St George's (Tooting) Delivery Ward

[sleepysunday]

Hello All,

I'm new here and almost 26 weeks so starting to think about the big day.

Have any of you recently given birth at St George's in London? Now that the tours of the wards are closed because of swine flu I wondered if anyone could describe what the facilities are like? Is there anything we can/can't take in with us or that you would recommend we take to make things more pleasant?

Any thoughts or info would be a great help. I am naturally going to ask the midwives but their answers will no doubt be different to those 'in the know'!

xxxxx

No recent experience
You will get a room to yourself for delivery
Bathroom/loo may well be down the hall

Take flash wipes for the bathroom
Take your own towel
Take food

That's definitely the kind of stuff I wanted to know.

Do they have anything like birthing balls or mats? And while I think about it can you dim the lights (god I don't sound fussy do i?) and is it hot or cold in general?

I had dd1 in St George's - was 4 years ago though.

Definitely take food.

Take a plug for the bath.

You might want to take an extra pillow.

They didn't have birthing balls or anything similar when I had dd1 but things may have changed.

All in all it was pretty basic, no-frills. The anaesthetist who did my epidural was yummy though - although by that stage I would have thought that about anyone who offered me drugs

post natal ward was hot

take a light dressing gown

my DH would tell your birthing partner to take a sleeping bag and pillows too

Gwillam post-natal ward is hot and busy. But apparently birthing suites are much improved
Agree take food, wipes, bottled water etc. There is a water machine at the end of the corridor by the lifts too. Would add, take a pillow, always a bit nicer to sleep on your own, plus they run out or spares sometimes. I like to take cleansing wipes for dry skin in to hospital, so you can freshen up regularly without fiddling with moisturiser etc.

Personally I would avoid hospital baths altogether, only use the shower, and let it run for a couple of mins before getting in.

It isn't the most glamourous hospital but they are good at what they do, good luck!

Thank you!!! This is all so helpful and will hopefully help some other pregnant ladies out there too.

Keep 'em coming.

Due to have my 3rd there. Only good experiences from me. They have birthing pools, bean bags, balls and all sorts at the normal ward, was sursprised to find out. I found staff at ward great, after care - some great some very busy/stressed, but still fine. It can get noisy in the aftercare, earplugs? There are private rooms available, for a fee, where also partner can stay. If youre not planning on drugs and have risk free pregnancy, there is also Carmen suite, the new birth centre, midwife led which is supposed to be very good. In the event of emergency, St Georges is one of th ebest hospitals in Europe, neo natal. Good luck!

hi

i'm due to have elective c-section next week at st george's (due to medical reasons) and have repeatedly asked midwives on every appt re private rooms as i need my partner to stay the night to care for baby as i'm unable immediately post-op. they said they were first come basis and i couldn't reserve a room, is that not the case then? can i reserve if we pay, is that hw it works??

sorry didnt mean to pinch your thread sleepysunday just getting really stressed about postnatal care and how i'll manage if my partner can't stay at night with me...

thanks so much

Won't the midwives/nursing staff look after your baby? What do those who have c-sections and no partners do?

Hi Sallyjoeyb
I stayed overnight in a private room (in Kingston hospital) following a c-section and managed just fine without DH. However, it was dc 3 so maybe easier than if it is your 1st.

Hi Ninni,

God luck with number 3! I hope it all goes well. When are you due?

Thanks for the info. I've definitely heard it is noisy and am relieved they have bean bags etc. I didn't know about the private rooms though. How do you find out about them, or how much do they cost? Not that I necessarily would want one for a potentially one night stay. I'd rather save my money for DH to whisk me away to a hotel. Ha!

x

The del suite is fine - rooms a bit small if you and two partners stay overnight (I recommend max 1 person with you if that's needed!), but they have birthing balls and lovely staff and I ended up with about 20 pillows. Bring your own supplies of food and drink. It was clean everywhere if a bit 70s-looking.

As piccalilli says there's a well fit aneesthetist who was lovely (not sure if it's the same one) but I swear it's pure coincidence that my baby has his name! There was also two consultants who are identical twins and work different shifts for extra comedy value.

The MLU (Carmen Suite) is lovely. Waterpools, supportive beanbags for kneeling, en-suites, and a great view across all of, er, Tooting.

Postnatal ward is functional, may be understaffed, but was clean for all of the 3 1/2 days I was in it. Food quite good but you have to get it from the end of the ward, and there's no toast only bread There's also a room with a telly and sofa that is meant to be for breastfeeding - it was fab as not one other person came in except midwives sterilising bottles! I got excellent bf support each day as they didn't have anyone else to help. Shame about the lack of help moving or anything on my first night - be prepared to ring the bell a lot and remind them when painkillers are due.

And it's hot. I didn't bother putting any clothes back on for 2 days - only covered up for the loo and when my dad visited! So your own bottle of water to refill and possibly an electric portable fan like they sell for drying nail polish. A mobile phone and some people on hand nearby to hit Primark or other local shops is very handy!

But should you need it, the medical facilities are some of the best in Europe.

mollie/ angrypixie

it isn't a matter of coping after c-section - i'm actually disabled and can only walk with sticks hence my concern over caring for baby at night if midwives are busy as i can't lift baby one-handed....that's why i queried as it was so good to find a post re st george's with mums in the know as it were....and this is my 2nd baby, my first being born 10 weeks prem (naturally as i was being prepped for emcs).

thanks

sally - I was in a wheelchair before I went into labour and my hands are dodgy. I contacted PALS and got permission to keep someone with me at all times (mainly for interpreting but being able to walk / pick up baby was actually more useful).

