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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Glasgow Hospitals

32 replies

melie13 · 09/11/2007 19:52

Hi - breach of etiqutte here - - its dh... We've just moved to NW of Glasgow - and found out dw is pregnant with No3! Anyone any views on the hospitals up here - we've no idea....cheers

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colie · 09/11/2007 20:47

Hi and congratulations.

I have been living in merseyside for previous year but up until then lived in Glasgow, northwest too.

I had dd1 5 years ago in the Queen Mums, which is in Yorkhill, at the time I was living in Knightswood, so it was the nearest hospital to me. 2 years ago had dd2 in the same hospital. It was ok but then I don't have any experience of any other maternity hospitals. Am having dc3 in a hospital in Merseyside in a couple of months though.

Some people are very nostalgic about the Queen Mums and swear by it. I know a couple of famous people have had their kids there. One of the ladies from one of those diy programmes and I think Carole Smiley too. Quite a few others but I forget their names. If you live in the West end of Glasgow, one of the poshest bits then you go to the Queen Mums as it is your local!

My two sil's should have went to the Queen Mums but decided on the Southern General as they had heard it was alot better. Don't know to be honest.

When I was in Queen Mums I had two c sections so was in hospital for a couple of days both times and found you never really saw the same mw's. Not sure why really. It just always seemed to be different members of staff. No consistency, which would have been nice.

I am sure others will have better opinions than me.

Don't know if I am just a bit down about the nhs anyway, feel not enough staff due to lack of resources etc. Not sure if you can get a really good hospital nowadays.

expatinscotland · 09/11/2007 20:49

I'm west of Glasgow, but we have the choice of Southern General or Royal Alexandria in Paisley if we require consultant-led delivery here, so I'll be watching with interest . . .

midnightexpress · 09/11/2007 20:58

Congratultions!

Hi there - I had my 2 at the Southern General, which was fine, though don't know that I'd particularly recommend it. The nursing staff on the maternity ward were great, but had a bit of a rubbish registrar looking after us when ds2 was born and ended up with a crash section that I think might have been avoided. And the food is UNSPEAKABLY bad.

Anyhoo, most people I know who've had babies at SGH, Queen Mum's and Princess Royal have all been pretty happy. Queen Mum's seems to have the best reputation, ime, and certainly seems to offer the best help with bf if you have any problems with this.

Not sure where you are exactly, but I also have a friend who had hers in the midwife-led unit at the Vale of Leven hospital at Alexandria and had good things to say about it.

midnightexpress · 09/11/2007 21:03

Oh, and they do have a room with a birthing pool at the SGH, which you can labour in (or you can if you get in there first on the day and don't end up with a cs, as I did both times). You can't give birth in it though, although I heard that the staff were being trained to deliver in it, so that may have changed by the time it comes to you.

BTW, the news recently was reporting ward closures/operation cancellations at the SGH due to 'unspecified' bacterial infections and they've had MRSA there in the past (though none of this on the maternity wards, afaik, and they had alcohol rub at each bed when I was there)

midnightexpress · 09/11/2007 21:06

...and don't know if this might be of interest?

heymammy · 09/11/2007 21:22

Hi melie, congratulations!

I am just past the West End and had both dds at the Queen Mum's.

Perfectly happy with the experience although I found that after the birth, once I was moved down to the ward, I was pretty much left to my own devices and had to ask for help to be 'cleaned up' (had epidural so wasn't allowed to walk around at first) etc.

People here are very sentimental about QM's especially since they proposed shutting it down even though it's connected to Yorkhill Sick Children's Hospital

Best of luck!

Hijack...Colie I am in Scotstoun...but I see you have moved, ach well!

Jbck · 09/11/2007 22:56

Having this baby in Princess Royal in next couple of weeks (hopefully next couple of days), so far my experience has been pretty positive. M/Ws have all been nice & consultant very supportive, I'm hoping for VBAC. Had DD in Rottenrow which is now closed so no actual birth experience in PRM. It is the newest maternity unit in the city and birthing suites seem well equipped as in birthing balls, pool or baths etc. They have a midwife birthing unit too don't know about SG or QM if they have same.
I've had a fairly straightforward pg but the one time I had a problem they were really good and the staff in the Day Care unit were really helpful and put me at ease. I had excellent support for bf even tho' it was to no avail at Rottenrow & a lot of the staff at PRM moved there when it shut but I have read contrary reports on here, I'll just wait & see.
Good luck wherever you decide.

trixymalixy · 09/11/2007 23:09

I had my DS in the Princess Royal.

Couldn't fault it apart from the food being a bit grim.

Firepile · 09/11/2007 23:16

I had my ds at the Princes royal. It was OK, although the midwives were pretty stroppy postnatally. Physio team seems pretty clued up and motivated.Some excellen tmidwives, too, and consultants mostly human. Breastfeeding support is excellent at Queen Mum's, though.

bookthief · 09/11/2007 23:17

Hi melie - Another QMH alumni here. I had a good experience by and large, but I've only had the one so nothing to compare it to.

Tbh, there's a good chance it'll be the Southern your dw will be booked in to as the QMH closure is fairly imminent. I believe it's early 2008.

I'm West End Glasgow and was given the choice of the Southern or the QMH. Chose QM because I live very close by.

I think you're only offered the PRMH if you're to the East.

They're building (may even have finished) a nice new maternity unit at the Southern though so that might be good.

