UCH vs Royal London vs other, likely seeking ELCS for tokophobia

[bumbleumble]

Hi, I'm very newly pregnant for the first time, and investigating where to book. The Royal London is my closest hospital, but I have read mixed reviews. My second nearest is UCH. Does anyone have any recent experiences of these hospitals, or good experiences of others in central/ east London?

Does anyone has experience of requesting an ELCS for tokophobia at either of these hospitals and whether you found them sympathetic? I am petrified of childbirth, and have been for as long as I can remember. We started trying for a baby on the understanding that I would request an ELCS, and if refused we would pay to go private. If this hadn't been an option, I honestly don't think I would have wanted to become pregnant. Now I'm feeling slightly less scared of childbirth.... (hormones?), so I am going to approach this with a more open mind.

Also after a section I would be on the post-natal ward for a while, any comments on their postnatal wards? I gather that most post-natal wards are hellish... Are there any in London which are more bearable?

Hi bumbleumble, I had a (emergency) c-section at UCH and the doctors were amazing. I had a paranoia about the epidural not working and they were so great at reassuring me and keeping me calm. We even ended up cracking jokes... They write the times on a board of when they start the procedure and when the baby is delivered - I looked at it once we were done and couldn't believe the entire thing had taken less than 10 minutes! A big plus for me about UCH was that it's a teaching hospital and the doctors are some of the best in the country, in my opinion. All of my scans were done by doctors - I think in some hospitals you just get technicians.

If it makes you feel any better about the c-section, I didn't feel a thing. People say you can feel a kind of pressure when they pull the baby out but I genuinely couldn't tell they were doing anything.

I was in for 4 days afterwards. You can have a private room but it's over £200 a night if I remember rightly and we're definitely not talking about Portland style luxury... So being on a ward wasn't much fun because of the noise, the constant visits from midwives, not having your own bathroom, but that would be the same in any NHS hospital. The food is minging but Tottenham Court Rd is just round the corner so you can send your other half out for supplies. You'll never be so glad to see a McDonalds breakfast!

Doesn't matter where you are, hospital food is minging.

Not have a cs, but gave birth in Uch, Royal London and Whittington. Everything, well, aside from the food, was a lot better in the UCH. The place was clean. THe staff, even though they were really busy, were super helpful and really nice.

Royal London, the staff couldn't care. Their attitudes suck. Not at all helpful. Was like you were an inconvienence. Been in several different wards and whenever possible I always request elsewhere.