Which maternity hospital for Bexleyheath

[Southlondoner88]

Hi,

I’m recently pregnant, just had 7 week scan at ivf clinic and now need to start thinking of maternity hospitals. My GP is still within the Greenwich borough so not sure if this will effect catchment areas or not. It seems the hospitals around Bexleyheath are not terribly close to us and would be inconvenient to get to from where I work (east london). At the moment I’m thinking guys and st Thomas would be the best although it’s really far drive for when I go into labour, it’s closer to work so may be easier for appointments as can just book early/ late in work day.

Other options are just go to closest one which would be Queen Mary or Darent Valley, still a bit awkward to get to as I don’t drive and would have to rely on husband taking me there for appointments. There’s also Lewisham or kings (had ivf at kings and liked them) but I’ve heard mixed things about their maternity care. Guys and St Thomas seem to be popular on mumsnet. It’s an hour and a bit drive at rush hour but 35-45 minutes otherwise. Would I be mad to choose them?

Im also a bit ignorant to how many appointments are needed especially closer to the time. How time consuming does it get?

Thanks in advance.

should you suddenly go into labour the ambulance will take you to the nearest Maternity Ward or the one they are affiliated with - my gd was at Darenth, its ok,
they are all ok - my GP had her babies at Kings, friends at St Thomas’s, one woman’s experience can be so different to anothers, you sound nervous, you will
be fine, what does it matter as long as baby is healthy and you are well taken care of

I wouldn't go to QE or the PRUH but Lewisham are excellent and have heard good things about Darenth Valley. If you did want to go PRUH your scans would be at Kings

Queen Mary's doesn't have a maternity unit anymore. The Q.E would be your nearest one at Woolwich.

Ah ok, I’ve heard bad things on mumsnet about QE but not sure if that means much. PRUH is 30 min drive or 1hr 30 min by public transport so not ideal if I need to get there without DH.
Then if appointments are at kings that’s not the worst, it’s 40 mins by public transport or 50 min drive, not ideal either as it’s not even close to where I work.

This is why I was thinking Guys because it’s not far from work so better for appointments. It’s not an ideal drive when in labour though. I will look into Darent as that seems easy driving wise but again not great commute on public transport if I need to get there without a car.

If you haven’t noticed, I am biased to Guys as used to work there and have other appointments there, they give me a good impression.

If you went for Guys & St Thomas's, maternity is at St Thomas's site, not Guys. I had my midwife appointments in a health centre though, I only went to the hospital for scans (and giving birth!) so that might be worth checking. I was under Lewisham, I thought they were excellent personally.

How long was the journey for you when in labour @overwork ? And how did you find getting there for scans? Did you use the birthing centre?

10 minutes! I walked there for scans which took about 30 mins. Wasn't able to use the birthing centre as annoyingly I needed constant monitoring in labour.

Ah I thought you meant st Thomas but you meant Lewisham @overwork ?

Ah yes @Southlondoner88 , sorry to confuse you there, my care and birth was at Lewisham

If you go for St Thomas' you need to also factor in any potential complications in late pregnancy. In my second pregnancy, i was having to go to the assessment unit every other day for monitoring and BP checks as i was developing preeclampsia. That went on for the last 3 weeks. Id already finished work, but if i hadnt, the midwife advised me to finish anyway, so being near work wouldn't have helped (and i sympathise because i had my fertility treatment at Guys due to it being near my work and was really impressed by them). There's no way I'd have been wanting to add a long journey there and back on the top of each appointment, which was pretty exhausting as it was at that stage of pregnancy.

@Southlondoner88 and @Alwaystired2023 would you mind sharing a bit more about your concerns/ what you've heard RE QE hospital please? Currently in a similar boat choosing a hospital. My nearest are QE and Lewisham, both seem to have very similar reports from recent CQC inspections (both rated good), but not aware of the historic concerns. Thanks

@schnauzermum1 QE are just rubbish, had an awful experience in A&E with my DD when she was tiny. Follow up care for DC2 I had one app there and they were dreadful. No issues at Lewisham

I had my one and so far only son at Lewisham Hospital in 2021. I can thoroughly recommend it.
I was kept in for 2 nights after giving birth and to be honest the ward was pretty chaotic but i think that could happen anywhere. Antenatal care and delivery were excellent though, no complaints whatsoever. I honestly think my labour could have been a total shitshow for various reasons but I just had wonderful people around my throughout. So I have fond memories of Lewisham!