UCLH vs Oxford Hospital for birth

[NBourbaki]

Hi all - I'm based in Oxford and my partner is based in London (although we are both able to mostly work remotely and live together one place or the other). She is now 10 weeks pregnant and registered at UCLH. The complication is that I have a child from a previous marriage, who lives in Oxford (as does my ex), and is with me 50% time. So we're discussing whether it's better to have the birth at UCLH (easier and more familiar for my partner) or in Oxford (so that I can easily be with her full-time after the birth, whether or not my ds is around). Any thoughts / advice comparing the maternity experience those two places? or (although this is more specific to us) the most relevant tradeoffs given our situation?

Thanks in advance!

Where does your partner want to give birth?

Does your partner have an opinion and where will they be having all their pregnancy checks / monitoring ? This should be a consideration when deciding.

Give birth wherever she lives!

Your partner lives in London and has chosen UCLH. You can get from Oxford to London Paddington in under an hour. Does your partner want to live with your DS in the immediate post partum period? Unless the pregnancy was unplanned, I would have thought you would have discussed these issues already.

By Oxford presumably you mean the John Radcliffe?

Where will she be having all her pre and post natal care? And where is she registered with a GP?

These 2 will probably limit her choices, she isn't able to pick from any hospital in the UK.

Thanks everyone - appreciate the replies so far. We do have a choice for which hospital (yes sorry by Oxford I meant the JR) to give birth, and by extension also for the majority of the ante- and post-natal interaction (UCLH was the system default, not her / our choice), which is why I asked the question, so I was really hoping to get any actual information or experiences comparing the two hospitals in terms of maternity care.

I had excellent care at the Radcliffe for the births of my three (two out of the three births had complications so for those I was under the care of the Silver Star Unit). If your partner did opt for the JR I’m sure she would be very well looked after.

People are giving the answers they are because it’s very unusual to choose between two hospitals in such widely different locations. It would seem strange to base such a unique decision on the healthcare offer of the hospital rather than the consideration of where your partner wants to live.

Where do you sleep at night?? That’s often when you go into labour. Therefore closest hospital to where you sleep

Where does she want to base herself in months coming up to the birth. Antenatal care should be there as the last thing she will want when heavily pregnant is to have to get trains to Oxford for her check ups…

It should be where she actually lives, as she may need to get there in a hurry. Are you not planning to be living together as a family by the time the baby comes? where will that be?

Thanks again - I realize it's a bit unusual; that's why I'm asking for help. We split our time between London (where she originally had a flat) and Oxford (where I originally had a flat), sleeping roughly half the nights in each location. I have confirmed with the Oxford hospital (JR) that she can easily switch to them before 16 weeks, and probably afterward if need be.

If she were 90% in one or the other location and planning to stay there, that's obviously where she/we would choose to give birth. We don't know yet where we will be living afterward, but naturally we want to be in one place for at least a period of time right before, during, and for several months after the birth (she will be on maternity leave, and I will have some parental leave and the ability to work remotely). I'm happy to discuss our personal life here (up to a point), but I'm honestly slightly unsure how that's necessary in order to answer the question comparing the two facilities.

Personally I had a really awful time at the JR but that was 3 years ago. I was kept there unnecessarily, came home with hospital acquired infections, had no support while there, the place was dirty and understaffed and was made to feel like a silly little girl by a lot of the staff. I wouldn’t go again. No experience of London hospitals.

Great experience at Uclh and also considered another hospital but uclh is good in a crisis apparently and I can well believe it

It isnt just about giving birth. In my last pregnancy, I had to go to hospital every second day from 36w for monitoring as I was developing preeclampsia. In my first pregnancy, DD1 needed NICU and had a huge number of follow up appointments afterwards. Plus then you get into HV appointments, linking up with baby groups, antenatal classes, GP surgery for vaccs etc. Rather than thinking about the hospital, have a think about which location is best for life with a newborn, and that's where I'd base myself, my antenatal care, my postnatal care, do the local NCT class etc. I live in London so obviously I'd say she should stick with London, but you and her probably need to discuss how life will look for you both after the baby comes along.

I had a complicated pregnancy and the care I received at the JR was excellent. I found all staff very respectful and friendly.