They said they'd try to shove us in a private room but couldn't guarantee it. If you have someone female who could stay o/n if you have to be in a shared room (4 beds per room) people would appreciate it. As it happened I got a private room (in the sense of just me, not paying for it)

Sally,

they tend to reserve those rooms for women who either have babies that need some kind of special care (one example is uv treatment in the case of my BF), sometimes for twins, sometimes if a mother is bereaved etc.
However if there is not any of these cases, then given your disability, if one of the private rooms should be available, you should surely get preference over anyone else who has had a normal birth I should think? Ask your GP and Midwife to put some notes down in your birth notes as it may help.
Then again, if you need extra help, sometimes the midwives would argue they need you where they can see you more.. Why not ring Gwillam ward and talk it through? They are usually happy enough to answer questions, but ring in the day.

Either way, you ring that bell as often as you need, make friends of them so they respond to you better, and hope you get home ASAP! You shouldn't have to suck up to people who are meant to be caring for you, I know, but in my experience of two births at other hospitals, and two operations at George's, it really helps if you can find the energy to befriend them.

Really good luck with it all.

notcitrus, thanks so much for your reply, i've been so stressed as have had NO joy with antenatal midwives (who've been lovely in every other respect but just haven't been able to tell me anything useful re postnatal care/ facilities!). i want to do as much as poss myself obviously but want to be assured there is something in place should i not be in a position to care immediately for my baby, depending on how things go. thanks once again

Oops X-post Notcitrus! You had more info!

thanks lotster, i've asked for my concerns to be noted in by notes by each midwife i've sen but all i keep getting told is "it depends on the day/ sister in charge" etc. i'm happy to go on the ward as long as i'm reassured that at night i'll get help i need (and i'm not looking for preferential treatment at all!! i just know my limitations and have heard some awful experiences of postnatal care at various sw-london hospitals, especially at night-time). i want to be up and out of hospital asap thanks again

I can understand your fears a fraction, as I had flippin awful SPD at my first birth, my GP and Midwife put in red pen on my notes about not using stirrups etc., but what they also did which might help you, is to request a bed by the door/nearest to the loo if on a ward.

Citrus' PALS idea is a great one. And as you know the day and time you're going in, why not ring Gwillim ward - 020 8725 2013 - in the morning and ask who will be the sister on shift the day/night you're in, and find outwhen they are in next? Then you ring and can ask how they can support your needs?

Thanks once again Lotster I'm just emailing PALS now and will phone them and Gwillim ward tomorrow as well. I've found the antenatal care quite off-hand up to now tbh with my concerns being dismissed or ignored and notes not taken which doesn't inspire me with much confidence for my postnatal experience. I didn't realise I could phone the ward...another thing I could have been told at my antenatal appointments! My friend had SPD in both her pregnancies and was hospitalised for a month with her last one, as if being pregnant wasn't hard enough Thanks for your suggestions!

Hi there - I gave birth to my DD 5 weeks ago at St Georges. I ended up going in 4 weeks early with severe pre-eclampsia and was sent straight to the high dependency unit which is in the delivery suite - I ended up spending 2 days there and was overwhelmed with the fantastic care I was given - the HDU has 1 midwife to each patient given the need for fairly close care and private delivery room with en suite (these were refurbished 6 months ago) - however if the midwives and consultants are amazing - so caring , so useful at articulating what is happening - even though things got a little scary for me (ended in emergency c section as DD heartbeat was going crazy - chord around neck) I never felt scared - only very well cared for. I gave birth at 11pm at night and my DH stayed with me all night (I was high on morphine at the time and cant really remember much). I was transferred up to the normal post natal ward the next day - I think the exerience up there really depends who you end up with. The wards are small with only 4 beds - day 1 I had only 1 other person on the ward who was lovely and we had a great time chatting. However things got worse the next 2 nights with quite alot of 'drama' - one lady where the midwives were threatening to call social services and one evening where one poor lady was in the induced labor all day and another whose baby cried all night ... I was, at the time, needing to get my blood pressure down and after a discusson with the midwives I was given a private room as the noise and lack of sleep was being counterproductive to needing to get my BP down. As many have said you cannot book these rooms or pay for them but instead are given on a needs basis - if you think about the high number of special cases at St Georges this totally makes sense at least to me. As for the evenings when hooked up to the catheta (sp) and on morphine the midwives took my DD away during the night and fed/looked after her.

If having a c section I would say that day 1 you are given alot of drugs but day 2 they weened me onto 2 paracetomal - personally this meant day 2 i was in ALOT of pain - but didnt think to question them - it was only later that day my DH said i was looking grey and I admitted to the pain - they immediately gave me something a little stronger - so dont feel bad about asking if you need something

I was actually pleasently suprised about the cleaning there - it was not the disaster zone I had heard about.

As for making your stay better

• ear plugs definately!!
• eye mask as there is always some light on
• own pillow as it makes life so more comfortable
• there is an M&S within the hospital which is a godsend as the food isnt great!
• some nice smellies for that fantastic first shower!
• the heat is an issue (the ward is above the geriatic ward hence the heat) - maes sure you bring clothes accordingly - ie PJs/nightie with straps not long sleaves, light dressing gown not a big one

although the midwives are busy they (and the health workers) are all lovely - treat them well and they will do likewise

I will definately use St Georges again next time

One thing I thought to ask you all was where you parked? We normally park in the Sainsbury's car park for our antenatal appointments and can't really see my labour taking less than 2 hours so thought I'd check with everyone else......

hi sleepysunday

when i gave birth at St George's 2 yrs ago, they had a system in place that you parked at the hospital parking, but were given a form which made you exempt from either paying or paying the whole amount (can't remember which)

if we did pay anything it was not too extortionate.