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Childbirth

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

Original poster

Which South East London hospital is best for giving birth?

29 replies

rusanaka · 14/12/2022 10:16

Hello everyone! I live in the borough of Bromley, in zone 4 south east London. My due date is mid-2023 and it will be my first.

I am deliberating between the following hospitals to register at:
Princess Royal (PRUH),
Queen Mary's Sidcup,

King's College Denmark Hill,

Guys & St Thomas.

I only saw old reviews on here from ten years ago so I am looking for more recent experiences from these hospitals, and if anyone would recommend or not recommend? Thanks!

OP posts:
peanutbuttertoasty · 14/12/2022 10:17

G&ST was great for me

Notanotherone5 · 14/12/2022 10:22

Which is closest / easiest to travel to? You aren’t going to want to travel too far when in labour

dontwanttoseetomorrow · 14/12/2022 10:42

The best would probably be Guys and St Thomas' but getting there would be an issue, traffic is dreadful from where you are.
I had both of mine in QM Sidcup but that was long before the radical changes were made and they removed the maternity unit - I didn't know it had been reinstated. Just read that their maternity service is provided at the PRUH, or at home, no longer in the hospital itself.
Sorry, I don't have experience of the maternity at PRUH - apart from my mum recently undergoing tests there and she was impressed by the service and care, but no knowledge of maternity.
Avoid QE, my and my friends/family experiences there have been awful.
Looking at all of the websites, I'd opt for the PRUH.
Hope you get the care and support that you and your baby deserve.
Sorry, I realise that doesn't offer much help.

theremustonlybeone · 14/12/2022 10:57

had all 4 of mine at Kings and had a very good experience overall

SilentNightDancer · 14/12/2022 13:32

I was happy at the PRUH, although I did have my antenatal appts in Beckenham.

I had all my scans done at King's, where the Foetal Medicine Centre is.

MolesOnPoles · 14/12/2022 13:36

Kings is great… but it’s a 15 min walk for me, which made all the difference on the last few weeks when I was there many many times.

As long as they’re all OK, I’d go for whichever is convenient l.

Notanotherusername4321 · 14/12/2022 13:42

I think you can rule out GSST as the journey there while in labour will be near impossible.

another thing to think about is continuity of care- if you give birth outside your own borough your post natal midwife visits will still be done by your own borough, and notes/appointments etc are more difficult to arrange. I had to make sure I had all my notes on discharge from hospital and pass them to the post natal m/w, who obviously had no idea of my circumstances or history.

I would honestly go for your closest or easiest to get to. Pissing about in the car driving while in labour is not fun, then you need to worry about parking etc which isn’t easy in London.

fwiw I’ve heard good things about Lewisham as well. I do think it depends on the day though and how many patients are in.

everydaysabeginning · 14/12/2022 18:38

I don't think lewisham has a maternity facility anymore, sadly, as it was good 25 years ago. Same as Greenwich(great hospital, my late MIL was a matron) long gone and QE is diabolical.

TheStarMachine · 14/12/2022 18:49

Lewisham has a lovely birth center if you are not high-risk.

SE13Mummy · 14/12/2022 19:12

everydaysabeginning · 14/12/2022 18:38

I don't think lewisham has a maternity facility anymore, sadly, as it was good 25 years ago. Same as Greenwich(great hospital, my late MIL was a matron) long gone and QE is diabolical.

Lewisham very definitely does have a maternity facility! There is the boring birthing centre for straightforward delivery or the hospital delivery suite if there are any issues.

www.lewishamandgreenwich.nhs.uk/maternity

Notanotherusername4321 · 14/12/2022 20:21

everydaysabeginning · 14/12/2022 18:38

I don't think lewisham has a maternity facility anymore, sadly, as it was good 25 years ago. Same as Greenwich(great hospital, my late MIL was a matron) long gone and QE is diabolical.

What was 25 years ago?

maternity services at Lewisham definitely exist, as per pp.

Queen Elizabeth at Greenwich also still provides maternity services:

At two of our hospitals; University Hospital Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Greenwich, we provide care during pregnancy, labour and after the birth.

LadyLapsang · 14/12/2022 23:17

I opted for Kings as it was my nearest hospital at the time and the neonatal unit deals with very prem babies and I wouldn’t have wanted to be in a different hospital from my child had things gone wrong. Actually I did have an unforeseen complication and gave birth on a very busy night when they were also fighting to save the life of a very sick mother and child. The post natal care left something to be desired but it didn’t feel unsafe, more a lack of time for support to establish breastfeeding etc. Not down to the individual midwives, some stayed after their shifts had ended, just lack of staff. However, this was all a very long time ago.

