childbirth in Mayday Hospital

[gingersarah]

Hello,

does anyone have any experience of Mayday Hospital?
Is it basically the only option?

I am pregnant with my first child and the GP just arranged for me to be booked in there - she didn't say she was going to be doing this and it was the midwife at the first appointment who explained it should have been a choice that I made. Does anyone have any experience they would like to share? I am feeling lost and would welcome anything at all from more experienced women, even only slightly more experienced!

also, can anyone tell me where I can find this information:

Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) assessment

Mayday says they achieved a 3 for this which is good, but when you read the brochure it was in 2005. I have googled this but got nowhere. Does anyone know where this information can be found?

I haven't a clue what I am doing and would welcome any comments at all.

thank you!

gingersarah

Hi there. I had my baby at Mayday in May this year and all in all my experience was very good. I had a c-section (medical reasons) so was admitted 6 nights b4 and the staff did everything they could to make my stay comfortable. You should arrange to visit the facilities to see what you think for yourself. From memory I think they do tours of the labour ward on the weekend and the midwife suite in the week but if you phone the labour ward they will tell you when they are.

Under Patient Choice you can choose which hospital to have your baby at. All you need to do is tell your midwife what you want to do and she will make the arrangements. I'm guessing you are quite early on in your pregnancy so you have a bit of time to visit the hospitals you are interested in and make your decision. Your GP will have referred you to Mayday because it is the local hospital. The only thing that may prevent your choice is if the hospital you want has too many women wanting to have their babies there at the same time.

CNST stopped in 2006 and became NHSLA Risk Management Standards for Acute Trusts. If you go to the NHSLA website you can look at the results for 2006/07 (07/08 has probably not been published yet). Mayday is still a level 3 for maternity which basically means their risk for negligence claims for maternity are deemed to be low so they pay less insurance. I hope this helps.

We live in Croydon (although did not when DS was born) and most other mums round here say the Mayday is at least OK, some have had good experiences, others less so.

Well I guess the issue is more about what are your options and that depends on where you live. There is a new mw-led birthing unit at Mayday which is meant to be fantastic. And there are some good ob-gyns there who go for vb over cs where possible. They are good with high risk cases. The food isn't great though they do at least have a cooked breakfast for maternity patients. It is also a teaching hospital so you may get handled by students.

The downside to Mayday is that it isn't in a great area, and there is a very wide range of patients. The mws and health assistants can come across as being very abrupt because frankly they are sometimes dealing with some not very nice people. I've always found them to be fine.

Thank you all for your advice.
Beanybean - I have found that information, many thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Yes, these are early days for me so I have some time to think - maybe too much as I am prone to overthinking! It's great to hear from people who have some experience, thank you all.

gingersarah

Hi Gingersarah.. I had my baby in July and facilities and support network was fantastic. I had an emergency c-section and the midwives were informative at all times and the post natal care for 3 days in the maternity ward was brilliant. I had my concerns too whilst I was pregnant, and am glad to say that i had a positive experience at mayday. Good luck!

A friend of mine has had 4 babies there - 3 natural and 1 c-section. As others have said I think they are good with difficult cases and labour in general is fine but postnatal care - as with many hospitals in the London area - isn't great as the staff are very stretched.

Hi gingersarah
i have 2 experiences with labour at mayday,1st(2004) with DD in the labour ward not the best experience but i know the ward was extremely busy so all staff was stretched, 2nd in the birthing unit (2007)with DS, fantastic experience lovely comfortable clean surroundings,wonderful staff,i would definately recommend it.

I had a baby in Mayday and never again. They left me in active labour with no pain relief for 3.5 hours when the maximum recommended is 1hr. I've raised an complaint and am cosidering suing the NHS.

I had my first baby at Mayday in June 2008. I went straight to the Birthing Unit. My experience was great. I was only their 45 mins before the baby came but the midwives were wonderful. I stayed in overnight as I wasn't confident with the breast feeding and the midwives spent loads of time with me. The next day they were rushed off their feet, so it took us ages to get the all clear to leave, but this was only because they were so busy.

I am expecting my second in December and I have no doubt in my mind that I want to have it in the birthing unit again.

I was also worried about all the bad press that Mayday gets but in my experience it was a fantastic, relaxed, clean and friendly place to give birth.

Hey. luschka.wordpress.com is the Care Quality Commission and you can find out how well care and services are at each hospital Trust. If you are having a hospital birth you can choose which hospital you want to go to. I am having a home water birth so unfortunately I am stuck with Mayday. But the community midwives have had good reports and you can always change your midwife if you do not feel happy with the one caring for you.

I had my dd at the birth centre in Mayday Oct 2007- An amazing experience- it was as good as paying to go private. I had a midwife to myself the whole time (8 hours) A big room to myself with an ensuite and birthing pool. (hurt like hell mind you- though thats not the hospitals fault! lol)

Only thing about the birthing centre is that you have to be completely complication free and you cant have drugs as its about natural birth- plenty of gas and air is allowed though!

