Oxford Spires

[mildertduck]

I'm thinking I'd like to go there (pregnant with first baby). Anyone got any experience of it? A colleague loved loved loved Wallingford when she was there in August but I live a mile away from the JR and a 30 min drive to Wallingford mid-labour does not sound like something I fancy doing...

Hi mildertduck I remember you from the May babies board, how is the hyperemesis? Hope all is going well for you. I have heard really good things about Spires, a colleague had her baby there and said it was excellent and my DH has heard good things about it from one of his colleagues too. I think if you want midwife led care it is a great place to go, and has the benefit of being in the hospital should you require extra assistance or decide you would like more pain relief. I am pregnant with my first baby and I would go there apart from I live about 45 minutes to an hour away from JR and I don't want to be doing that journey whilst in labour! I've opted for a homebirth but if that changes before or partway through labour then I will be at the Horton

Hi milder. I'm almost 40 weeks now and am hoping to use the Spires. I had my first visit at 37 weeks (you can usually have your 36 week MW appt there).

There are three rooms there, one of which has a pool, and two MWs in duty. After the birth you can stay in a private room overnight. Personally, I loved the unit and really got on with the lovely MW who showed me round - she put me really at ease, more so than my regular MW at my GP surgery. Of course I haven't actually given birth there yet, but my recent experience has made me very positive about the idea.

I've heard excellent things about Wallungford and Chipping Norton too. The worst I've heard about the Spires is that it's a shame there's only one pool, which of course could be in use on the day, but the sensory room with the big birth-sofa looked great too.

Good luck!

I had my DS there 3 years ago, when it was very new. It was amazing - really lovely midwives, excellent post natal care and I had a fantastic birth. I didn't get to use the pool, but as I wasn't dead set on it, and was getting on well with just the TENS anyway, it didn't matter.

We were in the active birth room - a bit like being in a weird gym, but good! The threshold for transfer 'downstairs' is low though - I had one slightly high BP reading and they were keen to send me down for monitoring, but I managed to persuade them otherwise.

Hello Mildertduck, not the Spires for me but the labour ward at the JR (was booked to go to the Spires but DS had other ideas) - fantastic, really great, from start to finish, could not rate it highly enough to do it justice. All the staff were amazing, I was given aromatherapy oils to get me through the early stages, encouraged to move exactly as I wanted despite the need for continuous foetal monitoring, and had a really positive experience and natural birth with just G&A. Postnatal care on the ward also fantastic- tons of breastfeeding support and a really positive, caring environment. All the ward staff, including cleaners and the ladies who brought the food and changed the sheets, were lovely. And I was there during one of their busiest periods for years, apparently! Spires or the labour ward, the JR is fab!