hinchingbrooke or addenbrookes? can't visit for myself to choose

[MacMomo]

Am 13 weeks pregnant and I have a choice to give birth between Hinchingbrooke and the Rosie at Addenbrookes Hospital (Cambridge). I am currently working 250 miles away, so can't visit in person for a few months. Anyone have good / bad experience of either?

Hinchingbrooke was done up a little while ago and is much smaller than Addenbrookes. I had DD1 at the Rosie and can't fault them. DD2 due to be born there too. Addenbrookes has the advantage that if there are any problems with the baby they are the regional centre where all difficult cases are sent.

It depends what you want from the hospital/your birth really.

If you want a natural/hands off birth you have a much, much, much higher chance of this happening at Hinchingbrooke.

If you want to be in a v.large hospital and the best place "just in case things go wrong" then you want the Rosie.

HTH

Had DD at the Rosie and it was brilliant. She was induced so it was a high intervention birth, but I felt really comfortable and had brilliant midwives. Had it not been an induction they have pool rooms and a midwife led unit. Its nice and big and with plenty of facilities - good because you will do endless "walks" while in early labour!

Know lots and lots of people who had babies at the Rosie and think it is well known generally for being very very good (though sure there are others who wouldn't agree). Think I would go for the Rosie if I were you - don't know about Hinchingbrook but doubt it could be better than the Rosie.

Also they have all the specialist units right there to deal with any problems that could crop up.

I had dd2 at Hinchingbrooke in the midst of the reurbishment. Staff were great, really lovely, they had lots of time for me & what I saw of the facilities were great ( We live 30 mins away & I was home within 3 hrs of having dd2 - my choice but they were happy to help iyswim)

Must add that mine was a slightly complicated birth - pre-eclampsia & CS with previous birth & Hinchingbrooke were happy to take me!!

I had an amazing waterbirth at Hinchingbrooke, low lights, soft music you get the idea. I also had a section there too, so completely the other end of the spectrum. Both births were fantastic (was planned section). The facilites, care and expereinces were beyond what I ever could have hoped for.

The mws are very experienced and go out of their way to support the kind of birth you are hoping for - whether that be low or high intervention.

MWs from Hinchingbrooke have also been the ones to come out to me for my two home births - again they were faultless.

There is a special care unit there and the consultant team are fab.

Like previous posters I have no experience of the other option so can can not compare the two for you. But I do work near Addenbrookes and can tell you that traffic around their during rush hour is horrendous and parking at the hospital is very very difficult and expensive.

You can look up more info here:

www.hinchingbrooke.nhs.uk/page/our-services/hinchingbrooke-maternity-services

Jul ie

i have heard absolutely wonderful things about the new borth centre at hinchingbrooke - my friend was the first person to have a water birth in their new pool room and se said it was absolutely amazing - wonderful midwives and fantastic aftercare.
i would agree with other posters that if that is the type of birth experience you are hoping for then that is certainly the place to be.The rosie does have a birth centre but is often closed as they are so busy due to being a tertiary referral centre for the region.

i however have give birth to dd and ds via c section at addenbrooke and again i couldn't fault them for the more medicalised experience. I had quite tricky pregnancies and they knew eaxactly what they were doing and gave me excellent care and support.

the one thing i would say is that the postnatal ward can be very busy as thye have just closed sara ward their ward for mums and babies requiring more specialised care (NICU and SCUBU still open though) so all mums are nor having to go on the lady mary post natal ward so is v busy indeed.

they do have an excellent infant feeding specialist midwife at the rosie though and i would probably go there just for her alone! she is brilliant if you have breast feeding concerns of any type!

The food and the staff are nicer at hinchingbrooke IMO and it's much easier and cheaper to park!

I had ds2 by elective section at the Rosie and although I couldnt fault the birth itself (really friendly professional staff), the 2 nights on the postnatal ward were not brilliant as they were so busy and I even felt a bit awkward buzzing them to help me with ds as I felt like it was putting them out a bit. But again I think that is because it is such a busy hospital.

Im due with my 3rd in september and Im going to hinchingbrooke as im hoping for a vbac and they seem more pro-natural birth - plus they have telemetry monitoring so this is wireless and waterproof and that means they have given me permission to use the pool too. I have heard that because it is smaller it is a bit more personal at hinchingbrooke too and I havent heard a bad story yet from any local mums who have been there.

Like a previous poster said, I think it depends what kind of birth you are after.

I've worked at The Rosie, Childrenchildreneverywhere is spot on.

Just gave birth at the Rosie on Wednesday, and have nothing but praise for it. I had a completely uncomplicated pregnancy and we had planned a water birth and did spend some time in the amazing birthing pool on the delivery unit (beautiful views of the countryside south of Addenbrookes). However, because of a very long and increasingly arduous and painful labour that failed to progress (I began to transition at only 5 cm dilated, and it took 48 hours to dilate from 3 to 5) I ended up having an urgent caesarian.

The midwives were brilliant; I was never left alone for a second. And the obstetric team were world class; completely faultless. I also had an excellent experience on the postnatal ward (I was kept in for 40 hours) which surprised me, as I had heard not-so-great things about aftercare at the Rosie. But they've deliberately picked up their game, and gave me all the help I asked for from breastfeeding advice to getting the baby out of the cot for me.