My husband and I stayed in the room together with our new baby that night- perfect

I didnt think much of the labour ward mind you (we spent the 1st few hour there as there wasnt enough staff in the birth centre when we 1st got there) though apparently they've had a refurb since then.

Hi There,
Congrats ! I too live in croydon. But i had heard several bad stories about Mayday and most ppl didnt reccomend me to it. Its infact the 3rd from the bottom among the best hospitals in and around london (i.e - almost worst one). Hence when my GP referred me, i rejected that and choose my own (according to rules we have the right to choose the hospital we wish to go). Hence choose St Thomas (it about 20 mins drive from my place and have no regrets...its the best ever hospital you can go into..!!

I had my daughter at Mayday and it was ok. I was left alone for a fair bit when my midwife buggered off for a very long lunch break and she was a bit rubbish when she was there. Luckily when her shift ended I got a lovely lady with a student midwife and they were great. The rooms were a bit grotty (although this was 2004 and I believe they have done it up now?) and the aftercare was pretty rubbish. Was shoved in a filthy room that had blood on the floor with a lady who was in labour so I couldn't get any sleep after being up for over 30 hours. Luckily I was so besotted with my baby that I was oblivious to all this I didn't like the nurses/midwives in the aftercare ward at all - they were rude and unsympathetic. I am sure you can elect for East Surrey or Bromley if you want. Or there is always homebirth which I would highly recommend!

Crikey, don't opt for East Surrey! I had my first dd at East Surrey and my second at Mayday and ES was appalling. Mayday much better.

I tried to get referred to Princess Royal in Farnborough as I'm halfway between there and Mayday and had also heard bad things about Mayday. Referral process was awful - they lost my referral and seemed to pass it on to Mayday anyway as I then got appts through the post from Mayday anyway. But I did speak to a midwife from Bromley and she told me Mayday was better equipped and that Farnborough was going through a merger with two other hospital trusts so Mayday was a better bet. Reading online, no hospital in London seems amazing. I guess they are so busy. But, I've been for 2 scans now at Mayday (early scan as I didn't know my dates and 12 wk scan) and both times the staff have been brilliant. Hoping that bodes well for what's to come. :)

Realise that OP probably has 5 more kids by now, but reckon this is a perennial topic so.... I am half way through my 2nd pregnancy (1st was delivered at St Georges in Wandsworth but we've since moved), and now we are on the boundary between King's and Croydon University (formerly Mayday).

So far, I have had all my bookings and scans at Kings but being in Crystal Palace have discovered that none of the Kings midwife teams will cover me for a home birth because of my location. So, if I want a home birth (which I do) I have to swop over to Croydon University Hosp. I've been to see the wards which look OK, no worse than St George's, and have been asking local mums about their experiences. Basically, I can find mums who say 'don't go there!' for both Kings and Croydon - King's very oversubscribed (births in corridors etc) and Croydon similar probs.

But, get this: if you want a home birth the Croydon team will have all your midwife appts in your home, so no shlepping about with toddler when 8 months pregnant etc! Amazing. I have decided to switch to Croydon. Hoping I don't regret it and no transfer from home required. They seem very supportive of home birth which is unusual and makes a lot of difference.

Hi
im new here so hello to everyone first of all

i had my baby in mayday and my experience was very positive.

my midwives were lovely and i also got one from liverpool which was great as its where im originally from :)

i had an emergency c section and all staff were brilliant, i was well looked after!!
the only time i really felt a little ignored was on the night shift as they only seem to come when you need something where as the day shift always call in to check on you, i had to hunt out one of the night shift for pain killers one night lol

overall though i had a good experience and if i ever decided to have aother id have no hesitation in going back to mayday

Not recommended for Christmas babies as severely understaffed last year!!!

I haven't experienced Mayday but I have experience with Chelsea & Westminster and also St. Georges. I had a positive experience with both hospitals and their midwives were fantastic. However, from my discussions with mothers, there are those who have good experiences and those that have not so good. This can be at any hospital.

I live in Croydon now and the story is exactly the same regarding Mayday (you only have to read this thread). Giving birth can be an unpredictable experience wherever you are. It helps to have a birthing partner who is prepared to speak up for you when you are are in the vulnerable position of being in labour.

Additionally, if you can be confident about your labour and your body's ability to do what is completely natural then it will really help you. Good luck!

I had twins at East Surrey and asked to have my dd there but was told due to living in Croydon, had to have my DD at Mayday. Wasn't as good as ES but not bad. Midwifes were very busy so not as much 121 care. However, DD was born and care was sufficient. Food not great and was desparate to get home - i did not feel this at ES. Must rememeber that the job was done and it wasn't a dangerours experiencw, just not particularly comfortable. Earlier someone said that you can choose your hospital - i don't think you can