Having a baby in Greenwich- where is good?

[Before40]

Hi there everyone. I just found out that I'm pregnant (somewhere between 3 and 5 weeks). I have my first appointment at the GP on Monday, but was wondering what people's experiences were of maternity in hospitals around Greenwich. Any advice? I'm feeling so lost in these first few days! Oh, should add I'm 39 and it's my first, so a bit nervous about it all!

Hello and congratulations!

I'm 20 weeks pregnant and 38, also felt a bit nervous at the start, but it does get much better and more exciting!

I've 'signed up' for Queen Elizabeth at Woolwich, you can book in and go on a tour to see if you like it, for NHS I've found it great so far.

Other options are Kings which has a good reputation but not easy to get to across traffic if in labour and Lewisham which I've not hear great things about.

You can phone all 3 and visit them.

Have fun and enjoy your pregnancy, it's so special.

I can highly recommend Queen Elizabeth. I had my daughter there last summer and it was a great experience from start to finish. The midwives were great and the doctors were right on top of everything to make sure there weren't complications. And in the end I was really fortunate that the midwife I had been seeing the entire time at my GPs came on shift my last 3 hours of labour. My husband basically demanded her when he saw she had arrived because we thought that would just make everything perfect. We got her!

Go on the tour. I think you'll be really pleased with the cleanliness of the hospital and the niceness of the facilities.

Congrats and good luck!!

Hi everyone. This is my first post. I live in Blackheath and am almost 6 weeks pregnant. Very excited but starting to wonder what I've let myself in for!

Just had my first GP appointment and was quite surprised that she expected me to choose on the spot between Lewisham and QE Woolwich! She wasn't unpleasant but I definitely felt like I was being a real fusspot by wanting to think it over and check online. I managed to get a few days to "research" the options but I'm finding it quite hard to decide - especially as I won't have time to visit either hospital before I have to confirm on Friday. I know Lewisham has a lot more negative comments online than QE but was wondering if anyone has any recent experience of the new birth centre at Lewisham which I think is supposed to be quite good?

Or do people think that QE is a safer option all round? It's a bit further away from me than Lewisham but apparently my ante-natal care will be provided by QE midwives because they are affiliated to my GP surgery (whichever hospital I choose), so perhaps good to have the continuity.

Would be great to have some advice from anyone who's been through all this already, or to chat with any other Blackheath/ Greenwich/ Lewisham ladies at a similar stage!

Hi Before40 and Conkerconker!

I'm also researching my options. I have a GP appt on Friday to tell them I'm pregnant (4+2, first pregnancy). Ideally, I would love to go to St. Thomas's in Waterloo as I've worked in the hospital before, so it's familiar and easy to get to from current work for appointments. My SIL and some colleagues had good experiences there. I'm not sure if I'm in the right catchment area for St. Thomas's though or even what rights I have regarding choosing a Unit. My GP is in Greenwich, but I've moved recently to Blackheath. It's all so confusing isn't it?

Hi, i believe you can choose where you want to go but I would think carefully about distance and travel time when u go into labour. Getting from home to St Thomas's or even Kings in rush hour could take a very long time!! I was automatically booked in at the QE by Dr but GP and midwife said you can change during the pregnancy. So don't panic. Book into wherever best for now and you can always visit later on and change your mind. I'm going to visit QE and Lewisham and then pick between them. I'm 27 weeks pregnant. Hope that helps.

Xx

Thanks Londonbump!

I found out yesterday that my referral was accepted. I know it's a bit of a distance, but as it's my first, I'm hoping I'll have plenty of time to get there! There's a cab office and a train station within a minutes walk of the house if traffic is bad.

Having Antenatal appointments there is a definite positive as it's not far from work and my husband will be able to nip out from his work for scans etc.

M

MrsMogwai

When I was pregnant I took the pre natal yoga classes held at St Thomas' and I can highly recommend them.

Thanks EmMum! Will definitely look into it!

Guessing you have decided by now but I can also highly recommend the QE2. Had my first baby there in July during what appeared to be an extremely busy week and in my opinion the staff couldn't have done a better job. They were at all times, approachable, empathetic, extremely professional, polite (though kept apologising every time they had to do anything which might make me uncomfortable which I found bizarre - I was fairly well aware I wasn't booked in for a massage). In the end, I had a section for failure to progress (stopped dilating) and spent 3.5 days on the ward. The post natal care was far better than I expected (given negative postings about the NHS generally) and other than the food (hot and stodgy during a heat wave) and frequency of the bathroom cleaning (an issue but this says more about my fellow patients than the standard of actual cleaning), I can honestly say that I got everything I needed and asked for. Both midwives and ward assistants were amazingly helpful with the whole breastfeeding side of things, and always ready to help even when frantically busy if I was stuck post C section trying to do something which was causing me pain.
I get the impression that patients who have a normal birth sometimes do not (ironically) have such a positive experience of the hospital. I can't imagine leaving within 24 hrs of giving birth myself, especially as I have no close relatives to help out so I can appreciate why there are some negative reports where there will always be someone with a more pressing need..... literally. I wouldn't hesitate to return to the QE2 and I would consider myself to be fairly high maintenance in my expectations.