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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

SW London - Kingston or st George's?

13 replies

RoboticSealpup · 14/09/2018 21:06

Has anyone here give birth in either of the two?

I hated being on the postnatal ward last time. (We were living in another area.) DH wasn't allowed to stay and I was sharing a noisy, brightly lit room with five other women who were all snoring away while my newborn DD screamed and woke everyone. It was so stressful. Next time I want to pay for a private room for me and DH, which both of these hospitals, offer but I don't really know anything else about them.

OP posts:

butunlikely · 17/09/2018 23:19

I had a section at St George's 2 years ago, asked for a private room as soon as I found out I was having a section (about 9am) and got one. I believe they have 4, they are by no means guaranteed, we were lucky and got moved up at close to 11pm. The midwives and HCAs were lovely, but the hospital is old and boiling hot, and it was still noisy in the room so I wouldn't expect luxury! I know Kingston is newer. Also check St George's visitors policy, I think it's no visitors at all between midnight and 8am, not sure if that applies to a room (my husband went home) but in any case there was nowhere for him to sleep except a chair. I've heard that if you give birth in the MLU - which is lovely and has two pool rooms - and it's not busy you can keep the room all night, but St George's have 5000 births a year so I'd imagine you have to be lucky not to get moved on...?

They do tours if you ring and book.

I sound negative but you can't fault the staff at St George's and I've heard all postnatal wards are hellish.

JassyRadlett · 17/09/2018 23:26

Most of Kingston’s beds are in private ensuite rooms now - I had a large private room for each of my kids.

londonliv · 18/09/2018 09:54

I gave birth at St George's 3 years ago. Was initially in the MLU which was lovely although ended up being moved down to the surgery when DS got stuck & needed a ventouse.
After care wasn't great - they were so busy that I was moved wards 3 times in the space of 48 hours. Communication wasn't very forthcoming & it was very hot & noisy. My OH was allowed to stay on the ward with me at night (just as well as on the first night I couldn't move & needed help & the nurse on duty couldn't have cared less!) but he had to sleep in a chair.
One thing I will say for St George's is that as it is a teaching hospital the antenatal care tends to be pretty good. They were doing a SMART study in this pregnancy so I got a free Harmony test & they were able to test my baby's blood type to see if she is Rhesus negative like me. They are also doing Strep B testing at the moment which isn't offered as standard by other hospitals.

anitagreen · 18/09/2018 09:56

You couldn't pay me to give birth at St. George's because of them my close friend went through the most awful thing because of the midwifes there. There is a court case soon. Kingston is much more nicer and spacious and your care is more focused as most people sadly go to St. George's.

JassyRadlett · 18/09/2018 11:58

You couldn't pay me to give birth at St. George's because of them my close friend went through the most awful thing because of the midwifes there.

I know bad experiences and outcomes are rare, but after a friend of mine went through something similar - midwives didn’t follow procedures because they were so overcrowded and rushed, and she nearly died as a result - I would have serious reservations about it, just because it’s so busy.

anitagreen · 18/09/2018 19:11

Jassey this is my fear for a woman, I was born here and my DM had a bad time there and it's only got more busy years later I honestly wouldn't ever want to use this hospital. There isn't enough staff to know what's going on or what is happening really sad

bulldogmum · 18/09/2018 19:41

I gave birth twice at Kingston and wouldn’t recommend it at all. The only positive is that most of the rooms on the postnatal ward are private with en suite. And the midwives are great in general.
The rest of the care I received was fairly poor, with DD1 I requested an epidural and had to wait 8 hours for an anaesthetist, they refused to call in the on call anaesthetist. Just one of a few issues we had.
With DD2 I was under consultant care as a result of all the failures first time around and asked for an epidural and the anaesthetist took 3 hours to get it in, then the midwife noticed fluid coming out and the anaesthetist didn’t know what to do, the epidural didn’t work as it wasn’t in right so I was stuck giving birth in full pain with a needle precariously strapped in to my spine. After my son arrived they didn’t tag him and we crossed the hospital (post natal ward is a long trip) with no ID, we were in the last room and basically forgotten about. I never had anyone check after the epidural failure and when we mentioned it to a nurse she was genuinely shocked at the state of my back and recommended complaining. I can’t comment on St George’s, but I guess there are good & bad experiences at both. Good luck.

leasedaudi · 18/09/2018 20:48

I had a fucking hideous experience at George's and it's not the only bad story I know. I can never have a natural birth thanks to a fairly big registrar surgeon cock up during an EMCS.

For most people it's fine though! There will always be bad stories at every hospital.

If we decide to have another we will be choosing between Kingston and one of the more central hospitals. Mainly just so I can reduce any flashbacks to our first birth.

Firsttimer16 · 20/09/2018 08:51

I had an elective c section at St. George’s and although I had nothing to compare it to I thought they were great. It was organised, efficient, I was only ever on a ward with one other person so it didn’t feel busy and the midwives were so nice. They really helped me with breastfeeding and spent ages sat wih me helping. It totally depends on luck of the draw at most hospitals i think as to how busy they are. THre majority of my friends at St. George’s had great experiences in the MLU too. I have heard a million horror stories about Chelsea and Westminster though...

CatkinToadflax · 22/09/2018 16:17

It’s funny how people have such different experiences of the same places. DS1 was born at 24 weeks largely due to huge errors of judgement made by antenatal staff at Kingston. However the midwives whilst I was in unstoppable labour there were absolutely lovely. I was moved to SGH half way through labour and the midwives there were horrible, bumping me around and shouting at me for crying, however the NICU at SGH gave my DS the most amazing, brilliant care and saved his life.

I had a private room at SGH due to my circumstances. It was better than being on the main ward but still very noisy. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Ooforfoxsakeridesagain · 22/09/2018 16:22

To be honest, I’m not sure post-labour wards anywhere are great.

I had three home births under St George’s. All ante-natal and post-natal care was good.

Potkettleblack2 · 25/09/2018 20:08

I had a very good positive experience at Kingston. But agree with a pp, I'm not convinced the after-care anywhere is as good as it could be.

NotCitrus · 25/09/2018 20:23

Whichever is easier to get to! I had terrible postnatal care first time at George's, but second time couldn't have been better. Friends have used Kingston. Do make sure your partner stays as long as they are allowed.

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