Any experiences of transferring to a different hospital late in 3rd trimester?

[vanillacremebrulee]

Hi guys,
I'm after some advice! I'm 38 +1 weeks with DC3 and yesterday had to ring the maternal day assessment unit at my local hospital (the Rosie in Cambridge) only to be told that the labour ward AND the maternal day assessment unit were both closed AGAIN! This has happened on and off every week since Christmas at least. Clearly they're stretched and I do understand the rationale but it's not great that it keeps happening, is it? Anyway turns out that the other hospital I went to (Hinchingbrooke in Huntingdon) was a much better and relaxed experience for me. I didn't feel embarrassed for bothering them, they were calm and relaxed and treated me with a lot of respect, the rooms and facilities were much better than at the Rosie's, etc. I'm considering transferring there. Has anyone got any experience of transferring this late in pregnancy and what's involved?
Many thanks for your replies!

Hi,

I transferred from UCH to Royal Surrey when i was about 36w last time. We moved from London to Surrey and while i was working it was convenient to remain at UCH but once i went on maternity leave and it became clear that i was not going to spent 40 minutes on the train to Euston when i was in labour, my consultant agreed we should transfer and we did.

It was reasonably easy. I registered with the midwife at the GP, explained the situation to her and gave her my maternity notes to copy. She sent them to the hospital in preparation and requested my hospital file from UCH. I then had a formal "booking in" visit from the community midwife at home and they then organised the few late scans i needed. It was pretty seemless actually.

The only thing that went wrong and i didn't even know about it at the time was that UCH never sent my hospital file down to Surrey until well after i actually had my baby so i was allowed to go significantly over my due date which could have been a bit dangerous for DD as i have a clotting disorder which means i really should not go late. We only found out that the consultant at Surrey wasnt aware of the extent of my clotting issues when i had my booking in appointment for my current pregnancy. She went a bit white and immediately booked my induction so there would be no confusion next time.

So, i would say go ahead and transfer but if there are any medical issues which are out of the ordinary you might want to make sure your hospital file is transferred, even if you have to physically take it from one hospital to the other.