Pinderfields or other Mid Yorks hospital?

[QueenOfWeeds]

Debating staying with family for Christmas and they’re fairly close to Pinderfields. I’ll be 8 months pregnant by then so trying to come up with an emergency plan if we do travel.

Any experiences of it? Somewhere slightly further but worth the journey?

My 2 sections at pinderfields were fantastic. NICU was also amazing. The after care after the birth on a very busy understaffed ward wasn't great and had to ask numerous times for pain relief but think this is standard everywhere. When I was induced they were run off their feet and I was in for a week waiting for a bed on labour ward. My experience wasn't great but the midwifes were amazing. There will be good and bad everywhere so it is hard. I've heard mixed reviews of LGI but more negative than good.

I’m from this area. Honestly of the hospitals around there, Pinders really is your best bet.

Avoid Dewsbury, Calderdale and Huddersfield like the plague, they are awful (though I think Huddersfield only has a birth centre and no actual labour ward)

I've had a previous c section at pinderfields and another planned for January. Started with a water birth last time and it was fab, the suite was lovely and midwives amazing. All doctors/consultants were fab when it turned into an emergency situation. Recovery staff also really attentive and caring.

I’d go for Pinderfields over the others. Dewsbury only has a birth centre now.

Not a great choice of hospitals in Mid Yorks unfortunately. I gave birth at pinderfields in February and they had a serious bed shortage - they were just sending women away who had life threatening issues as they couldn't admit them. I didn't have a good experience
I'd second avoiding dewsbury like the plague. I think it's a birth centre so may not yet have reopened as was closed due to Covid.

In South Yorkshire - Doncaster they're using porta cabins at the moment due to a fire in the maternity unit.
Barnsley very nearly killed both me and my daughter with their incompetence a couple of years ago.

I've never heard anything negative about Pinderfields, I had both my babies at Calderdale (birth centre and labour ward) and the care I received was fantastic

Calderdale midwives missed so many red flags it’s a miracle I am here today with a healthy daughter.

I can’t even call what I experienced post a traumatic emergency c-section “care” and discharged myself against their so called advice less than two days later. I was hardly going to recuperate well on a ward that was red hot, where one of the other patients 6 kids were running around screaming all day and where upon seeing my bruised nipples from trying to feed a tongue tied baby was told brusquely “well you’re not doing it right then are you?”

Thanks everyone, lots to think about. I had assumed to avoid Dewsbury, to be honest, but glad to hear some positive feedback about Pinderfields. Also useful to hear about less positive experiences, so thank you all for sharing some fairly horrific stories, they sound really traumatising.

I had one dc at Pinderfields and they were amazing. It was 10 years ago though.

Pinderfields is the main hospital, so that makes sense. Are you north or south of the district? Is Leeds (LGI) too far? Has an alongside birth centre. Or are you looking at somewhere like Barnsley? I've heard okay things about BRI (Bradford) but that was some time ago.

Barnsley is apparently pretty good.

Leeds would be ok. Where we are now is about 40 minutes to my hospital, so that gets us quite a lot of choice. My main concern is somewhere with a decent NICU, since if I need the maternity facilities I’ll be a month early and I assume less likely to be allowed to give birth in a midwife led unit or similar?

Sounds like I would be ok for care, so that’s a big relief :).

Depending whereabouts in Wakefield you are I would definitely recommend st James in leeds. Had my DD there and couldn't fault them also parking loads easier than LGI which is in city centre. I'm currently 28 weeks with my second and expecting to give birth around end of December and will definitely be using st James.