Anyone given birth at East Surrey Hospital

[ANGELMOTHER]

There seems to be so many mums on here that Ifeel sure someone must have used East Surrey at some stage. Am pg with no.2 and as dd was born in Holland wasn't sure what to expect here but so far am happy, any experiences of the afore mentioned Hospital would be appreciated though..

Hi AngelMother ...
How is this for coincidence ... we grew up in Holland and both my sister and I had our babies at East Surrey ... AND my SIL, like you, had her first baby in Holland and her second at East Surrey!!! My other SIL had her first baby at East Surrey ...
Anyway ... all in all the experience for me and my sister was NOT good ... but it wasn't necessarily totally the fault of the hospital ... we both had very big babies and were both in labour for a long time before we both ended up having emergency c-sections (my DS is 3 years old and her DD is 6 months old). The staff were lovely and kind etc and the maternity wards are clean ... even the showers were clean. But I do think that they kept me going for too long before they agreed to intervene (I was in labour for 40 hours and my sister was in labour for 24!!!!)
The aftercare in the wards was great ... really wonderful and helpful midwives and auxilliaries ... food wasn't bad ... visiting hours are a bit strict (kept kicking DH out on the dot) but they were good about me using the phone etc ... b/f advice was good and they were never minded having me call them whenever I needed them ... in fact they used to take my screaming baby away whenever I wanted to so that I could have a bit of a kip...
My SIL and a very good friend both had really positive experiences (straight forward births) and were both very happy ...
Interestingly ... both my sister and I had our watches stolen from our delivery suites ... so don't take any valuables with you ...
I think you will find the whole thing very different from Holland though ... My SIL said that in Holland they are much more into the 'drug free' approach and of course you are aware of the fact that there is no such thing as a 'Kraamzorg' in the UK aren't you?
When I had DS there were no water birth option but that might have changed now ...
My other SIL had her second baby at home with an excellent midwife from ESH ...
I found the Post Natal classes at the hospital very good ... made a couple of really good mates there!!
Errm ... what else? Can't think ...
HTH a bit!!!
BTW Where in Holland did you live and where in Surrey do you live???????????

What a coincidence indeed, I'm in Redhill at the mo and dd was born in Rotterdam yes the lack of Kraamzorg is a blow. It was the most valuable part to the whole experience in Holland and a wonderfull idea to boot. I found the whole approach in Holland a little scary at first but soon appreciated the natural approach. Had a longish labour (but not by you or your sister's standards 40 hrs WOW) but other than some pethidine no help but for a great midwife. Overall a good experience so was a little aprehensive as to what I would find here, don't know much of East Surrey and have yet to walk thru the doors as first scan is not till mid March.
Funniest thing about Holland was the Hospital I chose (The only one who administered Epidurals in the entire region) told me they only did so Mon - Fri 9-5......I was in labour on a Friday and at 4pm I said we'd better hurry or there'll be no chance ..... of course never had it in the end

I had dd almost 9 years ago so things might have changed a lot. Delivery was very straight forward (1 hr 40 mins after we got there!!). midwife and doctor lovely. lovely clean wards and toilets etc etc. But I found the midwives weren't approachable or helpful when you got on the ward(and this was first baby so I hadn't a clue what to do).

