Maternity care at Queen Charlotte’s vs St Mary’s Hospital

[DadOnTheJourney]

Good afternoon,
My wife and I are trying to decide whether to book our maternity care at Queen Charlotte’s or St. Mary’s Hospital. We live in west London, so both are easily accessible by a short drive.

I’m looking for the latest opinions from anyone with recent experience at these two hospitals. The only similar posts I found were quite old (2012/2014) or from the COVID period.

I’m also interested if anyone has experienced racist behaviour, discrimination, or mixed care. I’m white and my wife is black. She has had two early miscarriages and one late miscarriage. We’ve been in situations where I had to clearly explain that I didn’t like the approach being taken especially when my wife was feeling weak and couldn’t advocate for herself. I don’t avoid conflict or let rudeness slide if needed, but I want to hear your real experiences to help us make the best choice - since I won’t always be able to be present to grab someone’s neck (just joking!).
We’ve been through a private early miscarriage clinic and are also under the care of Tommy’s clinic. Just recently, we had an appointment at the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic at St. Mary’s (Lindo Wing), as she is now 8 weeks pregnant.

Also, if anyone could share their experiences or opinions about c-sections at these hospitals, that would be really helpful.

I promised my wife we’d decide tonight, so any additional info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much!

I'm afraid I don't have recent experience, as I gave birth at Charlotte's nearly 20 years ago, but I also work in the field so want to assure you that they are both good maternity units. Given the staffing shortages and churn in midwifery, there is no guarantee of anything (the most important thing for you will your midwife, not the service as a whole).

We were also a mixed white/black Caribbean couple and all the staff at Charlotte's were fantastic. I had hoped for a water birth, ended up with an emergency cesarean, but the care was great throughout. I would def recommend Charlotte's, but Mary's also has a good reputation.

Are you concerned about the recent publicity about black women's maternal mortality rates? It is a very real concern, but it is of course a complex issue, involving not just individual and structural racism but also the wider determinants of health. Both Charlotte's and Mary's serve populations with high numbers of black women, and a large number of the staff will also be black. They are both teaching hospitals with good reputations.

Are you planning to visit both? It really helps to get a sense of the place before making your final decision.