Please help me with this ELCS at St Thomas's? 🙏

[CouldBeAGreatMum]

I would really appreciate advice on this. I am choosing where to have my antenatal referral currently. After much research I had thought St Thomas's sounded best for me overall. However, I am planning on requesting an ELCS and have just seen some additional information on their website which I've pasted below. It is such early days to be thinking about birth and I am only 6 weeks along, but I am scared about choosing thew wrong hospital for my care.

For context, I am 40 and I have a history of anxiety / MH and have a therapist. My concerns are anxiety based and the ELCS is very important to me.

Here is the information they have on their website in the form of a letter to patients. Do you think it sounds like they are basically saying they won't accept ELCS requests? Has anyone ever had an ELCS at St Thomas?

This letter is to inform you of the policy at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust regarding request for caesarean section as a birthing option, when there are no concerns about the health of the mother or baby and no medical reasons to undertake this surgery.
If your pregnancy progresses normally, a natural birth is safer than a caesarean both for that birth, and in future pregnancies if you decide to have more children, and it is therefore policy not to offer a choice for caesarean birth.
If you are anxious about giving birth, we can arrange for you to talk to a specialist midwife or an obstetrician where you will have the opportunity to talk about your concerns. They will consider your personal circumstances and agree with you an individualised care package to help you feel confident about your birth.

bumping for lunch break

I haven’t had an ELCS at St Thomas’s but I would interpret that as you would have to jump through hoops to get one, rather than that it would not be granted. Mental health is a valid health reason for a section! But I would recommend exploring your options, both with your midwife and with other hospitals, to see if others sound more flexible.

If you’ve been referred to community midwives or seen your GP for booking in, they should have an idea as to whether there are other hospitals more likely to grant a maternal request ELCS.

You should also check the NICE guidelines around this - hospitals aren’t legally bound by these but many do respect them.

Super annoying because I would ideally like to have an elective there and then book into the private ward . ( not preg yet )

Ironically you can get an elective there straight up if you go private ....

@anonacatchat I am having an elcs at st thomas’. I think it is absolutely possible if you have a reason (incl mental health) to request one.

They will make you see the consultant midwife to discuss it (who is lovely) but they can be agreed for mental health reasons. They also have specialist midwives for supporting women with anxiety. I have one as my designated midwife and she is fabulous. I would really recommend them.