Private C-Section - Lindo, C&W, Lansdell or other London or SE option?!

[obedie]

Hi. Am researching private wings/wards in London and SE for my third c-section in March. Getting confused!! Any top tips on which unit to choose.... just want a competent, clean, restful and safe experience this time. Lindo seems to be doing well as far as info goes..... can anyone vouch for any specifically.... or other options have not considered? Thanks in advance!

Forgot about this thread.

I certainly wasn't criticising people who go private, I just thought it was a strikingly insensitive and stupid thing to say@youcannotbeserious.

it is true that some people have no choice but the NHS for delivery.

i wonder though how much can be saved by giving up on discretionaries like sweets, drinks, and dare i mention - ciggies?

that is just the fact of inequality in life.

Yes, all those common people swigging coke and smoking B&H when they could be just a a few tens of thousands of pounds closer to having a baby at the Portland .

Sorry, this attitude just stinks to high heaven.

Good post WIIR - totally agree. For me the private care is an added bonus - I love the continuity and reassurance it offers. It is by no means a necessity though and I would never for a second say I was valuing my baby's safety higher than any mum who opted for NHS - it's more about comfort and reassurance for the parents and is (in my view - I know some would disagree) something I'm lucky and privileged to have, particularly in London where the postnatal care is pretty notorious.

Mrsmattie, i never said "common people"

Private health care is extortionate. Very few people can afford it. To suggest anything otherwise is ridiculous.

MrsMattie - I agree the cost is ridiculous. heron - i do think suggetsing giving up sweets and cigs is unlikely to raise anything like the £12k ycbs mentioned?

ycbs - you keep saying you didn't slag the nhs off but your post did say you didn't understand why people 'chuckedf' themselves on the nhs - how were we supposed to interpret that?

can i just say again, i am not anti private and did use the lansdell myself, but some of the attitudes on here are amazing.....

Gosh, this thread sure has moved on since yesterday afternoon....

Just chucking in my twopennyworth:

I feel a bit guilty about going private. £10k is a fuck of a lot of money imo. I am not rolling in it, and am clearing out my savings. If I hadn't had savings, I would have remortgaged or taken out a loan. This is not because I think that going private is the only way to give a child the best start in life - EVERY mother wants that - but because I was hospitalised in April and spent over a week in a busy NHS London hospital, on the Obs and Gynae ward, and the care was so awful (genuinely, frighteningly poor), I just knew that when I had my baby, if there was any way I could go private, I would. It's a personal choice, for those personal reasons. I know I am INCREDIBLY fortunate to be able to get the money together, and no disrespect to anyone else's choices. There are lots of smashing NHS hospitals and I know lots of people have a great experience; lucky them. It can be (I am not saying it NECESSARILY is, for all those ladies who have had good NHS births in London and I am sure there are many) overstretched.

Incidentally, my sister is a nursing sister in the NHS and was appalled at my experiences earlier in the year, and although she had two babies on the NHS (and she had a bad experience the first time, and that was in the hospital she worked in!) she fully understands and supports my choice.

To the OP, as I said before (if we haven't scared you off!) I would say research all the private hospitals and go and see them. I suspect everyone will say the one they went to was the best! So go and see which one FEELS right for you. The Lindo wing felt right for me, but that doesn't mean the others are no good!

You're absolutely right MrsMattie. In particular, giving birth privately is hugely expensive. I don't believe for one minute that many more people would be able to afford to opt private if they would only 'sort out their priorities' (which is what some posts here seem to imply).

The shame is that DPs being able to stay over and one on one support postnatally isn't always available on the NHS. These are things that should be available to everyone - and not just the tiny minority who can afford to pay. I don't know what the solution is though because the NHS is so overstretched. All that said, there are some wonderful NHS birth centres like the new one at St Marys which, to me, looks on a par with john and lizzies.

The average family income is about £34K before tax. Once the taxman's had his cut that's a bit more than drinks and sweets you need to cut back on before you can stretch to a hospital bill of £10K for something the state provides for free (or that you've already paid for once, depending on how you choose to look at it).

what i mean is that most people can cut back on discretionaries. that can include entertainment, eating out. not just sweets and ciggies.

and of course, save well in advance.

having a baby should be planned well in advance.

