Giving birth in Tunbridge Wells

[mumien]

Hello! Currently expecting baby #2 (April 17) and considering relocating from London to TW. Advice re maternity/midwife/birthing-hospital services in TW would be much appreciated? Thank you.

Tunbridge Wells Hospital has the main maternity and obstetrics departments for the local NHS trust, or there's a midwife-led birthing unit at Maidstone.

That's good to know. Do you have experience of either?

I gave birth in Tunbridge wells. It was lovely as nice new hospital everything very clean and you get your own room and bathroom. Husbands can stay if you bring an air bed too.

This might be helpful; I know this lady through my volunteer work with new mums in the TW area and she is extremely knowledgable on local options for childbirth. When she refers to 'Pembury' Hospital she means Tunbridge Wells Hospital, which is the new hospital located on the outskirts of the town in close to the neighbouring village of Pembury.

Click here

Tunbridge Wells hospital is lovely - new, clean, convenient with all the post-natal security options you could want.

Thank you all so much for the useful info and insight. I definitely hope to give birth to baby #2 in TW rather than UCLH.

Any other useful advise re having babies and toddlers in TW, and living in TW generally? All advise most welcome :-) We are looking to relocate from London to TW soon/early 2017.

The NCT branch for TW and District is very active and has a Facebook page here

Local magazines, which you can pick up at the estate agents and newsagents in town have endless listings of all the nurseries, day care, mother and baby/parent and baby groups. TW is a very family friendly town with lots going on for parents and little ones.

Unless you are planning to educate privately (or you are prepared to move again before your toddler is eligible for Primary School) then you might wish to bear in mind that state primary school places in TW are often oversubscribed. Some TW primary schools are church schools, prioritising C of E, or Catholic church goers over non-church goers.

Estate Agents are not always reliable sources of information on this and will talk about 'catchment area' for schools, where actually, your church attendance would place your child higher up the list for admissions than your postcode or proximity to the school. It's a good idea to look at the school websites for each school you're interested in and print out the admissions criteria, in order to understand how this might be relevant to your family in terms of the part of town where you choose to rent/buy.

Thank you SO much. I'll check out the links.

Re houses/schools, this is incredibly useful info, and something that I have noted others flag before - the ropey info/advice from estate agents re catchments areas. We are actually viewing two houses for rent in TW tomorrow so I'll be sure to put some research time in tonight for both schools that happen to be closest as both are marked as 'oversubscribed'.

If you haven't already done so, then load the PayByPhone App on to your smart phone and sit in the comfort of your own home completing your car registration, credit card details etc. Parking in TW is often restricted to permit only, or maximum 30 minutes or 1 hour. You can park for free, for 2 hours along the top of the hill called Mount Ephraim. All the car parks are Pay and Display and use this app or you have to find the exact money in coins (no notes and no change given!) to Pay and Display. The last thing you want is to be juggling a baby bump, a toddler etc and trying to pay for the car parking.

Independent cafés I like: Juliet's on the old High Street (where most of the Estate Agencies are) lovely Ottolenghi type salads, homemade cake and good coffee, but not always great with a buggy at busy times. At the top end of town The Black Dog Café on Camden Road at the end nearest the town centre, does lovely breakfast and brunch. Or Gusta, a small, authentic Italian deli with tables, they're lovely to children and have great panini. Or The Bicycle Bakery, a bit further up Camden Road, wonderful sourdough bread and nice pastries and good breakfast, light lunch (though they might ask you to fold your buggy if it's busy.)

Hi, I would like to join the FB group you mentioned but the link doesn't take me there. Are they still active?

Thank you.
First time pregnant mom