Not happy with Farnborough Hopsital (PRUH) and thinking of swapping to Sidcup

[LMW76]

I'm 22 weeks and the experience I've had of pre-natal care so far at PRUH makes me very worried about the birth (and whether my wishes will be listened to). Midwives very rude and uninterested, had to have one consultation (after waiting two hours) in the corridor. Also heard bad reports from two friends in Bromley area who gave birth there. If anyone else has switched hospitals, please can you tell me how easy this was/what your birth experience was.

No experience with PRUH or swapping per se. I did request to go to Darent Valley hospital instead of Queen Mary's in 2006 with Dd and it wasn't a problem at all. Before I had any appointments there at all, I asked to change back to QMH and was very happy with my treatment there(had my Ds there in 1998 also). HTH a little.

i had my son there.
they performed an unessecery c-section because i had dared to take 16 hours to dialate to 9 1/2, when my son was in no distress.

i had my daughter at kings and they were shocked that i had had the section, and had a very successful vbac and am now planning a homebirth with my third.

change you hospital, its easy. im changing mine after moving areas now, you just go to your GP and request a referral to which ever hospital.

downside is ambulance wont take u to anything other then ur local if in labour.

where were u thinking of going?

Thanks for the feedback, think I'll go and visit QMH and have a chat with the midwives before I decide!

I had great experiences at the PRUH with my 2. my little girl was born3 years ago and my son 11 months ago. I found all the staff lovely and helpful, i had 3 midwives in my room when i had ds coz i was the only woman in labour on the delivery suite. they were telling me dirty jokes and i was laughing so much i didnt need any pain relief!

i think it is all about personality. i got on great with mine but theres always someone youre going to clash with. if youre not happy they should respect your wishes to change hospitals but i have heard that sidcup maternity ward is much worse than PRUH when it comes to hygiene and staff.

hth and good luck x

I'm 33 weeks and booked in for PRUH,planning to ask for an epidural? Anyone who had experience of getting an epidural throughout the whole labour???How good they are at listening to prsonal wishes as I have many friends given birth in other hospitals whose wishes were completely ignored.

My experience amongst my local new-baby friends that giving birth a QMH means a higher success rate at breast feeding!

I had my last two at PRUH. I asked for an Epidural but it didn't arrive in time.

Other than that it was fine. Midwives were great, after care was great.

I had my last two at PRUH. I asked for an Epidural but it didn't arrive in time.

Other than that it was fine. Midwives were great, after care was great.

I had a home birth, but the MWs were from the PRUH.
Ups and downs really...

• I moved house at 36wks and had a nightmare trying to get hold of anyone to change across and get a booking appointment.
• The senior MW I met at home was a bit of a cat's-bum-mouth cow, whom I did not like at all. She gave me the usual spiel of being made to go to hospital if MWs off sick, or inexperienced ones on, not having water if MWs had not been trained, if wind was in wrong direction, etc. She had no people-skills whatsoever.
• Every other one of the MWs I met (5 or 6?) was lovely, excited about HB and generally reassuring and supportive. My birth was a great experience.
• I only had to go up to the hospital itself once for a scan to check position, and it seemed deserted! Clean and new and shiny (although that was nearly 4 yrs ago.)

Not sure whether the Maternity services still exist at QMH, they're planning to close them.

My local hospital was the PRUH. However like you, I found the midwives unhelpful (one appointment I had her answer her phone with no apology mid conversation and some random walk in to chat to her.) I wanted a home birth and was given no support - a tiny fibroid gave them an excuse to say no. In the end I got an independent midwife and had afab homebirth. I did end up in the PRUH which I didn't enjoy as midwives were over stretched so forgot me or I had to repeat myself everytime I met a new one.
As has been said I think it's all about personalities. You have to be quite assertive as well to avoid interventions - so worth getting your birth partner clued up. If you do this, I think it matters less what hospital you birth in.

I had my son at PRUH last september and I couldnt have had better care. I had a 31 hour labour and was very distressed but my midwife was amazing and even stayed well after her shift had finished. I dialated very quickly when things finally started going and even though a doctor told my midwife that i wasnt ready to push she used her initiative to check me and low & behold i was 10 cms!!
It wasnt the best birth (had to have forceps) however, I had so many doctors & nurses rushing around to help I never felt worried for a second. Even when i had to go to surgery after the surgeons etc were amazing & friendly etc.
Finally the aftercare was brilliant. I struggled to breastfeed & had the head midwife AND breastfeeding specialist pop in to help out and advise me.
Even after being discharged my follow up appointments were great.

I think ultimatley it doesnt matter where you go, its the luck of the draw. if theyre busy or not, understaffed etc. unfortunatley this is going to be the case in nearly all hospitals.

I had my DD there 3 yrs ago. Labour was awful - very hostile midwives.

