Is private maternity worth the travel?

[Missp23]

I have a dilema regarding my ELCS.

I can give birth in my local NHS hospital which is well rated for maternity care. The hospital is just under 1.5hours drive away. It is a rural hospital and people speak highly of their care. They have 2 private rooms which cannot be booked and are allocated on a medical need basis. My husband may or may not be able to stay but they said they would do their best to accommodate given the travel distance. All being well, I would stay 1 night but with the option of a 2nd if struggling with breastfeeding.

Alternatively, I have the option to give birth in a London hospital and have aftercare in their private wing. It is a 4 hour train journey to London. All being well, I would stay in hospital for 3 nights and my husband can stay the duration on a pull out bed.

Both hospitals have NICU and ICU.

Which would you pick?

The return journey from London would make me choose the closer option. Luggage and a newborn isn’t easy but after a C-section it’s going to be horrendous. Good luck with everything.

Thanks @DecentPleasant, that is my main concern. I wonder how much worse the train would be in comparison with a sports car and rural terraine. Neither option is filling me with joy. With the car, its door to door though.

That journey doesn’t sound great. You’d presumably also need to travel to London at least once beforehand to meet the consultant, etc.? So a round trip of 8 hours whilst heavily pregnant. One of the major advantages of going private is the continuity of care which you wouldn’t be benefiting from in this situation. Not sure it would be worth it just for the accommodation when you’ve got the journey home to balance it with afterwards. Or are you interested in a particular consultant?

You might be better off getting aftercare at home from a private midwife and/or postnatal doula. You could even be discharged earlier with a private midwife as they can do things like change catheters at home.

Babies can only be in car seats for so long at that age as well before they need a break- I think it’s 30mins? So you’re talking six or seven stops on the way back up the road from London, which will add on a few hours if you decided to drive. You will also be recovering from major surgery so even with the train option your DH will be juggling all the luggage for you, baby and him for three nights (which will be loads, even if you pack light) plus pushing baby in the pram through the city, station, getting on the train etc. I don’t see London as a practical option unless you have someone to help you both.

Are there any Premier Inns or similar closer to the rural hospital where your DH could stay for the night if needed?

@AnnieApple123 iv had consultations in London throughout, iv not found the travel a problem. Im more worried about after the ELCS though, if I went for London and things were that bad though I could extend my stay. I tried looking into private midwifes at the beginning of my pregnancy but couldn't find any in my area hence the travel throughout my pregnancy, alongside remaining within my local NHS system.

@TheCraicDealer we wouldn't drive to London because of the car seat issue, we would definitely take the train and then a taxi to the hospital. That is how iv appointments to date.

Its just whether the post natel care is worth it that i think im questioning. I would much prefer to have DH stay with me which can only be guaranteed in London but, if the rest wasnt worth it then maybe I should suck it up for one night in the rural hospital.

The NHS.

If anything goes wrong they will usually have more expertise than the private sector.

They treat more very ill mothers and babies, this would matter more to me than having DH stay.

If it's via taxi, how do you fit your car seat in it? Not all have ISOFIX. I don't know if you can fit ISOFIX seats with seat belts? Legally you don't need to use a car seat in taxis, but would you?

Even 1.5 hours is a very long drive and you'll need 3 stops for the newborn to get out of the carseat.

I totally agree with this.

I think, if I were you, I'll decide on which journey is easier. Your DH can stay in a nearby premier inn. I had stayed overnight for both but we are about 20 min from the hospital. It's not a problem DH went back home.

It is so hard to say because nobody knows how you will feel afterwards. You might feel okay and have an easy journey, or it might feel like an ordeal.
I am sorry I know that is not helpful, but it is such a hard decision.
I think I would be tempted to go for the rural hospital but to book an apartment close by for the first week so you do not have to do the car journey home. In terms of one night in the hospital, most hospitals allow dads to stay overnight on the ward if they are quiet and no problem.

iv not found the travel a problem

You weren't traveling with a newborn, what they need and your own luggage though.

While I have friends and acquaintances who have done it with babies, they waited until their baby was a month and older. They also didn't have C-sections or difficult births.

