St Thomas's, Queen Elizabeth, Lewisham Hospital and Queen Mary

[ST82]

Hi mums :)

I am 8 weeks pregnant and a first time mum. I need to make a decision on which hospital i am going to for the childbirth, so far St Thomas's hospital is the one that stands out to me as one of the best in London. I live in South East London (Blackheath) and my other options include Queen Elizabeth, Lewisham Hospital and Queen Mary.

I would be grateful if anyone can tell me a bit about the care, the labour rooms, cleanliness and other aspects of any of these hospitals, particularly St Thomas's. I have looked at the Health Commission survey but would love to speak with someone who has actually given birth there just for a few tips!

Thank you so much,
Silvi

Creature - it's no problem, I can understand you wanting to know. I just feel it's not really my story to choose to share IYSWIM.

I've had 2 inductions at Lewisham. Horrible but the second was marginally better so maybe they are improving.

I hear very good things about the birthing centre.

If I have a third (unlikely) I would go to St Thomas's. I have promised myself no more births at Lewisham Hospital since I seem unable to go into labour naturally.

CreatureBump thank you and keep in touch! I will contact me GP practice tomorrow to find out as i certainly have started to feel the pressure of having to make a decision now given that my first scan and other things need to start being arranged. Best of luck to you!! and let me know where you decide to go and how it goes.

Update: Went to view Lewisham Birth Centre yesterday. It is amazing! Very calm and relaxed atmosphere, great rooms and facilities - clean, very spacious, high tech. The midwives we met were all friendly & pleasant, yet also down to earth and very straightforward about everything - I felt very trusting of them which is something I haven't felt at QE.
I have immediately transfered my care from QE to Lewisham. I have also begun Hypnobirthing classes, so am now feeling much more confident / less scared about everything. Just hope that when I have my assessment they find everything is ok, as it would be disappointing not to be able to go there now having seen the place.

Way too many posts for me to read so sorry if i am repetitive. Recent experience (3 months ago). We live at Greenwich and was not allowed to go to St Thomas (they don't take referrals from SE10). Just going online at St Thomas and it does not list SE3 as accepted (oddly not listed as not either...). Anyway this was our process:

1. QEH was the first one we were sent to. After the first visit, never went back. Horrid. A woman miscarried in the waiting room and they said they have nowhere so gave her a WHITE sheet to help. Really? I mean REALLY??
2. We then went to the only other choice, Lewisham. Now they have a birth centre that is amazing but ONLY if you are completely low risk, require all natural and if anything looks to go wrong, will auto move you to the public delivery. As I had had an emergency cescarean previously (even though last one was natural and this was to be natural), this was no long an option. Boo!
3. We continued with lewisham but the antenatals whilst not horrible, were long, always waiting forever, very clinical and not really "comforting". Again nothing really wrong but I envisaged similar at child birth and with previous problems, I was worried.
4. So after so much deliberation and anxiety we decided to pay private and get to St Thomas. Best decision we ever made. Lovely. Now of course if you can get there NHS way, I would absolutely do it. Whilst we did then have a lovely suite, I have no doubt that public would have been great too (and the extra money in the pocket to boot!). Travel wasn't too bad. 30mins. Longest 45mins.

Good luck!!!!

Hi all

I am due in July, and have had all of my antenatal appts at QEH, and also about 9 overnight stays due to suffering with Hypremesis (severe sickness). I have to be honest and say that all the staff seem lovely (there is always the odd exception). I live in Westcombe Park SE10 and am seriously considering the Oasis Birthing centre at PRU. Mainly becuase I want an environment that does not remind me of all the hospital visits I have had to endure over the first 5 months, and becuase I am hoping for little intervention. We are yet to do a test drive, but my Midwife (Cutty Sark Midwives) advised to call at 30 weeks to request to be transferred there and to arrange a visit, so you do have some time - no need to decide asap, although it feels like it. At my booking session they didn't even discuss it with me and just put down QEH Labour ward on my notes, so next time round I raised the subject - Midwife said that she highly recommended the Oasis Birthing Unit - when i go, I will report back Only concern is distance.

Thanks for posting, Belladons. Very interested to hear how you get on - do please update us as you go along. I had not considered PRU as I thought it looks quite far away, in terms of traffic jams if travelling at rush hour, but I don't know the back routes / shortest way there (am near to Blackheath Standard, so I guess very similar travel times for us).

That's a lovely post items - we have chosen the same route that you did (not given birth yet)-v.reassuring to read and so far we've also had great experiences with them.

1. it is a lottery, depends how busy the units are when you need to go in... I had my DD1 at King's, it was really quiet and had a great experience. My friend 2 wks later almost birthed in the waiting room and had a horrible midwife as it was rammed with labouring women. Just the luck of the draw.
2. Remember people are always more likely to complain about a bad experience than praise a good one, so it's hard to have a balanced view when asking for feedback.
3. ALthough you are happy looking at far away hospitals, and you are right that 1st time babies often take a long time, you're not thinking of how you will feel on that long journey to hospital potentially waiting in traffic while having contractions. You will probably not be comfortable or rational at that time, therefore it will possible seem an even longer journey than it really is! I do think that's worth considering.
4. sorry if I have missed this on the thread but have you considered a home birth? I just had one with DS1 and it was great.
5. I only know about King's but it's true the parking is terrible!

Good luck!

Lewisham has the birth centre which is amazing, the princess royal has the Oasis if you have a low risk pregnancy too.

I have spent time in Lewisham on the antenatal ward and in the high care labour rooms as I had my appendix removed at 30 weeks (currently 40+3). The staff were wonderful and saved our lives, so cannot fault them there.
The birth centre is really lovely and shiny and new, the labour ward is a bit shabby looking but the staff are very good and you would be well looked after. Post natal care was a bit hit and miss as they are so busy, but then I had rather specific needs at the time (big scar, wriggly growing baby etc).

