Moving to St. Albans and choice of hospital maternity

[Jenny24]

Hi,

I am currently 20 weeks pregnant and planning on moving to st. albans from london this fall and really quite confused on what the maternity choices are! I have read such horrible things about watford hospital maternity and wondering if at the moment it is really that bad? Does the GP give you a choice of hospitals to give birth in? Where are the scans performed- st. albans city hospital or watford. Without a car I am wondering if its difficult to get to watford hospital for all the antenatal appts.

Since my husband and I aren't really set on st. albans and anxious about having a baby, we might decide on moving somewhere that has a better baby reputation. Anyone have some insight??

Depends where you live in London you could still go there. Had my last baby at QE2 but that is closing. The birth centre at watford is supposed to be good. St albans is fab once you have kids. There is an nct st albans yahoo group which you can post questions on. There is also luton and dunstable.

I had my children at Watford - I'm sorry to say that standards there are very variable. I had wonderful ante-natal care from my consultant and great midwifery care for ds1 and ds2, but ds3 nearly died when I was left alone in labour despite being high risk. On the other hand I have friends who gave had wonderful births there in the birthing centre (midwife led). Sorry - probably not what you wanted to hear.

You can ask your GP to be booked for the birth at any hospital. I had some antenatal tests at the Lister in Stevenage, that seemed very clean and well equipped.

I also spent Tuesday night in a and e at Luton and Dunstable with ds3, who was then admitted to the paediatric ward. The ambulance took us straight to the L and D because it always has a consultant paediatrician available (not sure Watford does). They were wonderful - I can't fault the care he was given. I think it's also no further than Watford due to traffic issues.

I haven't actually given birth yet, but I've moved my booking from Watford to Stevenage, as Stevenage just seemed much more efficient and cleaner. Also, depending on which side of St Albans you live on, Stevenage might well be a bit closer for you - it is for me.

Without a car you might find Watford very awkward to get to for appointments, whereas there is a regular bus service to the Lister at Stevenage - something else to consider. I'm not trying to push the Lister, it's just that it was more convenient for me.

Watford General was fine for me. My doctor's surgery had a weekly midwives clinic, so I only had to Watford 3 times (2x for scans, 1x surgeon's appt).

There is a free shuttle bus from St Albans City Hospital to Watford General. It's a bit infrequent but there are also buses or a train with a bit of a long walk at the other end. Or taxis, of course.

I was given a choice but told that I would have to go Hertford to see the midwife rather thn at the doctors, so I opted for Watford.

Choosing where you live for the hospital is a bit barmy. Giving birth is one day out of your whole life. Better to start focusing about the next 18 years: other Mums to socialise with, getting to work, parks to play in, schools to go to, other children to be friends with...

I had my DS (9 weeks) in QEII as not only had I heard and seen it was better than Watford but it was also closer than Watford.

Something to bear in mind is that Watford hospital is near a football stadium and when matches are on traffic is a nightmare

This reply is, presumably, too late for the OP. But to anyone reading this in a similar quandary - if you have your baby at Watford, your scans and antenatal appointments are all in St.Albans.

For what it's worth I was incredibly impressed with the care I got at Watford with both my DD and DS but the traffic can be horrendous.

I have given birth twice at Watford and the care was excellent on the actual delivery suite. I was closely monitored for my first birth, and I could not fault the care. However the after care on the wards was not great.