Homerton. Am I right to be concerned?

[Preggers2014]

Having had my first elsewhere, I was all set to use Homerton which is lical ro me now.

However, then I saw this:
homertonnhsmaternity.wordpress.com/about/the-truth-about-homerton-hospital-maternity-unit/

Does anyone know any more? The "Unhappy Midwives" seem very tenacious. I keep thinking, why would anyone risk their job unless they had really valid concerns. Have moved since no1, but could just about travel to the previous hospital, which was brilliant for my first.
Any advice very greatly appreciated.

No idea but following as we're going to Homerton too. Our nearest is whipps cross which comes out worse on reviews and homerton always seemed to come out well!

I was talking about Whipps Cross and its reviews last night as DM suggested it as an alternative.

I've had one at Homerton and one at Whipps. I'm going back to Whipps for DC3. Homerton was a hellhole filled with asshats and they 'can't find' my birth notes now.

Is that "can't find" due to incompetence it might prove, or just general incompetence?

I'm not sure tbh. DD has some developmental delays which might be due to being deprived of oxygen at birth. Specifically, I want to see how long her heart rate was shitty before the dappy midhusband finally got a doctor and also her neonatal CT scans. But they have been fobbing me off since December.

Btw I was in the MLU at Whipps and it was lovely. Had a really nice student midwife as well as grown up one and they basically left me to it, which was just what I needed. But DC2 was a very straightforward delivery.

I'm now getting worried about homerton, having gone through all this once already..

MummytoMog, sorry you had such an awful time. it sounds like they were less than helpful! I hope you get the information that you need.
Thanks for the info on Whipps Cross.

I had my first at Homerton 3 years ago and whilst the post natal ward was dire ( as I seem to hear about most London hospitals) they were great when my labour turned into an emergency (major pph). I was out of it but my DH was impressed by how efficient and calm staff were in an emergency and they seemed to follow all NICE guidelines for treatment etc. I also had a third degree tear and the consultant did an amazing repair job (several midwives commented!).
Due to have my second there any day now so will report back.

Had a great experience there , despite having planned a home birth but in the end overdue and induced. Despite very long labour, forceps and stitches, midwives during birth were lovley & we had 3 sets. Didn't want a medicalised birth but in the end it was needed & we have our gorgeous healthy baby & that is all that matters.

The registrar at Homerton was great and the stitching of the massive episiotomy afterwards was brilliant in all fairness. My smaller tear second time round was much more uncomfortable and took longer to heal.

Hi
Not sure if it is of any help but I had my first two DD's in Homerton Hospital 10 and 11 years ago.I received superb care .After care was not as excellent but in all/most of the hospitals after care is not so amazing.
Midwives were great in both occasions and consultants were hands on nd very calm and ready to answer on any questions.
I am pregnant again (30 weeks) and I am in NW London and honestly I am scarred of NPH SO MUCH...

Just thought I would report back. Don't want to worry anyone but thought I

Thought I would report back after second birth at Homerton in early hours of Thurs morning. Don't want to worry anyone unnecessarily but seen as you all are on to DC2 I will be honest! Got to Homerton about 11pm on weds night, 12 days overdue after waters had broken. Took about 30 mins to be seen and they didn't seem to believe I was actually in labour. Examined in assessment unit where I was told that all delivery rooms were full and that I was only 4cm so would have to wait. About 10 mins later I started feeling the urge to push. A midwife kept coming and telling me they were getting a room ready. In the meantime I was having full on contractions leaning on a chair and down on the ground. Got to a room only to find out there was a couple on the other side of the curtain who had just given birth! I was in a theatre room and not a delivery room! After an hour of pushing I luckily had a lovely healthy dd and 2 great midwives helped me get away with minimal damage. But the sounds of the couple just metres away were a bit off putting! I think if I was to do it again, I would seriously consider a home birth. Luckily all OK but Homerton is obviously oversubscribed. I am closer to whipps so may go with them if there is a next time! Feel free to PM me if anyone wants more details. Best of luck and sorry for ramble!

I would not recommend Homerton.

Gave birth there last year to DD1 and had a horrible experience. Started off in the birthing centre with a really cold and unsupportive midwife, but ended up in the labour ward when the pain became unbearable for an epidural. Getting the epidural was not easy as we had to argue with 3 midwives as initially I got fobbed off with the "You're coping so well" line. Once on the labour ward got a really nice midwife, had the epidural (bliss!) but unfortunately encountered problems when it came to push. The doctor who eventually delivered my DD was awful and basically coerced me into having an instrumental delivery. I am still recovering from this 10 months on!

I had been advised to go to Homerton (out of the east London hospitals) but tbh, I wish I had gone with my gut and chosen UCLH. Homerton is a mixed bag, the attitudes of some staff are pretty appalling; however I appreciate that not everyone has a bad experience. UCLH on the other hand appears to be consistently good, and if I could go back in time, I would have told my old self not to dismiss it because of distance.

Good luck OP - I hope you have a great birthing experience! Have you considered getting a doula? A doula may not have changed my birthing outcome, but I think it would have made the experience more pleasant and less scary to have had someone there whom I knew and trusted and who was not directly affected by the situation like my DH.

Delivery staff - wonderful.
Aftercare - Horrendous. Third world. Nasty.

HOWEVER - if you have a straight forward birth you shouldn't need to hand about in aftercare. If you don't BEG or pay for a private room. x

Apologies in advance if this post is upsetting for anyone

Lost DD1 in August last year at the Homerton (our local hospital just about 10 mins away). They lost my notes for good and her postmortem results for several months causing a lot of distress.

Now 38 weeks with pregnancy no.2 and have transferred to UCLH. A bit of a hassle to get there (braving central london traffic in labour is now the cause of cold sweats) but they've been so, so much better throughout.

I'd suggest that you change hospitals if at all possible.

mamami is that directly because of something you think they did/didn't do?