for my entire pregnancy as she was available 2hrs a week.

GPs didn't seems to know anything about ante natal care.

At kings college hospifal the woman conducting the scan was checking her e-mail. The doctor frequently left the room.

My blood pressure was dangerously high and I was rushed to operating theatre, I gave birth before they were able to intervene as the asanesthesiologist was no where to be seen.

Stayed in for 4 days as my blood pressure was still climbing, on the whole most of the midwives were kind and helpful.

The obstetrician described herself to me as a 'mummy doctor' if my baby wasn't attached to my nipple there is very real chance I might have lamped her.

The anesthesiologist then came to ask how I rated his performance I shit you not!

Queen Elizabeth Gateshead.

Couldn't fault it.

DS - James Cook University Hospital - terrible. DS 16 days late. Induction. The wouldn't let me get off the bed. When I said I needed the loo they brought me a bed pad TERRIBLE! Ended in EMCS
DD - West Suffolk Hospital - VBAC. Wonderful!!
DC3 due Xmas day - Northallerton???

West Middlesex University Hospital - lovely student midwife, excellent doctors. Absolutely shocking after care. Left on a ward, lost DS notes basically didn't give a shit. But the actual staff during delivery were great during and awful birth.

Warwick hospital. Couldn't fault a thing and the SCBU is amazing!

Jersey General. Excellent care both times plus excellent care with both MMC. But we do have a very high standard of NHS care here!

I can't say because I work there and it would totally out me but i think its a great unit and I'm glad to say it was mentioned by another poster upthread and got a fab review

Interesting thread but we do all know it is a zombie thread from 2011???

Does it matter that it's a zombie thread? Loads of new mums have added their hospitals and opinions now, so it will and can be relative for an expecting mum.