HOWEVER

Aftercare was amazing - care after PPH saved my life, 5 specialists in the room within 30 seconds. BF support very good indeed, everything turned a corner in the important after care. Would recommend for this reason.

lmw76, can I suggest you have a look at getting a doula to support you? Midwives are only people at the end of the day, and you will get on with some and not with others. A doula can help smooth the way wherever you give birth and whatever your midwives' attitude. I'm a doula and had one for my second baby. I had a terrible experience first time at PRUH, but have seen wonderful births there also. My homebirth Midwives from the PRUH were fantastic, but similarly I've seen the odd narky one at a homebirth as well! Honestly, in my humble opinion, I don't think it's the hospital that makes the birth, but the confidence of the mother and her supporters.

Good luck!

I'm 20 weeks pregnant and also due to go to the PRUH - I heard from one of my friends who had both of hers at the PRUH that it was nice and she had no issues.
Has anyone paid for a personal midwife maybe? I'm starting to consider it - does anyone have experience of this? How much does it cost? Is there one in Beckenham/Bromley?

I'm 13 weeks pregnant with my 2nd and I opted for the PRU over QM. I had my daughter at QM almost 11 years ago and had a horrible experience there - no working showers , told me there was no birthing room for me etc etc . I've had to go to early pregnancy unit at the PRU twice already and have found them very helpful.
HTH

Had a baby at the PRUH 11 weeks ago it was amazing start to finish every midwife i met was fatastic, beautiful experience. Honestly I will never forget how amazing it is to give birth!

DD was born there in 2004. On arrival I was crying and was told by a midwife to pull myself together and was met with faces. Apparently, it was "nothing to cry about" and the MW didn't "get" why I was so upset.

Had DS there in 2008. 25 hour labour, failure to progress, DS's shoulders got stuck, refused epidural for about 4 hours until absolutely desperate and begging for mercy. Hallucinated and eventually the anaesthetist came in and told me it was unlikely it would work as I had left it so long to request it.

MW came in, laid at the foot of my bed and told me to push, then proceeded to fall asleep.

Ended up having to sign a piece of paper to say I agreed to having a CS. Was taken down to theatre and ended up with forceps done on a spinal.

Absolutely horrific.

I am due with DD2 in 11 weeks and booked into the PRUH. The alternative is Mayday . I have had growth scans, GTT (which the results are looking a bit suspect, GP wouldn't tell me over the phone) and I have had a few appts with the drs at the hospital because of the horrible experience I had the last time.

I'd rather have a homebirth than go there again, but with my history, I can't take the risk.

Hoping it will be better this time round and tending to base my hopes on the birth I had with DD1.

Haven't read all the posts, but I had my dd at PRUH. I agree, the ante-natal care was crappy but on the (3) day(s), the staff - especially the midwives - were great. I ended up in an emergency c-section but I'd been in labour for 34hours by then. The stay on the post-natal ward was fine.

My friend was under PRUH who weren't particularly supportive of her decision to have a home birth. She tried to change to QMS but her GP and midwives weren't helpful, so she stayed under PRUH.

I understand QMS maternity services are closing down but I don't know when.

Had my baby by C-section at PRUH five weeks ago and had excellent care from start to finish. Midwives, breast-feeding consultants, paediatricians (my baby had jaundice) - everyone was extremely professional and caring. My only two negatives would be: 1) Communication about ward guidelines not clear enough; 2) A crazy Polish midwife who came at me silently late one night when the ward was in semi-darkness and stabbed me in the stomach with a syringe. It was the standard injection they give you to help contract your uterus, but she did it with absolutely no warning or explanation (and her English wasn't THAT bad!).

NO hospital is my favourite place. But I had dd and ds1 at PRUH in 2003 and 2005. Stayed overnight with dd. Bit miserable, but the I would have been miserable anywhere. With ds1 I left after 3 hours (fair amount of persuasion required).
DS2 born at home but lots of hospital visits afterwards because he had rhesus disease.

On balance, I think the care was pretty good. Have heard similar from other friends.

I'm biaised 'cos I work there, but I had dd2 there and it was great (not just 'cos they knew me). She was 8 weeks early and a c-section, the care throughout was excellent and the paediatricians are great.
QMS is about to lose it's consultant led birthing bit, it's going to midwifery led only, probably by autumn this year. When are you due?

I gave birth in PRUH in November 09. It was an emergency C-section after 18 hours on a drip withouth making any progress.
The hospital is great,some of the midwives have been very helpful but overall I had really bad experience. I lost nearly 2 liters of blood because of doctors' negligence and have been left with no care for almost 2 hrs after the section when I was shaking with 104F temperature and my husband was running around like mad looking for help(Very stressful time.

There is no post natal care whatsoever(

Just to let you know that the consultant led bit of maternity is closing probably over the summer at QMS. The midwifery led birthing unit will still be there, but if you encounter problems, you would have to be transferred via ambulance to PRUH or Darent. I'm not trying to scare you, but you should be aware of the changes.