St Helier or Croydon University Hospital maternity unit? Please help!

[BTN55]

Hi all,

My husband and I are expecting our first baby due May 2024 and we're excited, nervous and lost all at the same time. I'd really appreciate any experiences / advice you can offer for picking the right hospital - St Helier vs Croydon University Hospital in our case (or any others you may think worth driving to! :)).

I am currently registered at St Helier hospital and we've had mixed experiences. Our first midwife appointment was very disappointing - the midwife lacked basic listening and empathy skills, and couldn't answer any of our questions, which left us very worried. However, the nurses who've done my blood tests so far and the ultrasound specialist were absolutely lovely, helpful, and competent. My appointments have been booked like clockwork and we barely wait when we get there. Our impression is it's a well run unit, with the exception of one midwife (who I just hope was having a bad day as I'm now dreading my next appointment / praying for someone else)

I tried to get into East Surrey but we're not in their catchment area so we were rejected. I'm seriously considering to transfer to Croydon University Hospital maternity unit but haven't seen any recent posts with experiences / recommendations so am a little scared to make the move and then regret it. Would anyone have any recent experiences at either hospital?

Thank you so much for any advice / experiences you can offer. Look forward to hearing from you all!
*BTN

I am not sure my experience is recent enough as I had my DD in 2016 but I had my second at St Helier’s.

Positives: I absolutely could not fault the ultrasound staff (I was v v anxious after previous losses), the consultants and the staff on the ward in the main.

There were 2 midwives who were awful to me - one was during my booking in etc and she told me to get over myself, I am not the first person to lose babies etc. She had ZERO empathy/bedside manner.

The other was after my C section and again a midwife who had zero listening skills - I told her I was allergic to a certain antibiotic and she gave it to me anyway. I had a terrible reaction - AS I HAD MENTIONED would happen 🙄 - and she never apologised. I have to admit it was satisfying to hear her get an absolute bollocking from the consultant.

She also tried to remove my catheter using only the light from her phone. My husband advocated for me on that one - I already had bladder damage from the surgery and I felt it was important that there was sufficient light during examinations 😱.

All that said, I absolutely rate the emergency care - DD and I both had complications and had to come back after discharge.

I am sorry I can’t comment on Croydon as I didn’t look at it due to location.

Best of luck with your choice and the rest of your pregnancy.