Hi OP, I was in overnight without DH for both of my births (one vaginal, one ELCS) and honestly it wasn't that bad. MWs were lovely, there was noise on the ward but then my newborn didn't want to sleep much anyway so I was never going to 8 solid hours sleep! :)

I spent a lot of time snuggling, skin to skin and gazing at my baby in the small hours. Then when morning came my discharge was underway and DH was there to pick us up before I knew it.

I also should say that I was living in London when I had my first, we had NHS care at UCLH - I vividly remember the private ambulance arriving with the very immaculate 'going private' mum whose birth had got too complicated for the Portland and was getting bumped back to the NHS for the hard bit...

For that reason I'd choose NHS over private for birth every time.

I think you’re confusing purely private hospitals e.g. The Portland with private maternity wings within NHS hospitals, which I think is what the OP means. My local hospital has all of it on the same floor- NICU, NHS labour ward, NHS post natal, private wing with consultation, delivery and post natal rooms, theatres shared with both sides. The consultants who do private practice also work part time on the NHS. In that scenario there’s zero downside that I can think of going private except perhaps that you have to pay! Much as I rate going private though, I still wouldn’t do a taxi, 4 hour train journey, then presumably another car journey, 3 days post section. Not when I had a decent NHS option nearby. It’s too far.

As someone who has recently had an elsc I would always go for the nearest option. I had some complications the following day after returning home and the 20 minute journey was hellish. This is my second and found recovery generally smooth. A baby that might want to feed constantly (bottle or breast) and a very aching body after surgery on a train would be hard imo. All the best with your birth

@QuertyGirl@QuertyGirl@GrimDamnFanjo @WoolyMammoth55 the London hospital is an NHS hospital with a private wing as @FlounderingFruitcake describes. I have no concerns over the level of care that would be offered in terms of performing at either hospital. Arguably if things went disastrously wrong I would be better in the larger London where staff are likely to have more experience with difficulties but both have facilities to treat emergency cases and neither me nor baby would be transferred out.

@Reugny apologies, i was replying to a comment on attending the routine consultant appointments throughout pregnancy.

@OutForBreakfast iv been told that if i am allocated one of the 2 rooms in rural hospital, that DH could stay or if there is room for me on the labour ward, I can go there and he can stay but that he wouldnt be able to stay in the post natal ward. I think they will definitely try and accommodate its just whether they are able to on the day. The staff are lovely, I have no doubt they would try their best.

@Slpn thats another consideration as I am a bit concerned about travelling 1. 5 hours home plus stops from local rural hospital, running into a problem and having to do the journey again.

@FlounderingFruitcake thanks, thats really helpful, everything you say about the hospital etc is correct and on balance you dont think its worth the travel.

Could you stay in London close to the clinic for another 2 or 3 days, depending how you felt? I think 1 week after a c-section, if your husband can travel with you to carry everything, incl. baby, and you can go 1st class on the train, I'd def choose London, mainly because I'd rather go 4 hours by train than 1.5 hours in a sports car following a c-section, and because I would prefer the guarantee of the private room.

@MimiandFifi That surprises me? Maybe things have changed since the pandemic.

Obviously it’s up to you but if it were me I’d go local hospital, hope everything goes well enough for a quick turnaround with a 1 night stay- get up and mobilised within a few hours, push to get the catheter out as soon as you’re walking etc. and then maybe hire a maternity nurse or post natal to make sure you are well looked after at home. 1 night without DH will be fine, mine didn’t stay either time because the camp bed looked awful, the cat needed feeding and it really wasn’t needed! Private is also very nice but it is still a hospital room and I still couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Good luck whatever you decide though!

I would go local, 4 hours on a train after a C-section is not ideal at all, you will be knackered, in pain, bleeding, breastfeeding.

Make it clear as soon as you arrive at the hospital you want a private room, obviously there is a risk you won’t get one but I would rather be in 1 night and home fast than spending hours getting home.

If you have the means, I would consider staying near the private hospital for several days post discharge to recover a bit more prior to traveling home.

Recovering from a C-section and having a newborn is challenging. Having privacy will help you actually rest and recover.

Something to consider is that you don’t know how long you or baby will need to be in hospital for. If there is some kind of issue (although unlikely) where you would want yourself and your baby to be for an extended hospital stay? I don’t think 4 hours from home in London would be the most practical. I had to stay in hospital for a week due to medical issues and it was helpful to be near home.