Where to have my twins Ormskirk/Liverpool - what questions should I ask re SCBU etc?

[nh101andhertwinbeans]

I am PG with twins and wondering which hospital to give birth in. I would normally go to Ormskirk but I think Liverpool Women's may be an option. Obviously I want to go where the babies will get the best care if they need to go in special care baby unit. I also would rather not have a caesarean if poss.

What other things are important to consider? What questions should I be asking the midwife and obstetricition?

Ormskirk has scbu and nicu.. have an acquaintance who had her twins vaginally at ormskirk 5 months ago, and was pleased with how it all went. twins did not need any special care. there are two obs at ormskirk who are forward thinking and more amenable to women having an opinion about their birth experience!
think the distance from home is a factor, if babies are prem and are in for a while... if you are equidistant then maybe you should go and visit both and see how you feel?

i had both my dc's at ormskirk, dd in the old unit, and ds after it was re-vamped and moved, no complaints either time. ime ormskirk do favour natural births, ie active labours, less pain relief, also encourage you to stay at home as long as possible (theory being you are more relaxed at home therefore labour progresses quicker)

don't know anything about their scbu though, but lulumama might (she's a doula in the southport area)

didn't choose liverpool women's as we lived so close to ormskirk, 8 mins in car at high speed at 5am whilst 8cm dilated

ah, i see lulu has already arrived

Hi lucykate !!

i have more experience of ormskirk, and i do know they do favour a more hands off approach, head of midwifery very keen on normalising birth.

i liked the way i was encouraged to move around a lot, given a birthing ball to use, and basically the midwife just stood back and let me get on with it, only intervening when needed.

only complaint, was in the new unit, the g&a pipe came out of the wall and was too short, they had to move the bed closer so i could get it in my mouth, this was 2.5 years ago so hopefully they've got that sorted now.

so is the liverpool Womens hospital alot better now? as when i was in there in oct 04...there was lack of staff..wasnt happy as was on the verge of making an complaint regarding of the midwives attitudes..they were working around the clock thats what the problem was..but my friend had hers in Ormskirk in nov 04, she said it was fab!

sorry for the hijack..

Hi, I had my son who was born at 31 weeks at the womens. He was in SCBU for about a month and they were amazing !!! We were close to the hospital which going backwards and forwards was a great help, so would say take into consideration the distance.
Out of curiosity is Kirkby closer for Ormskirk or womens ??? And also whats a Doula ?

oh Nh10 - good luck with the twins

oh Nh10 - good luck with the twins

Thanks so much for all your responses. Ormskirk and Liverpool Women's are both about 20-25 mins drive. Ormskirk probably slightly closer and less traffic that way.

What prompted my question was that my MIL asked whether I would be transferring to Liverpool Women's now I know I am having twins - as if it was a given. I think I would rather stay at Ormskirk cos everyone has been so fab there with my MC and then being on Clomid.

Going to see both and talking to the staff there is the best way to decide I suppose.

Michymama, a doula is a woman who comes and helps you at the birth. (Lulumama is one in my area)

doula uk

doulas help women prepare emotionally for the birth, we debrief on previous births, help you plan for the birth, talk through any concerns, and will be by your side for your labour and birth. we are not to replace midwives, but to be there as an extra emotional support, and it also means that you will have someone with you in labour, who knows your wishes, and can support you ,and there will be soemone there that you know!

nh.. who have you been seeing re the fertility treatment, Mr S or Mr D ?

I saw Mr Jones at Renacres. He did my D&C after my miscarriage so when my periods went AWOL this summer as I was desperately ttc, I asked to be referred to him. I was able to go private with work insurance. Only had to see him once. Would he be involved with my birth if I wanted him?

Hi nh101andhertwinbeans, I am not a professional but I would also ask about how confident they are of delivering breech babies (hands off as opposed to breech extraction) as I remember reading that the 2nd twin can often be or turn breech?

You don't want to end up having 2 vaginally and a cs for the 2nd I imagine! Experienced (older) midwives tend to be more comfortable with breech births as they have seen more examples of vaginal births for breech (used to be the norm).

I would also want to know that someone senior/experienced in twin births would be on call when I went into labour.
Also what is their policy on induction? Some hospitals induce twins at 37 weeks and the evidence on the benefits of this are mixed!

Good luck

oh,he has an excellent reputation, you can have your consultant at the birth, but would have to be done privately to guarantee his presence. multiple birth will automatically put you in high risk category, and you should see your consultant for mode of delivery talk etc. is he your named consultant or have you not heard yet?

Hi NH101 (and all the other locals)

Just to add that I had DD at LWH 2 years ago and they were marvellous. She was in SCBU for a short time and I was happy with the care. I gather that if everything is straightforward they are so busy that it is easy to feel ignored. But in my case I was high-risk, as you would be too, and they were excellent.

The midwife was very keen on getting me to move around, dimmed the lights etc.

My SiL had her 2 at Ormskirk and was v happy with the care she received.

hth

Susie, thank you so much they are just the sort of questions I thought I should be asking but couldn't think of!

Lulumama, I haven't heard who my consultant is yet but they know I have seen Mr J before so perhaps they will let me have him .

Thanks again for everyone's swift replies!

hi nh101
I have had all 3 of my dc in the womens in oct 03,dec 05 and jan 07. I would personally say go to ormskirk. I have heard nothing but positive stuff about ormskirk where the womens canc ompletely depend on who you get and what day you go.
When I had ds I was pretty much left to labour until dh shouted that he could see the babys head and mw said dont be silly as it had only been 1hr and a bit but it was.
With dd1 they took me down to surgery 3 times threatnening cs due to a large baby[dd1 was 6lb14] and they had just catergorised me due to ds being big and me being overweight.
DD2 is the only labour I can say I had a constant mw support watching me and chatting,they completely followed my lead and didnt do any intervention.

Thanks ome, I have also heard mixed reports about the Womens and only good things about Ormskirk. I'd certainly rather stay at Ormskirk. But will go look at the womens too.