Anyone in Horsham

[westsussex123]

Hi everyone

I've only 4 weeks so it's very early days but I'm already worried about the birth. From looking online it looks as though I will decide between Haywards Heath or East Surrey. Is that right?

Does anyone have any experience of either or know which drive will be best?

I can’t offer any advice on locations but East Surrey is extremely popular. I live north of it and had my baby there recently. It is a very busy and big hospital and I felt was a victim of its own success. I had all my antenatal care there (which was with the out of area team) and actually I wasn’t very happy with the care I received.
I then had a succession of errors right at the end of my pregnancy. Although this wasn’t harmful to the baby it was very stressful for me.
The care I received on the ward was very good and during my labour I also had a very positive experience.
If you choose to breastfeed there is good support. Even when discharged they offer on site support for at least a month (Burstow babies). They also have a tongue tie clinic on site.
Even with the positives I think you might want to look at your other option. I don’t know anything about Hayward’s Heath but if it’s a smaller hospital you may receive more personal care from less stressed and busy staff.

I have had 2 positive experiences giving birth at East Surrey, my antenatal care was mostly at the doctor’s surgery (Park Surgery), Horsham hospital or Crawley Hospital and was also very good. East surrey took me seriously when I felt I had reduced movements (though it turned out to be fine) and when I was in a minor car accident whilst heavily pregnant (also fine). My most recent birth there was 2 months ago and was very positive. However, I know nothing about Hayward’s Heath so don’t really have anything to compare my experiences to.