Hi Angelmother!
I'm VERY local to you (Redhill/Reigate too!)and have 2 sons aged 3 & 6 months.
Sorry to report that I had an terrible time at East Surrey with DS1 and as a result elected not to give birth to DS2 there, but went to Guildford instead.
It's perhaps a bit unfair to blame it all on the hospital, but my first experience (3 years ago) was of variable midwives (the one who tried to deliver me spoke no English); filthy wards, fairly indifferent and unhelpful staff, noisy wards (no-one had the guts to tell a 19-yr old mother to turn MTV off at 3 am in the morning) and general overcrowding. Admittedly I ended up with an emergency c-section, but even the way that was communicated and carried out left a lot to be desired. I didn't get to hold or touch my baby until several hours after the birth, and it's not as if there was a problem with him or anything - I was just wheeled away into recovery.
East Surrey has above average levels of intervention (one of the highest c-sections rates in the country I believe). That was one of the reasons I didn't go back, because when I was pregnant with No.2 thay just assumed I would have another C-section and weren't very supportive of my wish to try for a vaginal birth.
Having said all this, don't let me put you off 'cos I also have friends who have had OK to good experiences. I suspect for a 2nd (quicker) birth it will be fine, and you won't be there very long anyway.
Are you new to the area? If you want to get in contact with me 'outside of Mumsnet' send ,me your contact details via Tech/Mumsnet and I'll happily have a chat/coffee!

Yes MO2 am newish to area we moved here in September and am only barely pregnant (9wks) so trying to evaluate what are my best options. My dd is 3 also, would love to catch up for a chat do you ever go to Donyngs soft play area ?? have passed my contact details to tech....

Angelmother - great! Look foward to getting your details (I'm at work at the mo, so won't get them until I'm at home). And yes - we go to Donyngs LOTS - usually at least once at weekends....
speak soon and welcome to Mumsnet & Surrey!

Okay ... now I am homesick ... have a good meet up you two ... a year ago I would have joined you at Donyngs but now I am in NZ ...

Ghosty.... hmmmmm.... Donyngs or NZ.... erm let me think for a minute... Nope, can't muster up any sympathy there... (give me NZ over Redhill any day!!)

I'm just down the road in Crawley and had dd (2nd child) at East Surrey. I had quite a reasonable experience although dd arrived an hour after reaching the hospital and I went home the next day (none too soon, but then I hate hospitals generally).

I didn't have a very easy1st birth (elsewhere), and this was a nicer experience in many ways. I found the hospital clean, and although the staff were busy I found them really kind and helpful.

One complaint I would have is that mid pregnancy I was phoned to say there were problems with the blood tests, but the nurse wouldn't tell me what they were. I was due to go on holiday 2 days later and she was prepared to let me go knowing there was a problem and not what it was. (in the end I was able to see my gp) I spent a a lot of time going back and forth to the hospital, and my consultant was lovely. Generally a positive experience. My first birth - although not a bad experience - was in a big teaching hospital and very much more like a production line.

This is an intersting thread as I am the doula for a woman due to give birth there... and I haven't been there yet.
So glad to hear your feedback. A lot has to do of course with the specific midwife you end up with!
Being married to a Dutch... I know all about kraamzorg.... which people now equate to postnatal doula (which is also what I do) but in Holland it's free..... not in this country I am afraid

Nice to hear a positive story Anais, Pupuce seeing as you understand the concept of Kraamzorg's would you say that a Doula is the same..I've found it hard to find an equivalent over here, but yes free in Holland isn't it a wonderfull idea, I had awonderfull woman who left me feeling so completely at ease.
Mo2 not sure if I sent my details correctly to Tech never done it before will try again

Keep the experiences coming though...I love Mumsnet so many answers so quickly.

My first posting .... I had my 2nd dd in East Surrey. Elective c, first was emergency c - found hospital fairly keen to push for a normal birth - I opted out.
Wasn't overwhelmed by the post natal care but quite enjoyed the c section - staff were telling jokes and had the radio on. Had a private room that helped with visiting. But they did seem very keen to see the back of me ....
I work full time also have a dd of 3 - would be keen to meet up if ever possible?

Angelmother - well let's put it this way a postnatal doula is hired by a family/mother to do what ever the mother will find most helpful. So this can go from help bathing her if she is still suffering from her labour/ceaserean, take care of baby, take care of older children, do school runs, shopping, cooking, small household chores,... Some doulas do night shifts as well.
A doula is usually hired by a family for a few hours per day for a few days a week and usually for 4 to 8 weeks.

