Where to give birth ? Queen E, Lewisham vs St Thoms ??

[BobbiF]

Could anyone please offer any advice on the quality of the antenatal, delivery and post-natal care offered by the three ? We are Australians and have no experience with the NHS or even if the promise of choosing where I deliver is really true or if it will be harder to make a specific request.We live in SE7.
Thanks

Hello, I had dd at Lewisham (3.5 years aho) which didn't used to have that great a reputation for antenatal services. I found them very good and had a much better experience than some friends who went to st Thomas's. One friend got to st Thomas's in labour and was turned away because they were full and another had to sit in a corridor in a wheelchair because there wasn't w free room.

I was induced at Lewisham although really wanted to give birth at the birth centre which looked fantastic and I've since met a lot of people who did have their babies there and all raved about it. I found the induction process fine and midwives all very helpful and good.

After care was not quite as good - it was just very busy and had very overworked staff which is the same in a lot of hospitals. I only stayed in another night and day but just had to ask several times for things. But having said that, I was checked on lots, given plenty of food and water etc and also breastfeeding support, offers of other support etc. just I could never find a midwife when I needed one!

I would definitely go to Lewisham again.

Good luck wherever you decide!

I had my first baby at Queen Elisabeth and would never go there again! I had a horrible experience and the aftercare was non-existing. All my friends says the same about QE. I have three friends who has given birth at Lewisham and St.Thomas. They have been very happy. This time I am going to Princess Royal in Bromley.

I had my first at QE 8 years ago, couldn't fault the care in labour at all.

I had my DD at Lewisham in the birth centre which was wonderful. Postnatal was pretty awful but I think that's the case everywhere in London. Your antenatal care can generally be done near you regardless.

QE has very recently been taken over by Lewisham. It is my closest hospital and not heard great things about it, but all before it was taken over. I've heard nothing but good about Lewisham so hoping it will rub off before I have baby. The antenatal care I've had so far has been excellent.

I've had two children at the QE in the past 4 years. I couldn't fault the staff and the standard of care I received. I could fault some of the other patients and their attitude to staff and basic hygiene on the wards though.
I discounted St.T's because of the time it takes to get there. Two friends have had excellent normal births there, another was poorly handled (missed a breech baby for 6 hrs) and a crash section resulted.
Lewisham - some good some bad reports but the MLU is supposed to be excellent
Visit them all and see what sort of vibe you get. Check out the wards as you may not be lucky enough to have a baby without intervention.
QE had very low CS rates, that was another reason I went with them. Still had a CS (followed by an unplanned VBAC) but there you go!

In case that wasn't clear - I would fault other patients and the state that they are willing to leave bathrooms etc in.
Food in the QE was terrible!

My midwife team logged a complained after the treatment I received before, during and after birth. This was last year. I am sure people also have positive things to say, but the 5 people I know that gave birth there around the same time had similair experiences to me. Also the staff at other at St Thomas and PRU has told me they know this to happen as well as the staff is very overworked. I am sure that some patients are more demanding than others - but that is also the case everywhere you go.

I was booked at QE first and then asked my GP to transfer me to St Thomas hospital. I am so pleased with the antenatal care so far- I am 21 week pregnant. The teams are great, they are never late for your appointments and the atmosphere is great. We both work in the City so it is close work wise.

St Thomas in my view is excellent for antenatal care but my birth experience was absolutely horrible. I chose St Thomas' for I had heard of its excellent record with handling complicated cases despite a 40 minute one way commute for my antenatal appointments.
I delivered by an emergency c section after trying via natural labor for 30+ hours and a failed attempt at forceps. My midwife (from hell) gave me 3 times the sinctocin she was supposed to and despite intervention from the consultant she gave the same dose again giving me the worst cramps i have ever experienced. All this when i was on max strength epidural and couldn't push at all. She then forced me to go on all fours despite my body being completely numb from the waist down and kept saying discouraging things throughout. There was no regard whatsoever for my birth plan or wishes. I was so traumatized by the whole experience the excellent antenatal care did not even matter in the end. The recovery room was like a zoo and one of the midwives commented 'are you here to settle down?' looking at our bags (1 big and 1 small one). The midwives in the postnatal room were all very well mannered but extremely pro-breastfeeding. I must have called atleast 10 of them to help me with feeding but in the end still left frustrated after they kept saying 'oh it's going perfect' when i knew it wasn't and ended up formula feeding while we got back. In the end, I just wanted to be out of the hospital and did not even care about suing them for misconduct.
My suggestion would be to request visits to the ones you shortlist and to consider the distance to the hospital too. My husband had a very tough time juggling between the hospital and home after 3 sleepless nights.