Firepile · 09/11/2007 23:17

I had my ds at the Princess Royal. It was OK, although the midwives were a bit stroppy postnatally, and wards seemed busy. Physio team seems pretty clued up and motivated. Some excellent midwives, too, and consultants mostly human.

Breastfeeding support is excellent at Queen Mum's, though.

Firepile · 09/11/2007 23:19

HI Bookethief - sorry for hijack - spooky timing! How are things? Have had busy week will email.

bookthief · 09/11/2007 23:23

Hello! Have ordered a Wheelybug, as recommended by your ds, but there appears to be a countrywide shortage of bumblebees so ds may have to be satisfied with a token piece of plastic tat on the big day

trixymalixy · 09/11/2007 23:41

Aagh! i was going to buy my DS a bumblebee wheelybug. I guess not now.

lomond · 09/11/2007 23:41

Hi and congratulations.

I had my first DD at the Queen Mums hospital, it was a normal delivery and to be honest I wasn't very impressed with the support I received from staff.
I was left alone without pain relief for quite a while after arriving there and found that after the birth staff were few and far between. I must add that they said it was because they were very busy at the time. That was in late 2003 and at that time I had the option of being transferred after delivery to The Vale of Leven Hospital. (This wasn't possible when I had DD2)

For DD2 (June this yr) I wasn't keen to return to the Queen Mums and had heard good things about The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. It turned out that she was breech so I ended up with a planned C-section and I found the whole experience, from when I arrived to the moment I left fantastic. There were plenty of midwives around whenever you needed them. Breastfeeding support was fantastic (though take your own lansinoh cream as they don't seem to have good supplies of it even though they all swear by it)the ward was clean and food was very edible.

If I ever have another baby I will return to the RAH, without a doubt.

I did want to deliver at The Vale Of Leven but they have strict criteria that they have to go by. (Do not do breech babies) It is wonderful there and I have every faith in the staff. It just depends upon how the pregnancy is.

Good luck

weeonion · 09/11/2007 23:46

hi there. we are in the east and were at prh. i got great antenatal care there. didnt actually labour at hospital - that happened at home. they have a midwife unit for labour - which alot of people opt for if available on teh day. midwives now all trained on waterbirths.
bf support was dire to say the least but - there is a new specialist in post so it look sliek things are changing.
postnatally - there is not a great deal of attention - busy wards etc but cant complain about it neither.

as trixy said - food is woeful - so be perpared to bring yr good lady some hearty nosh from home.

AitchTwoOh · 10/11/2007 00:07

weeonion! i nearly met you the other night, apparetnly you left the NCT sale about five minutes before i arrived. (or somthing so K was telling me).
agree with weeonion about PRH, i thought it was great. you can go there wherever you're from in glasgow, it doesn't have to be local.
Expat, you should go to Southern, my firend just had her baby there and thougth it HEAPS better than terrible experience at run-down QM. breastfeeding support from QM available to all Weegies, it's a specialist unit.

expatinscotland · 10/11/2007 00:10

i'm hoping for the midwife run maternity unit, aitch.

but that depends on a lot, including my severe anaemia not returning and my blood pressure staying stable and not having such serious oedema.

if i have to go consultant-led it's a choice of SGH or Paisley.

if you're in the midwife led unit and something goes wrong they chopper you to Paisley.

AitchTwoOh · 10/11/2007 00:34

crikey - swollen fingers crossed, expat.

expatinscotland · 10/11/2007 00:41

it went beyond that, aitch.

i'm not a heavy person, but i was so swollen with dd1 that a lot of people who met me when i was close to having her thought i was very overweight before i had her, that's how swollen i was.

calves like cricket bats. so swollen i pitted awfully and couldn't feel my own skin well.

in my hands, i got terrible carpal tunnel and now have arthritis in the right thumb.

the anaemia, though, SUCKED. it really wiped me out.

those things happen again and it'll be Paisley for sure, which would suck as it's pretty far.

this pregnancy seems different, however. for one, with the last two, i was horribly ill from the get go.

thankfully this one's been a bit better. just very sore boobs and lots of stretching feelings.

expatinscotland · 10/11/2007 00:44

the good thing is, once the midwife establishes you are in labour, the ambulance takes you to Paisley, lights off unless they need to put them on, and the ferry's on 24 hour call. thankfully, too, it will be summer when this one arrives.

AitchTwoOh · 10/11/2007 00:45

Jee-SUS!
you poor thing, christ let's hope the third time's a charm. oh how exciting you're going to have another baby! i keep thinking about it you know, it's so wild.

expatinscotland · 10/11/2007 00:50

i still don't fully believe and eat something and then think, 'oh, no, i shouldn't have eaten that.'

i'm apparently 6 weeks and 5 days.

i've sort of dissociated it from labour/delivery and having a newborn and another toddler.

it's easy to forget about it when you have other children, particularly when one of them has an awful cold you are hoping doesn't settle in her chest AGAIN.

AitchTwoOh · 10/11/2007 01:00

oh dd and i have colds at the moment. dh being very smug about his incorruptible immune system...

SHEENA1 · 10/11/2007 10:43

hi there - congratulations id just like to say that i had my 1st in royal alexander in paisley adn the support was excellent they were a great bunch of staff i was in for 2 months and all the nurses and mid wifes were fantastic i would recomend you go there i am also pregnant with my 2nd and i will be having him in paisley x