Moving to London 26 Weeks Pregnant - Need Advice

[gaby0422]

My husband recently accepted a job offer in London and we will be relocating from the US in 2 1/2 months. I will be 26 weeks pregnant and need advice on how the NHS works.

• How do I find a doctor/midwife that is likely to accept me into their practice being so far along in my pregnancy?
• In the US you are seen by your doctor every 2 weeks during the last trimester... is this also typical in the UK?
• Will I likely have to wait a long time before being seen by a doctor/midwife once I am able to make an appointment?

I know I am not the only pregnant woman to relocate to the UK, but I get a little anxious at the thought of not knowing anything about the healthcare system there and not knowing where to start looking for a doctor or midwife. I am sad to leave my wonderful doctor here in Boston since I have had a very good experience with her so far but I'm sure I can find just as good care in London.

I appreciate any advice you have for someone in my position. Thank you!

Different worlds I think, but make no mistake there are plenty of people in London who are happy to pay for private maternity care. Then of course there are lots of people who can but don't want to, it's a personal choice.

My private health insurance (free through work) won't cover a normal pregnancy, only complications.

Also, I was born in the US whereas my siblings were born in the UK. My parents preferred the experience they had in the UK.

I just wanted to speak up for the NHS of London...
I have shared care with midwife and GP. My health centre offers caseload midwifery so I have a named midwife who I have seen for all appointments apart from the couple that have been with GP. She is part of a team of 6 midwives who I will call when in labour. The on call midwife will come and assess me at home and once they think I'm far enough along we will travel to hospital together. This midwife or colleague who takes over her shift will remain with me throughout labour and will be visiting after baby has been born.
I am fully aware that not all areas have this system, and count myself very blessed to be with this team. But so far I have found the system to be very personal and very caring.
The options available will vary greatly between hospitals but it is harsh to tarnish the whole of London with the same brush and especially unfair to say it is not as good as the rest of the UK . Having grown up in the South-West I am hugely impressed by the standard of care in London.
However, I would agree with what other people have said about the clamp down on access to NHS care in London, so just be careful to make sure you have all the paperwork sorted.
Good luck!

Patch Yep I have had people from other areas of the country marvel at the availability of care in London and the expertise of the staff. Some areas outside London are quite behind in terms of staffing, facilities etc'. My sister's nearest maternity facility is an hour and a half away from her and has poor ratings... she lives in a large town. I get MW care a short walk from my house or if I need to visit the hospital, a couple of stops on the tube. The facility is massive and though busy well run.
When I had recurrent loss I was seen, diagnosed etc' within 7 months (the tests themselves take several months) but I know elsewhere (1) you have to fight to be referred in the first place as GPs have outdated ideas like 'some people just lose their babies after 30' and (2) when you are referred, the wait can be long for a smaller unit doing one test not the full range.

Friends from outside London are very impressed!

Wow, I never expected to get so many replies. You have all been very helpful at calming my nerves (except for the whole epidural debate) and I thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I am feeling much better about this transition I'm about to make.

For those that asked:

• I'm 100% certain that I will meet the requirements for NHS coverage. Thanks for all the links and explanations.
• I don't think I will opt for a water birth but I don't know too much about it and probably need to find more information about the pros associated with it.
• We will find out next moth where exactly we will be living... hopefully within 30 minutes to Central London (we're thinking Wimbledon or Putney because of the surrounding parks). Advice is also welcome in that area. :-)

Also, to imme, thank you for the advice on inexpensive activities to do in London with little ones. I am definitely looking forward to that and you gave me a good place to start looking.

Not read the whole thread so not sure if anyone has already mentioned it but contact the national childbirth trust it's a good way of navigating the whole birth system and puts you in contact with other prospective parents in your area.

Where is your husbands job? That influences where you would live. There are lots of London ladies on here who can tell you why their areas are best help with ideas.

Good point time2deal... he'll be working in Kensington but we likely won't be able to live in Central London.

Well Putney is nice and will connected. Barnes might be a little cheaper and greener but transport isn't so good.

I live in brook green, between Hammersmith and shepherds bush, which would be perfect for you but depends on your price range. If you head down Fulham palace road (between Hammersmith and Putney) there are lots of residential streets with nice terraced houses. No idea on price but you end up close to the Thames path which is lovely for walks with a nice park at the southern end.