In terms of practicality, if you live in Bromley, it could take you quite a time to get to Kings or St Thomas’s especially if your labour progresses quickly, and your partner needs to get back to you and then drive you in. You don’t want to give birth stuck in a traffic jam in the Crystal Palace triangle!

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 14/12/2022 23:20

Had my two in PRU- no issues but then I had “easy” births. Great breastfeeding support when I had issues feeding my second.
a friend had a terrible time at PRU.
I think it is pot luck based on many many factors that change accordingly to the day and hour you give birth.

ForgetBarbie · 14/12/2022 23:20

Whatever you do, do not go to St Thomas’. I can go on for days and I had my DD there last year so it’s still fairly recent. Had DS in Kings this year and it was a great experience. I’d defo recommend if you’re sure the journey is doable in labour

LadyLapsang · 14/12/2022 23:38

To add, I know someone who had a good experience at Lewisham about 18/12 ago so it does still do maternity care.

username8888 · 15/12/2022 00:04

Not kings college. Heard some nasty stories in my birth injuries Facebook group!

oviraptor21 · 15/12/2022 00:09

The nearest. Always the nearest.

Pac35 · 16/12/2022 14:29

I gave birth at kings. All care amazing. Go to your nearest though! The 15 minute drive home for me was long enough!!

Porridgeislife · 16/12/2022 14:35

another thing to think about is continuity of care- if you give birth outside your own borough your post natal midwife visits will still be done by your own borough, and notes/appointments etc are more difficult to arrange. I had to make sure I had all my notes on discharge from hospital and pass them to the post natal m/w, who obviously had no idea of my circumstances or history.

This honestly wasn’t a problem for me, I gave birth in a London teaching hospital this year and live in Bucks. They notified our local midwifery team of my delivery. The hospital gave me copious printed out notes and our Day 3 midwife just showed up at our door, and it was all very smooth. I’d never seen the same midwife twice so I wouldn’t have gotten continuity of care had I lived in London anyway.

I’ve had a few friends give birth in Kings and been very happy with it, although I think generally if you are low risk then a midwife led unit will be a better experience than a teaching hospital.

LBOCS2 · 16/12/2022 14:37

SilentNightDancer · 14/12/2022 13:32

I was happy at the PRUH, although I did have my antenatal appts in Beckenham.

I had all my scans done at King's, where the Foetal Medicine Centre is.

Literally this. Had an excellent experience at the PRUH (albeit 6 years ago) and have friends who have given birth there more recently who have also had good experiences. Started in the Oasis birth suite, it got complex post birth so ended up in surgery - all very good.

Twizbe · 16/12/2022 14:42

Lots of my friends have given birth at the PRUH. A few at kings. I had my two at lewisham.

I LOVED lewisham. I had 2 amazing experiences there.

My best advice though is choose the one that is easiest to get to. I could have gone to the PRUH but it's further from us than lewisham. I had quick labours and if I had gone for the PRUH my daughter would likely have been born in the car park lol.

Kentlassie · 16/12/2022 14:59

Is it a straightforward pregnancy? If so I would go for the closest. I gave birth at Lewisham and they missed major problems. I gave birth second and third time at St T, but needed complex care from fetal medicine. The travel was a pain, especially as Pruh is 10 mins away.

Kentlassie · 16/12/2022 15:00

PS no issues with continuity of care for me. Last baby was born at St T in August, and community midwife was here the day after we were discharged.

Lonelycrab · 16/12/2022 15:02

It was Kings for us. The birth wasn’t straightforward and it was a relief to have such experienced staff taking care of us.

My db had both his kids there too and had positive feedback too.

Tasha80 · 16/12/2022 15:06

Had my first at Kings in March this year. The Labour ward was great - ended up being a Cat 1 C Section and I felt so well looked after and in very safe hands with the labour midwives, doctors & anaesthetist.

Post labour ward was absolute hell though. They were massively short on staff due to covid so I routinely had to wait over 2 hours to get help after ringing. One day I wasn't seen by a midwife until 3pm. I was having difficulty breastfeeding (induced, suffering from dehydration and in shock) and was unsympathetically told by a midwife that there was no reason why I wasn't producing any milk and I wasn't offered any help and told to get on with it. I ended up discharging myself and the baby as soon as the jaundice tests were clear because I knew the longer I was in there the worse my health was getting.