Hi there,
I'm currently in the process of trying to choose which hospital to give birth at and receive antenatal care. I want an active labour and ideally would like to make use of a birthing pool. I've narrowed down my choices to the Royal Free (closest to home at 11 minutes' car ride) and the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing at UCH (between 15 -35 minutes from home depending on traffic). Now, I have heard some awful things about the care in Royal Free and was wondering if that has changed as it is the most convenient hospital for me and the closest to home. However I am concerned because they only seem to have one birthing pool at Royal Free and there are three at UCH so I don't know if I should go for safety in numbers in case the only one available at Royal Free is in use when I go in labour.
There are other things that I'd like to take into account when choosing between these two hospitals and that is how supportive and helpful they are with breastfeeding for new mums as this is my first pregnancy.
Thanks a lot for your help, your insight and experiences will be of incredible value to me!