Whipps Cross Hopsitak for delivery ?

[Roselondon1]

Hey, I am 9 weeks pregnant after my miscarriage in November. My GP has automatically passed me onto Whipps Cross but I’m not sure if it’s the right place for me? I have been there for previous booking appt/miscarriage support and an early scan this time and all were good. Any other advice or experiences? I could push for homerton/UCH/ queens/princess alexandra maybe? Whipps geographically is easier for me . Can you let me know what you think? X

Would be interested in following answers to this. Pregnant with DC2 and have self referred to Whipps as it's basically at the top of my road.
Had DC1 at North Middlesex and DH hated driving past Whipps whenever we had appointments because we were driving past a perfectly good hospital.
Friends had theirs at Homerton and loved it but I'm put off by hackney traffic and lack of parking.
Considering Royal London as well at the moment.

Not sure how relevant this is as it was a few years back but I used to work at Whipps X in the antenatal department. I wouldn’t have my babies there.

Funnily enough, with all the sneering it gets, i had my eldest 2 at Newham in their community middwife unit and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Thanks @HalfBloodPrincess it's been under special measures but is meant to have improved. It's undergoing a big refurb at the moment but won't be finished until next year.
My cousin is a private midwife, I need to have a chat with her because in an ideal world I'd go for a homebirth but my BMI is borderline so not sure if I'd be allowed one.

I had DS there 4 years ago. The antenatal care was good, the care giving birth was overall good, BUT from the moment I delivered to the moment I escaped the postnatal ward, the nursing care was appalling.

Nothing but paracetamol after C-section, no support with breastfeeding, no support with anything, basically. It wasn't simply a case of overwork - they just genuinely couldn't give a shit. My community midwife used to work there and informed me this was standard, and my GP (who has had 2 babies there) said likewise.

So while I wouldn't fear having a baby there, as the medical care was good, I would aim to avoid the postnatal ward like the plague.

You’d be surprised how easy it is to register with another hospital so probably wouldn’t need to ‘push’. I self referred to UCH, some years ago now - at the time my nearest hospital was Whipps Cross but that was when they were having a lot of difficulties and stories in the press, so I decided to avoid it.

At the time my GP was really good in explaining, from her perspective (as she did some specialist obgyn work there), what the issues were and that it wasn’t just a case of mismanagement for example, there were a lot of complexities, so yes it’s not great but it is improving and has the capacity to be very improved. As that was some years ago now I wouldn’t be surprised if they have really turned it around - Homerton was similar at one point but now gets a lot of praise, following a strong focus on improving and heavily investing in the maternity services.

Are there any local parents groups, NCT etc (maybe online) where you can hear views on recent experiences?

@Roselondon1 I gave birth to my second child at the Homerton on Tuesday. From the first midwife appointment the care is second to none, it's modern, clean and efficient. I had two incredible births there and couldn't recommend it more highly. The birth suite is like being at a private hospital. For the record I live 5 mins from whipps cross...

I had my daughter in Whipps X 4 years ago. The midwives I had were lovely, the EmCS was ok as well, but have to agree with a PP, the antenatal care was not great. Got only paracetamol and ibuprofen for pain relief, was struggling to breastfeed but no midwife had time to actually help me.

I am 30 weeks and DC2 at Whipps, having attended their EPU several times and been under the care of their RMC. I am consultant led and everyone I have come across has been friendly and supportive. We have growth scans every 4 weeks plus seeing the consultant so a lot of appointments. We took advice from a surgeon friend and he said they have improved a lot in the last couple of years.

Compared to St Thomas’ for DS where we waited an age for appointments and ages waiting to be seen. I think the care during birth and especially post will always vary from person to person and place to place. The birth was a good experience and I was in high dependency for a few days which was also very good but the regular post natal ward was rubbish.

Had first at Princess Alexandra - care was great during and after delivery. Had second at Homerton, care during delivery excellent (ELCS) but postnatal ward was horrific - still traumatised by how appalling the care was... totally understaffed.

I'm at Newham (or registered there) and it's not so bad so far. I have wondered about whipps as I'm between it and Newham. I opted for Newham - community led midwife, home birth, apps at home. Birthing suite looks lovely if I end up there et

I was given whipps from my gp - I changed to Princess Alexandra.

My friend was a midwife at whipps and she had recently left due to saying not was bad, I also looked online at the QCC reviews / ratings

PAH was 10 minutes further for me but the care I received was amazing and would go back for my 2nd