Recent experiences of Kingston Hospital Maternity Unit

[Falcon1]

I'm due to have my first baby in September at Kingston and was wondering what people's experiences of the maternity unit are? I've looked at a couple of threads on this topic but they're pretty dated now. I've read that staffing has previously been a problem and that some women have not been able to get rooms, and therefore no pain relief! Also that after care isn't great. Is this still the case? I rather know the real situation so I can prepare myself. Any posts would be really appreciated!

I was at West Mid and they were brilliant - are you too far to try there?

I had my homebirth. Fantastic, BUT, I did hire a doula which I think got me the more experienced midwife to attend.

I will be there at Kingston to having dc 2 in August by ELCS. This decision was due to a traumatic birth there in May 2011 with dd which ended in a cat 1 emcs. Wasn't hugely impressed by the care pre or post birth but they were good in an emergency. I am nervous about going through the experience there again...so watching with interest....

I had my first son at Kingston in 2011. My community midwife team (Fountain) were and still are excellent. They were very encouraging of home birth option the first time, but this didn't work out as I had meconium in my waters. Went on to deliver safely in the labour ward. The midwives were excellent (albeit a little emotional?!). Aftercare was fine - they really helped with feeding overnight and the next day before we were discharged. (I'm a nurse also, so I don't know if that changed anything from their point of view).

I subsequently returned to the ward as I was having trouble with breastfeeding. One midwife named Chris spoke to me on the phone, and invited me to come in for a chat to her for advice, and for her to observe a feed. She made time for me, despite it being the end of her shift. She even found me a room to sit in, gave me a lot of support and encouragement. I later found out that she is a total pro with breastfeeding advice, so if she is still there and on duty when you are, do try and speak to her.

Am having second baby (anytime now I hope), in Kingston - hopefully in the Malden Suite.

Good luck. PM me if you like.

I had DD at kingston hospital few years ago, and the care was really good at the hospital. The after care was not so great (after being discharged from hospital).

I now had my DS at kingston few weeks ago and was again really happy with the care provided by the hospital. I was referred to an obs consultant during pregnancy, and he was really good, really took the time to listen and followed me all the way thought.

Once in the hospital it was really good, good Mw, good medical team, clean room. I had the same MW for the whole labour, she stayed with me and monitor me all the time which i found reinsuring. I was lucky enough to have a single room as they were not too busy (rare) which was really nice to rest after birth.

However, the breakfast was horrid and I was not happy with the after care/post hospital. care. I live in putney, so once discharged from the hospital, I was 'looked after' by the St George's hospital community MW. This means that, if any problems I should then have to go to st George's hospital and not kingston! The MW came once at home, but then I had to go to Wandsworth for following appointments which was not convenient at all for me (one of the reason to pick kingston was the location). My last appointment with the MW, before being discharged, was really useless: she discharged me, without checking my blood pressure, checking that my uterus was contracting correctly, didn't check my stitches (just asked if they were ok... How would I know?!) etc...not sure why I had to go there ... Except for weighing my DS (could his not be done in Putney and the rest over the phone them?)
Anyway, would def. recommend kingston hospital, as for me the most important part was the actual experience during the pregnancy and at the hospital. Didn't hear very good things about Chelsea.

Good luck, PM if you would like.

I had a private elcs with Mr Anim a couple of weeks ago at Kingston so feel free to PM me if you have any questions I can help with.

I have no personal experience of Kingston (aside from the fact that 42 years ago my mother lied about her address so as to have me at Queen Mary's, Roehampton, having had an appalling experience at Kingston) but I'm puzzled about the choice between Kingston and Chelsea & Westminster - surely these 2 hospitals are nowhere near each other and so one would involve a long journey?

Depends where you live MrsO If you live somewhere like Barnes or Sheen (where the Dr prefers you to go to Kingston but you do have a choice) C&W is actually closer to get to, but not by much. I had my children at Queen Charlottes but had to go to Kingston for the aftercare (which was shit. Truly.)

I'm currently at George's but have just moved to kingston, so thinking about swapping hospitals as it'll take about 45 minutes to get to Tooting, which might be too much.

Has anyone got experience of both these hospitals to compare? I have to give birth on the labour ward as I have strep b, so if anyone has any experience of this in particular!

Hi Juniper9!
I'm new to the Kingston Hospital too, but have been there for my appointments and always felt cared for well. I'm now 38 weeks and due to give birth there. I am also GBS+ so will be giving birth on the labour ward. Have you given birth yet? If so, where? If not, have you made your mind up? I will share my experience after the event ;)

Hi inka. Canard you not allowed on Malden suite if you have group b strep then? I am in Kingston and really wanted to try for the Malden suite

I had my second in the Malden in 2010 and had IV antibiotics for strep B. I had it as a precaution because I'd tested positive for strep B with first baby, don't know if it would be different for an active infection or if policy has changed.