I'd choose the Rosie. You can't know in advance whether or not you'll need intervention, and I'm so grateful I was at the Rosie.

hi, i know this thread is from ages ago but i am in the same siuation, i have the option to deliver at home/ rosie or primrose, hitchingbrooke.

Its really important to me to have a water birth and im pretty sure that hitchingbrooke only has one birthing pool? Does anyone know how many Rosie has? Im terrified that i will go into labour and the pool wont be available? as someone else may be using it? Surely the chances of that happening must be pretty high?

What are your thoughts? Many thanks, rebecca x

The Rosie Birth Centre has a birth pool in every room.

www.cuh.org.uk/rosie-hospital/pregnancy-labour-and-birth/overview/wards-and-clinics/rosie-birth-centre

I've had 1 home birth and 2 delivery suite births (both high risk for different reasons) and was very happy with my care each time. The midwives in the postnatal ward are entirely overworked despite their own best efforts but we received really good care all round.

Rosie Birth centre has excellent facilites but does close due to lack of staff. I had a complicated delivery at the Delivery Unit and the obstetric team were utterly excellent. FWIW the obstetricians were far more hands off compared to the MWs, and quite anti interventionist, until they absolutely had to. I felt listened to and respected the whole way through.

My friend had an awful experience at Hinchingbrooke three years ago (multiple midwives failed to spot a serious issue because they failed to examine her). This was at the point Hinchingbrooke was on the verge of (or had only just been) taken over. As a result, I was put off Hinchingbrooke and I went to the Rosie at Addenbrookes instead and loved it (every room has a birthing pool, which was important to me as I needed to labour in water, and it was all calm and comfortable).

BUT I hear Hinchingbrooke has massively improved since it was taken over by a private company, and I would seriously consider going there for number two.

I had a nightmare at the Rosie, purely due to understaffing. I was in for induction and was there for 4 night, waiting for them to start the induction because there was no room available for me to go to or staff to deal with me. They shut the hospital to people in labour while I was there (sent them to other hospitals) and this happens very regularly. Something to bear in mind.

Hi rjarvis, the Rosie has a v fancy birth centre, loads of pools etc (10 pools I think). I would have used it, but was induced and then unexplained bleeding meant I went to delivery unit so they could keep a closer eye on me and baby. So I had induction, constant monitoring, epidural, drip, followed (eventually) by emergency caesarean as baby just wouldn't get into position - far from my ideal scenario of water birth! However I can't praise the midwives enough. Every one was so professional and kind - I felt completely safe the whole time. DD's and my well being were top priority from start to finish from induction to discharge from Lady Mary. DD is six days old and doing beautifully - I'm sure that's helped by how calm the atmosphere was during birth and the couple of days we had in afterwards.

I have several friends who have given birth at Hinchingbrooke, though, from water births to instrumental deliveries and c-sections, and they're all hugely positive too. So, I reckon you're in the luxurious position of having two excellent hospitals to choose from :)

I know this is an older thread but I too am struggling to make a decision between The Rosie and Hinchingbrooke. Hinchingbrooke is literally 5 minutes down the road from me (as apposed to 40 - 50 mins traffic depending with the Rosie) but given the recent news of Circle pulling out of Hinch last week; I'm now doubting my decision.

I actually work in the NHS but unfortunately in a completely different field to maternity so am unable to depend on colleagues/indsider advice!

If you read the CQC report, you'll see that maternity services are rated as good there, so I wouldn't have any worries about staying at Hinch.

www.cqc.org.uk/location/RQQ31

Also, I'd agree that the report is rather unfair and unbalanced and that the situation isn't as bad as it seems there.

www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Hinchingbrooke-Hospital-doctor-Suzanne-Hamilton/story-25889230-detail/story.html

If it helps I moved to Hinchingbrooke just before Xmas due to appalling treatment at Peterborough and I've been delighted with the maternity care.

Happy to update once I've given birth! (I'm 36w)

I've only been to Rosie, mlu is gorgeous, 10 rooms, all with pools/lighting/birthing stations. Unfortnately I had to be induced followed by emcs so was on delivery ward which was fine, anesthetist and consultants (5!!) all available quickly. All the midwives were lovely although post natally they did seem rushed but that's not their fault.
Lady Mary has been refurbed and now has fewer beds per room. Parking can be discounted for dads.

I'd still recommend it.

Thanks all. I'm still undecided but feel lucky that both units are very reputable and local (well if you consider 50 mins in good traffic local!) Think I'm going to have a tour round Hinch first and see what I think.

Hinchingbrooke was the top rated mat unit regionally not that long ago, it has intervention rates way lower than the Rosie. I had my first there in 2008 before the refurb, it's very nice now apparently. All the midwives I've met who are attached to the hospital in some way have been wonderful.

Depends what your priorities are and which hospital will be nearer to you. If one of them is closer than 50 mins in good traffic then go for that one. Don't underestimate the discomfort and anxiety you might experience if you have to travel a long way while in labour. Hinchingbrooke is 20 mins from us and that really was as long as I would ever want to labour in a moving vehicle (or a even a stationary vehicle!!).