Help please: first pregnancy (twins!) - HOMERTON OR UCH?

[prasessa]

Can anybody tell me which hospital is better - considering labor ward, postnatal and neonatal care?
Thanks a lot!...

Now, I do know the Royal London pretty well, and to be honest I'd go for Homerton or UCH first.

Dino, I'd visit you in an armoured car

Ohh, most of the things you shared sound horrible... I'm a little scared now - there doesn't seem to be a nice hospital in our area after all
Thanks anyway, everyone! I'll find a solution, too bad home birth is not an option for me...

Sorry just to chip in with one more positive vote for the Homerton, poor you sometimes it's best not to ask for truthful birth stories!

I would say if its any consolation that most people i know who have been to the Homerton woud agree with me. I do agree the postnatal ward is too busy and some of the staff far from perfect but on the labour ward I have nothing but praise for them.

Some of the stories below are shocking and have made me feel a bit nervous even though i'm not even pregnant, but do try to remember the real horror stories are rarities. After all you will probably end up using one of these hospitals unless you go private ! I would advise as others have, to bring your own food, towel and be prepared to fight your corner when it comes to breastfeeding as they do seem to be prone to fobbing you off with formula.

Good luck !

Thanks, Dotcotton, you're right. I know I'll have to just deal with all the s..t when the time comes. Women give birth everyday in these hospitals and they make it somehow. My GP told me if I want to go private I'll have to be prepared to pay 6000 to 7000 pounds and I don't think it's worth it - it's pretty much the same after all: the doctors and the midwifes at least. So, like it or not, I'll just have to 'suck it and see' I guess... Thanks again.

I had Dd and Ds1 at the homerton in 2002 and late 2003 respectively and found it to be very good. The midwives were lovely and everyone was very nice, polite and helpful. With dd I had her in the afternoon and went home the next day but dd had to stay in scbu which was also good, they were understaffed but the staff were very helpful and me and dh stayed the night with dd before she came home so we could get used to her. We stayed in one of their rooms near scbu. With ds I went straight home from the delivery suite but again the staff were lovely.

I would have been happy to have ds2 there as well but we moved to Cambridge and so I had him at the Rosie.

So sorry we've freaked you, prasessa. Honestly, they're both good hospitals and I would be happy to give birth in either. You will always get some horror stories about any hospital. Try not to worry - you'll be ok.

prasessa, have you considered a doula? They are much cheaper than an independent midwife - mine charged £300. It really takes the pressure off your DH/DP, and it gives you someone else to fight your corner (if necessary) at the hospital. And she is someone who can offer you real practical support while you are in labour.

Please don't worry, all the midwives I encountered in delivery suite at the Homerton were great, and forearmed is forewarned as far as the post-natal care is concerned.

and prasessa, if you are not already doing antenatal yoga, and are interested in it, there is a lovely lady called Julie Sumner who not only does antenatal yoga but who just knows everything about the different hospitals at the area, has lots of useful contacts, and can really help to calm your fears. Do send me a CAT message if you would like her details.

When is your baby due?

Hi Prasessa
I second Dinosaur's recommendation of the yoga lady - she's wonderful.
Can't comment on the Homerton (only know about the A&E there - and that's best left unsaid!)
But had all three of mine at UCH - and thought it was fab in all respects.
They also have a great special-care set-up in case (God forbid) your twins should need it.

Just bumping for prasessa again if she wants yoga teacher details .

Porpoise, I did yoga with Julie when pg with DS2 (born 4.8.2001) and DS3 (born 2.8.2004). Would I have overlapped with you at any point?

Oooh, we sort of slotted in between each other, Dinosaur!
Mine were 1998, 2000 and 2003...
Actually, I'm old and hoary enough to remember the equally lovely Jessica James. Did you ever come across her?

Yes! Did yoga with her when pg with DS1! He was born in July 1999 so we really did slot in between each other!

NotQuiteCockney did yoga with Julie Sumner too.

Ah, the memories! LOVED that bit where you sit back to back and breathe/sigh/groan a lot.
Quite fancy a bit of that now actually (would get very weird looks at work, though)
Hey, wonder if we've passed in Clissold Park? I'm the harassed-looking one running after three mud-splattered boys...

I've got three boys as well! We used to go to Clissold Park a lot but tend not to quite so much these days (I live in Clapton so it's a little bit of a hike).

Don't know if you have decided yet, but a friend of mine had twins in the Homerton in May, and I had my DD there in June. We both had similar experiences -the ante-natal care was great, but there were some unhelpful midwives on the postnatal ward. I had a vivid memory of a screaming baby at 3am, and a midwife yelling "Dat baby need feeding!"

I live round the corner, and it's not half as scary as it looks, there's even a lovely new posh coffee shop up the road.

And I can recommend a lovely woman who was my antenatal teacher, who also works as a doula, and she is very familiar with Homerton.

Good luck!