I had my first on the main delivery ward in 2007. Both good birth experiences with great midwives. Postnatal not as good and breast feeding support was rubbish. Single/double rooms a massive bonus!

Hi Wombat79!
You should be able to get antibiotics at the Malden suite. It is a 15 -30 min drip through a cannula in your hand and you only need to have it every 4 hours so you should be able to move freely after each dose. Perhaps call them to check in advance. Just make sure you get there on time so they have enough time to give you at least two doses at least 2 - 4 hrs before you deliver the baby. My GP recommends getting to the hospital once I have regular strong contractions. I think I'll be off the moment they are regular even if they are 15-20 mins apart and I will making sure I get the antibiotics straight away, especially if my waters are gone. I'd like to avoid getting there late and having to give the antibiotics to the baby directly after the birth. I chose the labour ward again with my second bubba as I'd like to have an option of having an epidural. I had a difficult first birth so I know I will be calmer knowing there are all the medical options available should something go wrong. Good luck to you and all expecting mums! I'm 40 weeks tomorrow and still waiting! :)

Hi Inka- I'm 37+3, so a few weeks behind you (although I'm 38+3 according to my dates, so we'll see!)

I have a meeting with the obstetrician tomorrow, so that'll be my first chance to see inside the hospital. I have to give birth on the delivery suite due to an increased heart rate during pregnancy, as well as the Strep B, so that choice has been taken out of my hands. One less thing to have to decide upon, I guess.

Have you given birth yet?

Hi! I hope your meeting went well. I'm 40+2 today and we're still 2 in 1! :) I'm starting to get a bit impatient and don't fancy being artificially induced either so am trying to keep positive, happy and calm. My theory is = happy, calm and loved mummy will result in a flow of oxytocin which should brim on natural contractions soon... Fingers crossed it happens soon. I will post about my experience in Kingston after the birth. If you beat me to it I wish you heaps of good luck and hope it all goes well for you. ;)

Did you decide to book with Mr Anim in the end? if so, what did you think?

Sorry - that last msg was meant for TJ34

I'm 41+3 today and still no baby!! I'm booked for an induction at the Kingston Hospital on Tuesday. I tried everything to avoid it and nothing has worked so far.. So frustrated! :( I don't care how she arrives anymore as long as she's healthy...

Good luck Inka for tomorrow! Having weird cramps at the moment, so fingers crossed I'll be joining you!

I gave birth at Kingston in 2011. I had to go to theatre afterwards (not the hospitals fault I don't think) then my baby developed an eye infection which meant we stayed in transitional care for a week and a half. I got my own room which was great. It looked out over the midwife station and reception so I saw a lot!
I would say the senior staff eg pediatricians, surgeons, matrons etc were excellent. There were also a couple of absolutely outstanding midwives. I'm afraid some of the midwives left a lot to be desired though.
A couple of the worst examples include missed doses of my baby's antibiotics through manual error which is unforgivable, midwives taking him away to administer eye drops then him coming back with eye still crusted over and obviously not bathed to let drops in.
I understand they are busy and understaffed
etc but as i say I could see the midwife station and there was defiantly a bit of Topshop website browsing going on!
As the transitional care unit shared kit with the prem unit there often weren't breast pumps available when I needed which meant I had to ask/beg for them constantly which isn't what I needed when i was trying to pump on a three hour feeding cycle! Overall I would say that the serious situations would be covered well but the day to day could be improved. It was bad enough for me to not go there for my second babies (twins!) I am going to St Georges instead

Hi all
I just moved to the UK and decided to have my second child in Kingston and know very little about the antenatal care. I'm having my first scan on Wednesday at 2pm but I have a flight (for work ) at 6.10pm from heathrow. Do you think I'll make it? Is there a long waiting time? Otherwise I'll change it for a 7.10pm just to be on the safe side...
thanks!

I'd change it if I were you. I always had to wait at least 90 mins for the appointments (but this was a couple of years ago so hopefully things have improved since then). But the traffic round the hospital & Kingston in general at the moment is shocking due to roadworks, so you'd be pushing it to get to Heathrow for a 6pm flight.

I've had three (one EMCS, two VBAC) at Kingston and been very happy... but most recent was two and a half years ago so not up to date (a friend had her DS there almost exactly a year ago, though, and was also very happy). The big plus is the small postnatal rooms -- a much better experience than the Chelsea and Westminster postnatal wards, from what my friends tell me.

The paediatrician who discharged DD2 messed up a bit, though (noticed some soft indicators for (what turned out to be) her hearing loss but dismissed them as "merely cosmetic". But that didn't have any long-term effect on her condition.