Which hospital north london?

[BlackberryandNettle]

I am hoping for some advice about which hospital to choose for antenatal care and most of all the birth! I have been given a choice of the whittington, north middlesex, barnet, royal free and uclh. Has anyone had any experience giving birth in any of these hospitals or know what the reputations are like? This is my first baby and I am very anxious about the labour. Any insight much appreciated!

Okay I've had a look through the posts now and seen quite a few comments about royal free, mainly bad but some okay ones from more recently. I work very near uclh so it would be convenient for appointments but I'm worried it could be very busy. Anybody any experiences at uclh, whittington, etc??

Okay I've had a look through the posts now and seen quite a few comments about royal free, mainly bad but some okay ones from more recently. I work very near uclh so it would be convenient for appointments but I'm worried it could be very busy. Anybody any experiences at uclh, whittington, etc??

I'm 28 Weeks and all my care so far has been at the Whittington. It has been excellent, and the birth centre looks good, bigger than some other hospitals, I believe. Just choose whichever is most convenient to get to from home/work, most early midwife appointments are fairly short and you don't want to be travelling for ages each time.

I have had two babies at UCLH, both by elective cs and I cannot fault them- they are fantastic (UCLH, not the babies. Although they are fantastic too ).

They now give you the results of the Down's screening tests on the same day you are tested and scanned- within a couple of hours; I am not sure if the other hospitals also do this, but it may be a factor to consider.

I've had two babies at UCLH (well, the second is 38 weeks so still inside) and they are very good.

My NCT group all had different, largely good, experiences at the Whitt and UCLH. No real pattern.

But I think convenience for appointments and the birth is more important. You will get good care at all those hospitals, although I'm sure you can find horror stories if you look for them.

UCLH all the way! (Depends how far you live from it though...) Care is very good, and the hospital is as new.

Good luck!

UCLH also has an additional growth scan at 32 weeks.

Whiitington (not sure about now) but used to have a formidably good reputation for obstetrics.

I had DD at the Whittington in 2010 and am booked in to have DC2 there in Oct. No complaints, other than the usual minor gripes that probably apply to any large city hospital; antenatal appts busy, sometimes running late, and overnight postnatal care fine but nothing special. The birth centre is lovely though (started there last time, hoping to get in there again this time).

I also have a friend who has had two babies at Barnet (in 2010 and 2012) and had no complaints. I reckon for a low-risk pregnancy they're all much of a muchness tbh, and you might be best just going for whichever is easiest to get to.

UCLH may well refuse to give you midwife appts if you are low risk and don't live near them. This means having to get mw care from the borough you live in and just having 2-3 appts there.

I had ds1 at north mid. That was way back in 1999 and it was horrific. Really really horrific.

Whittington, I had ds2 there and it was wonderful.

I also lost baby 4 at Whittington and they were amazing then as well.

The Whittington is fucking amazing. I had DS there in 2010 and am having this one there too. Seriously outstanding care. I had a mc between the two pregnancies and have been very very stressy about this one. The staff have all been helpful and kind and understanding. Their EPU is amazing, they have scanned me twice before 12 weeks including once at short notice because I was worried. I had an extra scan on Saturday for the same reason. They have a maternity triage ward 24/7 for paranoid wrecks like myself. Also parking an public transport are pretty good.

OTOH I have heard rotten things about the royal free. Good things about uch.

Thanks for the recommendations and advice. Whittington is our nearest hospital but I have opted for uclh as it is so much more convenient for appointments and scans. Will see how it goes with appointments and take it from there but it sounds like they are good and the website reassured me too. The only worry is getting there in labour, but as this is my first I'm hoping there will be plenty of time to get there before the baby arrives!

Also, although the birth centre at Whittington sounds amazing I want to be on the ward I think due to severe anxiety disorder, so from that point of view ucl might be better.

I wouldnt bank on that

I thought my first labour would be long, so put off going to the hospital for 2 hours. I arrived at 10cm dilated and she was born 11 minutes later!

Whittington was great for me and about to go in for second in a month's time.
Also you have the option of the birth center there which is amazing.
Good luck!

Oh sorry just saw your comment about wanting to be on the ward in the Whitt. I was on the ward 2.5 years ago as had to be induced. Ended up with an emergency C-sec after 24 hour labour, then stayed 3 days with baby. The care was excellent in all departments - hence I am going back for (hopefully) a VBAC.

I had my second at Whittington, after an awful first experience at Guys and Thomass. Whittington were lovely. The facilities are a bit dated (except the lovely new midwife only ward but I couldn't go there for medical reasons). But the staff are so kind it doesn't matter. I also found it was really good logistically - by the tube and bus routes with several shops nearby and a good cafe in the grounds. Meant ante natal visits, and the post-birth stay (I had a c-section) were all quite easy to manage.

Royal Free and Whittington - both great.

However, I wouldn't opt for UCH - anecdotally, I know lots of women who ended up with caesarians (for totally valid reasons) however the support afterwards was extremely lacking to say the least. They were not supported with breastfeeding - which can be painful and tiring after a difficult labour and caesarian - and ended up bottle feeding (which is fine if its what you want).

I consistently meet women who have had a similar experience at UCH.

I had DD at UCLH and I'm having my second one there too. I can only recommend it. They've been great. How many weeks are you BlackberryandNettle ? We might be having our babies at the same time :)

Hi
I just found out today I'm 8 weeks pregnant , my options are Barnet , Whittington , royal free and uch , please can some one help me which hospital has the best care from antenatal checkups to birth Thankyou

I am with UCH.

Had DS there too.

It was all a bit hit and miss last time (some good, some not so good - nothing awful but a lot of little gripes mainly with the aftercare and not the antenatal care / labour / delivery) but due to it's proximity to my office and where we now live we opted for UCH again.