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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Which hospital - Edinburgh Royal or St John's?

14 replies

tiokiko · 05/02/2011 09:58

I've just got my BFP for #2, due in October so v early days, but it's never too soon to start worrying planning ahead.

We are in the process of moving back to Edinburgh and I'm thinking about where would be best to have the baby. We'll be pretty much equidistant from Edinburgh Royal and St John's in Livingston, so I'd welcome any experiences anyone has of either place.

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jaffacakeaddict · 05/02/2011 10:42

I've had both my ds at ERI. My experiences were on the whole pretty good. DS1 was born a wee bit prem though and needed SCBU for 10 days. I don't know if St Johns has a SCBU. It may be worth asking about. On the other hand, I've heard anecdotally that the nurses and midwives at St Johns are not quite so busy and have a bit more time to spend with patients.

zippy539 · 05/02/2011 10:45

Agree with jaffacake's analysis.

Original poster

tiokiko · 05/02/2011 11:20

Thanks both, that's helpful. Can you let me know what the standard is re: scans etc in Lothian - I know it can vary across the country.

Do you get 12 week scan + nuchal + 20 week scan?

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thesurgeonsmate · 05/02/2011 11:45

I'm a bit of a lurker, and I tend to think that you can have a good or bad experience wherever you happen to be. But, I have been reading some real horror stories on here today about birth and breast feeding support in hospital, and I've been moved to give a shout out to ERI. The care I received there for the birth and for two nights on the ward was in my view absolutely exemplary. I was nervous about saying in as I had never been to hospital before, but in the event it was the best start we could have had and I couldn't have been happier.

Original poster

tiokiko · 05/02/2011 12:27

Thanks TSM, that's really good to hear, and lovely that you had such a good experience. I totally agree that you probably hear about the bad experiences more than the good.

I had a great birth with DD, excellent midwives once I was on the labour ward, but found the actual hospital care pretty poor - various checks that we both needed weren't carried out, no BF support etc. I'm sure it was because they were hugely understaffed and very stressed but it wasn't great and we were loads happier once home - maybe I should think about a homebirth this time instead!

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Dynababy · 05/02/2011 13:30

Hi I'm 16 weeks with first so haven't experienced either but a lot of my friends have given birth at ERI and had really good care (one of them had complications and was in for 2 weeks). Also wards and rooms more up to date with TV's etc (not firstthing you think about but it all helps!) so I've plumped for ERI over St Johns.

On scans etc 12 week scan now has Nuchal included as standard (just came in this January in this area) and 20 week scan is also std. Hope this helps!

meep · 05/02/2011 13:37

I've had 2 dc at ERI.

I was worried about the bf support when i went in for my second as I hadn't had a great experience first time.

But they were fantastic. The midwife seemed to always be on the ward and was available whenever I needed her. There seemed to be so many night staff to help out - all four beds had someone with them helping one night. It was just such a relaxing and happy time for the 4 nights I spent there.

Also - ERI has one of the best neonatal units and doctors so I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else if something had gone wrong with me or my baby.

Eglu · 05/02/2011 13:40

If you are equidistant between the two hospitals then I think you should go for St. Johns as ERI is often so busy they send people there anyway.

My boss just had a baby 2 weeks ago. She lives 20 miles from ERI and 45 miles from St. Johns but she ended up at St. Johns. It is supposed to be quieter there.

Waverley82 · 05/02/2011 15:07

Hi - I'm having a baby in Edinburgh too, am 15 weeks. Re scans, you get a 12 week one where they also do the NT test and then you also get a 20 week one - they NT test was only introduced in January this year which was just before our 12 week scan.

I have no experience of giving birth at ERI obviously but many friends have had positive experiences there so hoping it will be fine. I have heard it can get very busy but I guess you won't know till the day if that's an issue or not.

Hope that helps!

mama2alex · 05/02/2011 15:44

I had my son at St. Johns, had a really nice experience and the midwives were lovely. ERI has always seemed much bigger and busier.

TooImmature2BMum · 06/02/2011 00:36

I'm also due to give birth at ERI, but the MW said it would be a good thing if they send me to St John's on the day because it is smaller and less busy and you get more personalised care as a result. I got the impression ERI can be a bit like a cattle market, actually, from what she said! I don't know for sure, though, and ERI is a lot closer to home for me.

LemonDifficult · 06/02/2011 00:42

It makes a real difference which side of town you're on. If you're going to be in West Edinburgh then St Johns, if Portobello then ERI.

Original poster

tiokiko · 06/02/2011 06:36

Thanks everyone, this is all really helpful.

Lemon - I'm pretty much exactly in the middle of the two hospitals, which gives me a bit more of a dilemma. If I was closer to one or the other that would probably swing it as I don't fancy being stuck in rush-hour traffic while in labour!

Maybe it will be like DD when I went into hospital at about 10pm so nice and quiet all the way (the traffic that is, not me)!

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meep · 06/02/2011 08:56

I live pretty close to ERI and in rush hour the traffic moves steadily. There are various ways to get there - some better than others (and some with lots of road bumps!) - so it depends where you're coming from. Get your dh to have a drive around near your due date to check for any roadworks.

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