Royal London or St Thomas' to give birth

[Applesauce29]

Hi

I'm new here. Around 6+6 weeks, and my doc said I shld think abt which hospital (and hence midwife team) I want to register with. I've not told anyone other than my partner, so can't discuss with friends and family, tho don't know anyone who's given birth in either of the above.

Please could anyone who's given birth in either Royal London or St Thomas' share their experience. Ideally people who've given birth in the past yr.

Royal London wld be closer for me, and I'd be able to have community midwife care (as opposed to going to St Thomas' for all antenatal appt's), tho I've seen other bad reviews elsewhere online (tho they did move to new hospital building recently.

This will be my first baby, so quite anxious about the decision.

am a big fan of St. Thomas, although it is a while since I was there, the care we received there was fantastic. Also there was a lovely view of the river and big Ben out of the window....

There really isn't much difference between any of the big London teaching hospitals.

Go for the one you can most reliably reach, day or night.

I am at St T's and I don't go to the hospital for my antenatal appts, I go to a local antenatal clinic which isn't far from my house. I was under the impression they don't do general antenatal appts at the hospital, just scans and checks.

Haven't given birth yet, but other than that my care has been good. Only complaint would be that I've seen many different midwives rather than the same one, but they've all been good, and on the occasions I've had concerns or needed extra checks it's all been handled really quickly and well.

You'll find statistics for both on www.birthchoiceuk.com. St Thomas has birth centre on site, Royal London off-site (but it's very good). Royal London maternity tour is a drop-in every Thursday at 5.30pm, have no idea what St Thomas does for tours.

A positive birth group has recently started in Tower Hamlets, it is run by Ceri Durham who is a local mum. The group meets on last Thursday of the month and you can talk to other mums who have been through the 'system'. You will find more on www.homebirthtowerhamlets.org

I gave birth at St Thomas'. Was in the home from home bit, had my own room and DH was allowed to stay.

Are you in the catchment area for Tommys? As they're very popular so are a bit picky about who they take. I think there's a nice birthing centre linked to the Royal London.

Didn't give birth there, as have moved to Lewisham since, but I heartily recommend the antenatal care at the Royal London - absolutely fab, and the maternity wing is lovely. Also affiliated with the Barkantine (Isle of Dogs) which is a birth centre, if you prefer a MLU.

I gave birth twice at St Thomas'. Once on the medical side in 2005 (induced, baby back to back, epidural, ventouse) and once in 2008 in the birthing pool in the home from home. I had good care both times, no complaints.

However, my five minute cab ride to the hospital second time round was just awful. Agony. I remember feeling enormously grateful that we didn't live further away. So I would think very carefully about not going to your local.

Thanks to everyone for your input. The info has been really useful. Think I'm going to go with Royal London (which is 15 mins drive closer to home, plus can have antenatal care locally).