I think in the end all hospitals are fairly equal, they all have pros and cons. In the end I went for the one nearest to home, it's not just labour you've got to think about, it's all your appointments etc. sounds silly now but when you feel like a beached whale it can be quite an effort!

Anyway, just wanted to say that I originally had concerns about Lewisham as had read bad things, but I chose to go for the birth centre (amazing reviews). I will end up in the labour ward but I'm very happy with that now after my experience and I know many women who have had good births there.

I have also heard good things about Kings, but decided against it as its 2 buses for me!

Good luck

I agree it is an illusion of choice. You spend all this time researching and try to choose the 'best ' hospital, all hospitals you mention are good enough and then it comes down to who's working on shift when you go into labour.

I gave birth at Lewisham birth centre 2 months ago after hearing only good reports and I thought the level of care during the labour was appalling, the facilities are fantastic, and wow, I got to watch American Idol on tv at 3am to distract me while I was stitched up.

I think I just got unlucky though, I know there are great midwives there because some of the midwives that attended my first birth at Lewisham on the labour ward (pre MLU) now work in the birth centre and I could not rate highly enough the midwives at Lewisham that attended my first birth.

The post natal ward at Lewisham is grim, but I hear that is the pretty much the same across all hospitals. Being pin the midwife led unit it was great my husband did not have to leave and you get to stay in the same room so it really peaceful afterwards (although you don't get to stay that long).

Just visit your 2 closest hospitals, QE and Lewisham, and book which ever you feel most comfortable with.

I had my daughter at St Thomas' 4 months ago and feel fairly mixed on the care that I received. I was told by a consultant that I needed a caesarean due to grade 4 placenta praevia but that she couldn't make the decision as she wasn't my consultant. My consultant was very dismissive and said that I had to have a vaginal birth and it didn't matter if I ended with an EMCS as being in labour would be good for the baby. When I asked for statistics on the likelihood of bleeding and EMCS he said that it's impossible to answer and nobody knows. When I got home I found that vaginal births shouldn't be allowed if the placenta was less than 2cm from the cervix like mine was. I went back to the hospital, told he couldn't see me until 4 weeks after my due date and asked to see another consultant who confirmed that I should be having an ELCS but only my consultant could make the decision.

As I couldn't get the appointment with him, I was induced. The first midwife on shift was fantastic and supportive. The second wanted me strapped to a bed and was annoyed if I wanted to use the toilet or move from the exact position that she wanted me in. My placenta started to deliver before the baby and I had an EMCS which I was expecting to happen.

The aftercare was fantastic, the midwives were lovely and really knowledgeable on breastfeeding and helping to get it established. So, overall, mixed on what to expect from care there. If I was to go back I would certainly be refusing the same consultant. I spent the end of my pregnancy terrified about what was going to happen and whether my baby was going to be ok.

Good luck wherever you choose to go and maybe try to be as demanding as possible if things aren't going the way you want.

OOhh all these people local to me! Perhaps we should add ourselves to the local meet up groups :)

Am in Greenwich and am due baby number 1 in July (2 days before Olympics start, in an Olympic borough which will have a lot of roads cut off...) and my doctor (at GMV) said they could only refer to QE or Lewisham in this area. I asked about St Thomas' and she said they couldn't refer there. I have a lot of experience of EPU at QE and have really hated it. Maybe that's because I have miscarried there though and it has bad memories. I have heard the birthing centre at Lewisham is very good, but like a few people have said only if everything goes swimmingly.

As it happens I asked for a referral to Epsom as my specialist is there (previously saw him privately) but tbh I am a bit concerned about how I am going to get there. I will work that out nearer the time.

Good luck with choosing a hospital OP and let us know how you get on with a referral to St Thomas'!

Hi freelancegirl, I had a similar worry as I live right near to the marathon starting points and baby due right around then. Midwife said nothing to worry about, just call an ambulance if needs be and they won't be held back by road closures :-)

Hi all, as I live in Blackheath, i have decided to go with QE at this stage. I am 14 weeks now and so far, I have had my booking appointment and my 1st scan there and to be honest, it has been ok. I am still considering Lewisham in my head and in my next appointment with my local midwife team, i will bring this up with the midwife and ask of her opinion. I know the birth center is lovely, i have heard so many positive things about it, but i feel very sceptical when i think of labour and pretty much would like to keep myself very opened and prepared for anything, though so far i am def low risk.

Please keep your comments/opnions/experiences coming, particularly on Lewisham vs QE hospitals.

Have a great weekend!!!!

HI! I decided to add to this as, here I am - finally - almost 6 months after my baby arrived, back on mumsnet :-)

The care I received at Lewisham was excellent. I started off in the birth centre, but due to meconium in the waters ended up on labour ward. 30 long hours later, I ended up with a forceps delivery. My baby was huge and got stuck turning :-)

All the staff were really REALLY great, from the midwives to the anaesthetists, to the surgeons and paediatricians...and the cleaners!

After 3 days in a post-labour ward I asked for a private room. This was a godsend. Having the privacy to deal with post-birth problems like incontinence and bleeding and struggling to breastfeed and - especially! - to be able to bond with this new little person who came out of me, was invaluable. The post-labour ward was noisy, too bright, too many people...etc etc. Can't recommend private room highly enough.

I hear from friends who were in St Thomas' that this was equally excellent.

Good luck to all of you expectant mums!! X

Oops!
I meant to say that Queen Elizabeth was reported as equally excellent - apologies for that typo.

What about the barkentine birth center on isle of dogs?