St Marys Paddington - anyone given/giving birth there?

[Kiwifruit]

Hi

Just wondering if anyone has given birth at/is giving birth at St Mary's in Paddington? Had my first doctor's appointment the other day and she basically said that's where I have to go (live in W9). Am sure there are more options that that?

I'm from NZ, and a friend of mine from NZ had her first baby there and wasn't overly impressed, but that was a while ago, so it may well have changed!

Also, if anyone knows what my other options would be, information gratefully received (haven't quite figured out how it all works over here yet, and don't have any friends over here who have had babies...).

Thanks!
Kiwifruit

From NZ too dd was born there March 2004. We are W2.

Things are a bit confusing but couldn't really fault things at all. Great antenatal classes, breastfeeding support. You have everything you need in the labour ward.
In the ward after birth it was pretty busy and there were a few things I fed back to them about but I was generally pretty happy - I'd have my second there if I can get pregnant.

i had ds there 3 years ago. fantastic antenatal care, they looked after me well in labour. post natally a bit grim but i think that's generally true. they encouraged me to breastfeed (ds needed formula supplements but they suggested cup feeding so no nipple confusion). not enough bathrooms. and too hot!

Had a section there 3.5 months ago. Was supposed to be somewhere else (birth centre) so didn't do the ante-natal care stuff, although I hear it is very good. Was very busy but found everyone (pretty much) to be very nice. Again, ds needed some milk before mine came in and they cup fed to avoid confusion.
Was VERY hot though - we had all the windows open and it was the end of October.

Would I go there again? Maybe, on the basis that it is as good/bad as any hospital and would at least be familiar.
Small but important point - can be difficult to park as is so central. Tube is much better.

As I understand it though, you should have the choice of any hospital you want - what has your GP said?

snap beansprout, re cup feeding & too hot!

Message withdrawn

I tried to book a private room and was told that they keep them aside for the mums of babies in the scbu unit. Most of the rooms have 4 so I can understand that if everybody else has their baby with them and you don't you don't really want to be reminded of it through the night etc.
There are a few other places around to have a baby, but most wouldn't have as good a special care baby unit as St Mary's which I was keeping in mind.

I had my ds there 4 years ago and it was an AWFUL experience. I would advise anyone to have their baby in ditch rather than there. The pre natal care was useless. The midwives were really dumb, unhelpful and disorganized. The staff were awful, the place was filthy, nothing worked, they were grossly understaffed (beyond negligent), I was bullied by the midwives and I blame my 40 hours of labor finishing in an emergency cs entirely on their abysmal care. DO NOT HAVE YOUR BABY THERE. Go to Queen Charlotte's.

Thanks Ladies
Am feeling better now, as there's more positive than negative. Just waiting for my first midwife appointment to show up now...

I'm fairly sure that you can request to go to any hospital you wish. Just be firm and demanding. Go and visit other nearby hospitals (Queen Charlottes is lovely) and make a decision after that. If you decide on something other than st.mary's and your gp gives you trouble, you can refuse to go there and they will usually cave in.

AW, Sofia... tell us how you really feel. Don't hold back now. Actually, I have heard other people give less than glowing reviews of St, Marys. No personal experience, though.

I am 26 weeks now. I had my first baby by emergency caesarean in Epsom. I would rate Epsom as mediocre. I would go there again if I had to, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get in there. I now live in Sunbury, which is in the catchment area for St. Peters. I refused full stop to go there. I had to change GPs, demand my rights and full stop refuse registration with St.Peters to ge away from it. Adamant refusal to go is the way to get into another hospital. I was turned down by both Kingston and West Middlesex. I am now going to Queen Charlotte, and so far have only good things to say about it.

You do have the ability to go to another hospital, but you will have to fight for it. Two useful websites are www.birthchoice.co.uk and www.drfoster.co.uk. You may wish to explore your preferred method of delivery in choosing a hospital. For example, I very much want a planned caesarean so I intentionally looked for hospitals with high caesarean rates. However, if you do not want a medicalised birth, there is also a nice birth centre there. I'm sure lots of people on mumsnet can tell you about.