Interesting Pupuce sounds almost exactly the same except for the cost of course I may spoil myself if my Mum can't make it over though....

Hey - I work in your area........ or I can recommend someone else
visit www.nurturingbirth.co.uk

Pupuce the time may come I'll keep a note and may contact you in future. I'm afraid in Holland I got spoilt first time around but it was free then lol..

Angelmother - got your details from Tech today - will be in contact soon!

Sykes - great - would be great to get more together for a meet up... I too work full time, so it would have to be a weekend (or a girlie night our without kids - might be fun!?)Do you also want to send me your e-mail address through Tech & I'll try to co-ordinate?

Pupuce - interested to hear that you're going to be a doula for someone at East Surrey. Have you been in contact with the hospital at all? If not, I recommend you work at building relationships with the midwifery team asap and certainly well in advance of turning up for the birth. The only reason I say this is because you may remember that I ended up hiring an independent midwife for the birth of DS2 and then decided to give birth at Guildford due to my Ind MW's previous experiences at East Surrey. Basically the way it was explained to me was that East Surrey is a Consultant/Obstetrician dominated unit and that traditional midwifery skills are neither highly developed or highly valued (linked also to the high intervention rate). When my Ind MW & some of her colleagues had previously been there with clients they were very much cold-shouldered and even told in no uncertain terms that they were to have no 'hands on' involvement with their clients since the hospital would not be liable for any 'complications' arising from their 'actions' (i.e. preference towards avoiding drugs/intervention and encouraging postive birthing...). I have no idea what their reaction to doulas might be therefore, or if they have any experience of them at all?

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Mo2 would love a night out - please organise. I'll contact tech (??) re my details but may take me a while as I'm not the best at such things. I live in Godstone but v happy to meet wherever. Sorry do realise this is a birth thread. Bit over excited.

Sykes, Mo2 I think we have a date. See what happens on Mumsnet
sb34 a good experience of East Surrey it seems, I think I might take my chances there afterall. I'm hoping to go as naturally as poss but can't deny I may scream for some pain relief at some stage. What worries me if anything is their high no's of c- sections
sb34 I had my dd's birthday party at home recently and wish I'd had it in Donyngs as it is perfect.

Message withdrawn

SB34 - OF COURSE you're welcome to this (rapidly growing!) get together - would be great to see you again! I'm hoping to get hold of Sykes details and then we can organise!

Angelmother - I think SB34 is right - please don't let my comments put you off East Surrey - I just wanted to be honest about my experiences. If you had your first child vaginally I expect you're statistically less likely to even need a C-section anyway. As SB34 says, their high rate could be due to all sorts of factors e.g. more 'higher risk' mothers being transferred to East Surrey because of their SpecialBabyCare Unit or because, as she says simply more people request them. What I woudl suggest is that you be very up front about what you DO & DON'T want, and if necessary arrange a meeting with the Head of Midifery if things don't seem to be going how you'd like them through the pregnancy.

Have posted my details to technical thing - or at least hope I have - will try again if don't hear anything.
To reiterate I elected for a c section at E Surrey after emergency c section previously - was told would have needed another emergency anyway so feel slightly less pathetic. But found staff at the hospital keener to encourage me to have a normal (whatever that is) birth than a c section. Staff were nice but the place (private room, actually, rather than main ward) felt a bit grubby - perhaps tainted by my sister's comments who was visiting from San Francisco and is used to another level of hygiene - obviously all paid for.

All experiences of this Hospital help I would be more dubious if everyone told me how wonderfull it was with no complaints or maybe I'm too suspicious anyway.....
You are right though Mo2 I imagine once I am clear about what I want and don't want, I have a higher chance of having the type of birth I want.

Welcome sb34 we are gathering a few here aren't we, look forward to meeting you all

Angelmother, back to the birth thing, I had a natural birth (only gas and air) at East Surrey.