I'm in Edinburgh and the NHS up here is amazing. No complaints at all. I earn a decent wage and actually have private healthcare through my work but haven't even looked into what could be available to me with that. No need.
What the OP should take into account is that as the US is built on a private and very litigious healthcare system you get a lot of scans and a lot of checks; it's also doctor/physician led. Here for a low risk pregnancy it's midwife led and you only get scans after 20 wks if there is a perceived problem. Your midwife checks at 26 wks are every 4 weeks then they switch to every 2 weeks as the due date gets closer.

If he's working in kensington, and it isn't a mahoosive package then look sarf of the river - trains into Victoria, then a walk to ten min bus ride ride to Kensington (depending which bit of course as bits keep getting added on!).

I commute the reverse way and its pretty ok really! I'd try to avoid relying on the tubes for commuting - really busy during commute times, roasting in the summer and flakey when it snows!. Circle/district lines have the be the most unreliable!

Or look for somewhere smaller (coming from the states you will find homes tidgy here anyway) more centrally - notting hill, ladbroke grove (not too far up, as it is still rather, errr 'up and coming'), paddington/bayswater. If I were relocating to a new city, I would want to take full advantage of being really central! Don't forget holland, hyde and regents parks - all fab to have on your doorstep. Also cosider where/how to do your grocery shopping. Wholefoods flagship store is kensington (really expensive though - full of very rich american housewifes doing their weekly shop!).

Gaby, I haven't had a baby in the States, but am originally American and was used to the U.S. medical system until I moved here five years ago. I wanted to add my two cents to try to reassure you that it's not all doom and gloom as I have had a very good experience with the NHS with two pregnancies: one relaxed, low-risk home water birth, and my current high-risk pregnancy with identical twins.

One thing you will have to get used to is that the approach to pregnancy and childbirth is far less medicalised here than in the States, which I welcomed. I know I would have been viewed as a crazy hippie earth mother had I attempted my home water birth in the States, and now with my twins I am grateful to be in a country where the rate of c-section for twins is around 50% as opposed to 75% in the States.

If everything is going well and you are at low-risk, you will not have very many appointments and will see midwives instead of doctors. You will also have more options for the birth. Depending on your hospital, there should be rooms equipped for water birth or active birth, or even a midwife-led unit, if you feel comfortable with any of those options. Epidurals and other drugs are not pushed to the same extent they seem to be in the States, and many people attempt to get on with gas and air before trying anything else.

If there are complications or you are at high-risk, you will be seen by a consultant, although it won't be quite the same as private care in the States. Unless there is a particular issue that the consultant needs to be involved in directly, you might find yourself seeing other doctors on their team. So whilst you would be monitored closely, you wouldn't necessarily have one-to-one care. I try to view it as comforting as I know if there was a serious issue I would see the consultant himself straight away.

In any case, good luck with the move and the childbirth! And yes, start by registering with a GP straight away, who will get you in the NHS system and point you in the right direction to get a booking appointment with a midwife and get things rolling at a hospital.

If you are looking at NHS maternity care near Wimbledon and Putney you probably will be choosing between

Kingston Maternity

Chelsea and Westminster

Queen Charlotte's

St Georges

You can self refer once registered with a GP, it is faster which would be better for you at 26 weeks. I had two weekly appts with GP/midwife for last month of pregnancy at Chelsea and Westminster with my first child.

Less appts for second child. I had dd2 and ds (6 months old) at Queen Charlotte's, they were excellent, but I had consultant led care for very high risk pregnancy with ds, they saved my life.

I heard good things about their midwife led unit though. Post-natal care at QC was better than C&W IMO which is why I went there for dd2 (born 2012) and ds.

South west London in general is lovely. Clapham and Richmond are known as nappy valley, lovely places to live if you have children. Same with Putney, Wimbledon, Balham and Tooting.

If you live in Clapham you'll be in the right area to get into St Thomas' hospital (had DS there). St George's is pretty good too.

Hi gaby, welcome to my home town :) A great place to have DCs IMO, so much great stuff to do.

When you say "We will find out next moth where exactly we will be living" do you mean the company is going to sort out somewhere for you, or will you be finding your own accommodation?

If you're looking for your own, to think like a Londoner, you should look for somewhere with good transport links to Kensington.

You may well know this already, but just in case ... don't, whatever you do, plan for your DH to drive to work, or choose places to live because they look near on the map. Central London is pretty much deliberately designed to be difficult to drive in (very expensive, with fees to enter the central "congestion zone", eye-wateringly expensive parking and public transport having priority on many roads, in additions to too much traffic trying to get about on narrow roads originally designed for horses. Small distances take forever to navigate by car in London).