Hi Kgoodes, I've not posted much here but I just happened to be randomly browsing in a quiet moment now our baby has arrived!
This might be of some help … I'm actually a bloke, but my girlfriend and I had our baby at the Whittington right before Christmas. She had an elective c-section, after it was strongly recommended by our consultant, so we didn't see the birth centre or labour facilities.
However, overall we had a very positive experience. The team that did the c-section were friendly and professional, very accommodating to our preferences and very considerate.
We were then moved to Cellier Ward (post-natal ward) where you might end up once your baby has been delivered. Honestly, the surroundings aren't the best: you'll likely be in a cramped cubicle and it's quite noisy. But you get used to that pretty quickly.
The most important thing was that all the doctors, midwives and other staff there were great. Supportive, reassuring and non-judgemental when we needed them, but also happy to leave us a alone when that was what we wanted.
The food was decent (way better than our previous experiences of hospital food) and the staff were all great with me as well — I spent two nights sleeping there while my girlfriend recovered.
Take everything you might need: nappies, formula, a changing mat is useful (we just changed our baby in his cot using this), etc. And if your partner is staying over, they'll have an uncomfortable reclining chair to sleep in. It drives you mad after a couple of nights! Maybe a pillow would be helpful?
Do you live in either Haringey or Islington? If so, my tip for getting there would be to join the DriveNow car club - uk.drive-now.com/. You can leave their cars in virtually any parking bay in Haringey or Islington, including most on-street parking near the hospital. This means you can drive down to the hospital, park nearby and then not worry about it.
Failing that, our plan was to call a black cab via the Hailo app. Apparently black cabs are better at taking people in labour than Uber! (There is also a small visitors' parking area at the Whittington, but it only seems to be available overnight.)
Phew, what an essay. Finally, good luck. We had a good experience at the Whittington – I think you'll be fine!