Central London hospital with best chance to get private postnatal room

[mommytobe2020]

Hello everyone! I am hoping to have an nhs c section for my second (breech and proms with 1st requiring c section and less than stellar postnatal care) and am wondering if anyone knows what central London hospital I have the best chance to “upgrade” to a private postnatal room in an attached private ward?
St Thomas unfortunately is not an option for me. St Mary’s or C&w are closest options. I read c&w has 16 private rooms on the Kensington wing, but was wondering if anyone know anything about Lindo at st Mary’s or any others?
thank you!

Kensington Wing had loads of spare rooms when I was there last year, very expensive though. Pro was baby was very prem but the baby doctors from NHS came over to treat her in my room so she was able to stay with me. - priceless! If baby needs extra care at Lindo you’d have to move over to the NHS hospital and loose your room. Baby doctors and room were amazing so it was exactly what I needed. The care I received was average to poor, £26k due to 5 day stay as baby couldn’t leave because she was so poorly leaves me feeling a bit sick. Good luck x

why don't you want to use NHS

@alexdgr8 Their admitted basic failings caused my first baby to die.

Thank you for your response! I’m sorry to read about your loss.
Thats amazing that the nhs doctors came to your room at c&w to help your baby. So, you gave birth on nhs and then transferred to Kensington wing? Can I ask why you felt your care wasn’t great?

Kensington wing is firstly for their private patients. If there’s one free you can buy a room but anecdotally amongst friends I’d say it’s 50:50 but my youngest is 2 so falling birth rates may go in your favour. I was there as a private patient and it’s good because it’s on the same floor as all the other maternity services including theatres and NICU. DS had to go to special care for monitoring for an hour so it’s not a given they’ll treat in your room but he wasn’t far. It wasn’t that nice though- bathroom was quite old and contrary to what you usually hear about post natal it was pretty cold but I suppose at least it was private.

@mommytobe2020 I was NHS up to the point my waters broke and then I went to see the private consultant for the birth. If I had made it to term I may have stayed NHS but at 35 weeks I was scared so wanted to pay for private care.

My private consultant- didn’t believe I was in pain when I was being stitched up after birth. I was told it was pressure not pain. Their eyes nearly popped out of their head when I stood up after the birth and they finally believed me the epidural hadn’t worked.

When I was asking to be checked as I felt fully dilated they wouldn’t believe me and wouldn’t check, eventually after begging for some time and saying I was pushing they did check and saw I was fully dilated but only after I had had an epidural which I had because I was made to feel there was no hope for another 4 hours when I really didn’t want one.

They kept telling my husband off for looking at my vagina but that was what I had wanted, especially for him to film the birth. He was able to film it ‘in secret’ as he says and it’s the most magical video I will cherish forever.

I was desperate not to give birth on my back (and was promised before they wouldn’t make me) but I was told when in labour I couldn’t move as I had had the epidural- which wasn’t working! I now have an awful hip injury with pain that impacts my every day life and I have been told by the physiotherapist it was due to giving birth in stirrups, adding to my frustration I wasn’t supported to try a different position which would have taken seconds to get into. I also blame my episiotomy on my position.

No one offered to take a photograph of us as a family after the birth which is a real sad regret for me we didn’t capture that moment that most new parents have any cherish. I didn’t get any photos of us until my parents visited two days later.

My placenta was sent off to be tested to try to identify why I had PROMS at 35 weeks but it wasn’t labelled correctly so destroyed, which my IVF consultant said is terrible and a real loss of potential breakthrough information for my future pregnancies.

I was given Codine even though I am allergic.

BUTTTT saying all that my daughter is here, alive and healthy so I’m booking in to go back there again if my current pregnancy gets that far because what choices do we have?!

Wow I’m so sorry you went through all that. Thank you so much for sharing. My first birth story is somewhat similar to yours where I was on nhs and switched at 36 bc I was scared due to Proms and covid. I went private to st Thomas and though my medical care for the birth was good, my mental health and support postnatally was not.
thank you for sharing your story.
perhaps there are other options for you next time though. Maybe try to find a different consultant you are more comfortable with? How sad you weren’t listened to. Thanks again for sharing your experience.