Heron, sorry but that is just silly talk. It is not feasible for most families to just cut a few corners and scrape together an extra 10k.

Dipping into this incredibly late but I wanted to say a big thumbs up for Queen Charlotte's - their private ward is excellent and the consultant care was fantastic. It's in the middle of nowhere and not the most exciting or exotic of areas but the facilities are fantastic - they have a top notch NICU and SCBU (apparently the best in the country, but as I was told that by a consultant it could have been pride rather than fact). Still, it was an excellent hospital and looked after me very well during a traumatic pregnancy and nightmare c-section. I would recommend a look around if you are keen.

As to some of the comments on here, I've never heard such smug or patronising eyewash. The throwaway comment that people would rather go on a £12k holiday than give their child the best start in life, is simply ludicrous and offensive to people who live on an average wage. And the thought that these mean, layabout types hurling themselves on the NHS for their natal care are denying their poor children the "best start" because they're too selfish to give up smoking, drinking, etc. (because let's face it, all people who give birth on the NHS smoke and fritter money on scratch cards and cans of Tennant...) is laughable. Ladies, listen to yourselves. There's a place for both kinds of care and it's down to personal choice and finances which one you take and/or are lucky to take. Surely the point is that we're all hoping and striving for the best birth and care. As such, we should support one another in our choices as we try to attain that.

K

this is a really interesting thead!

Excellent post Kitstwins.

for those people who truly cannot afford private care (even if they scrimp and save), then it is just a fact of life. as i have said before. life is not always fair.

that is why we are lucky in this country to have a safety net (NHS).

or women will be dying while giving birth at home when they should be in hospitals.

like in most poor countries.

I know a couple who earn about £5m between them - they went NHS (C&W) for both their babies and were entirely happy even though both ended up in an em c/s. They think those they know who are going private are ridiculous wasters of money when the NHS provides a perfectly safe and adequate alternative. It is entirely about personal choice and comfort - not necessity or giving anyone the best start in life!

I had a C section at Lansdell (emergency) in June. The post natal care is brilliant (food rubbish though). It's much cheaper than the Portland!

For what it is worth I went to John and Lizzies (scrimped and saved the money to do so) after one of my friends had a horrendous time at the Royal Free hospital (in labour on a normal ward/no labour room available/no midwife checking on progress due to minimal staffing etc etc) She was extremely traumatised by the experience and I was scared about the possibility of being in the position where I was on a ward which was so understaffed they wouldn't be able to cope. I have to say despite spending all our savings on the birth it was worth every penny.

hi spotted, good to hear you had a good experience

do you know if they do csection at john and lizzie's?

Hi Heron

I was originally booked in for normal delivery but ended up with emergency caesarian - I think they do do electives as well.

Amberc - i enjoyed my food at the lansdell? but anyway, perhaps not the deciding factor here? there were lots of nice restaurant take aways nearby - we had pizza one night and sushi another!

OK, I've debated with myself long and hard about replying as I don't want this to kick off again. It's not fair on the OP, who asked for specific advice.

My comment, which seems to have riled so many people was related to me, and i've explained that.

I wanted an elective CS on a Saturday to fit in with my DH. That is, IMHO, a big ask on the NHS. I could have come up with a big sob story about my fear of a VB, and I am sure the NHS would have stepped up and I'd have gotten what I wanted. I know several people who have done this. I personally think that is wrong. The NHS IS a safety net. It is not to provide El CS on Saturdays because the woman's husband struggles to take time off work.

My comment, which I'll accept was badly worded, was about the fact I'd have had to basically lie to get the birth I wanted, so I bit the bullet and went private.

My comment about the holidays was per year. We won't take any holidays this year. I'm not sure I feel I have to justify that further.

Anyway, I think it best I leave it there. I apologise unreservedly to anyone who was offended by my (poor) choice of words. But, I don't apologise for my basic sentiment, because I feel I went private for the right reasons and did so to ensure I didn't put excessive pressure on an already stretched service.

YCBS

hi YCBS, excellent worded post

i totally get what you mean !

i will not say anymore in case it all blows up again !