Best Maternity Ward (North London)

[Parenting92]

I'm in my first trimester (first pregnancy) and recently contacted my GP, the receptionist mentioned that I need to self-refer to a hospital before 12 weeks. Is that correct? I'm torn between North Mid and Barnet hospitals, as I've heard Chase Farm no longer has a maternity ward. Does anyone have any recent experience with either hospital? I've heard mixed reviews about North Mid, and I'm wondering if partners can stay and sleep in the ward during labour at either hospital. I know there are more highly rated and renowned hospitals up London but am worried about the distance for all of the appointments to come and when I am due to give birth.

Thank you.

I had my first in Barnet and my second in north mid, feel free to DM me if you have specific questions.
Barnet was pre covid and he could have stayed but I suggested he went home so one of us got some sleep before it all started! NM was post covid and partners weren’t allowed to stay and in fact could only come for two hours visiting windows, it may be different now. And yes, you need to self refer online as you’ll need to do your booking in appointment at about 8 weeks with first scan at 12 weeks.

I had my DD at Barnet (2020) and they were brilliant. Everything was spotless and I was well looked after. Not sure If partners can now sleep over as it was mid covid and I birthed through the night and left early afternoon but my DP was made to feel very welcome for the whole time of labour.

Recently self referred to Barnet and they’ve been amazing so far! Really quick to book in appointments.
no experience anywhere else though auntie did have her son and set of twins (all early, high risk births) and said they were amazing

If you refer to the royal free trust (Barnet) all your appointments can be at chase farm (you just can’t deliver there).
First baby was due to be at Barnet midwife led unit but ended up in Barnet labour ward as midwife led unit was full. Second baby due to be on Barnet labour ward but ended up at Royal free as whole of Barnet maternity was full and closed to new mums!! We were very lucky it was the middle of the night and the roads were empty. Even though the care was fine I’d struggle to recommend Barnet just as it’s so busy.
Your partner can stay with you the whole time you’re in labour irrelevant if it’s at night. Once your done and moved to the ward they have to sleep on a chair if they want to stay, unless you’re lucky to get a double bed in the midwife led unit.
Why don’t you go for one of the tours to look around and ask questions.

Thank you so much for your response I really appreciate it. So sorry for the perhaps silly question but what is the difference between the Barnet labour ward and midwife led ward? Did you apply to the Royal Free Trust for the convenience of having your appointments at Chase Farm? How do I go about making an appointment to visit a ward, is this online or do I need to call the hospital directly?

Thank you

Thank you so much for your response to my thread, much appreciated. Oh that’s fantastic to hear! I am most likely going to refer myself to Barnet but just wanted to know what peoples experience has been like most recently. Do you see the same midwife at every appointment? How often are appointments? Is there easy parking access at the hospital? Did you visit the ward before referring yourself? So sorry for the bombardment of questions, it really is so unknown of what to do when I haven’t yet told family or friends as I’m not quite 12 weeks but know I need to refer myself pretty sharpish to a hospital for a scan soon.

Thank you

Thank you for your response, really appreciate it. I’ve had a friend and cousin who both delivered at North Mid and both had issues that weren’t picked up quick enough E.g cord around babies neck and extreme bleeding and left in a room alone which is what made me skeptical but also had many other friends who have had great experiences. Every hospital has its pros and cons and it’s hard to know where to go, I’m currently leaning perhaps more so towards Barnet hospital however it does read quite confusing online they have Royal Free hospital and Barnet hospital almost interlined.

Thank you

My friend had a baby at North Middlesex at 27(!!!) weeks and miraculously the baby is totally healthy now after the hospital cared for it so brilliantly. It has a bad rep, but my friend couldn't say enough good things about the hospital.

I had a baby at UCLH - they were brilliant (if that's an option)

I had considered UCLH as I’ve heard really good things about their maternity ward but it’s around a 45 - 60 minute drive from where I live which is the only thing that is daunting with the number of appointments throughout the next few months and if any labour complications were to occur.

had mine in 2021 christmas and it was fine. the actual birth care was good though i did find i had to chase to get info. the post natal care was a bit hit and miss and you do sometimes have to be the one to ask for things especially for myself - but to their credit it was christmas and it was covid.

They do have a great nicu there as well. My friend recently gave birth there and said her husband was allowed to stay overnight in the ward (it was only a few hours a day due to omicron when i was there).

I am currently 5 weeks with no 2 and registered yesterday and already have my appts for my booking and scan in january!

I've never actually heard of north mids though.

I had a lot of my antenatal appts at chase farm which i really preferred as it was more modern and a bit quieter (less people felt important to me during covid).

You can also deliver at the royal free in hampstead. I went there for one appt and hated it and vowed not to go back. was awful. staff just brushed me off and they missed the glucose in urine that resulted in me being hospitalised two weeks later and me nearly losing the baby as my sugars were so high (it was on my notes but they never followed it up and it was never mentioned it to me). When i was hospitalised in Barnet their care of me was fantastic.

Once I self referred to Barnet I also had the dates for my booking appointment and first scan within a day or two! They seem very organised. There’s a big car park with pay as you leave, it does get quite full but yet to see a quiet hospital car park.
because of where I live the majority of my care will be Chalk Farm maternity unit (I think I’ve got that right) but the actual birth will be at Barnet either the Labour ward (in the hospital) or the midwife ward next door (my preference and one of my reasons for choosing it.) I think the number of appointments depends on the risk of your pregnancy. Low I think is approx monthly, currently being assessed for mid or high risk which would increase the amount. They gave me a rough schedule of what to expect I’m all the different scenarios at the booking appointment which was so helpful.

no idea about partners staying, so far I’ve had a couple of different midwife’s but they’ve not all been standard appointments so too early to comment on consistency.

maybe check out the CQC report on the hospitals you’re choosing between?

Thank you so much this is super helpful. Can I just check is this the form and website you used to refer yourself Barnet hospital?

https://www.royalfree.nhs.uk/services/maternity-services/maternity-self-referral-form

On the form it doesn’t allow you to specify you want to be at Barnet, do they allocate you to the hospital of your choice or do they do it based on where you live and the closest distance? If I was to be sent to a hospital I didn’t want to be at could I ask them to not go there going forward?

Thank you

@Parenting92 don’t worry you will have all of this explained to you at your booking in appointment and you’ll have plenty of time to read about different birth choices but basically labour ward is doctor led care and is more medicalised (where you must be if there is any risk or complication associated with your delivery/baby) and the midwife led unit is without doctors but you must be low risk to go there but has birthing pools, low lighting etc. The good thing about Barnet is that they’re only a floor away from each other (not sure about north mid).
Most of your appointments will be with the community midwives, which for me took place at my GP surgery and I did see the same midwife for most of these. Then booking in, scans and any bloods are usually done at chase farm (if you’re nearer there than Barnet). But then you have to still go to Barnet if anything more complicated or if you need to go to the day assessment unit. Hope that makes sense. They will look after you, you don’t need to remember all of this!

You can book onto the tour here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rfl-barnet-hospital-maternity-tour-tickets-754607640767?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios

Also if you didn’t know parking at Barnet is a nightmare so always allow plenty of time!

Yes that’s right. They won’t allocate anything based on the form. You can make a decision about where to birth further down the line. Yes, you can choose but it will be trickier if you then chose a hospital that’s part of a different trust as they won’t have access to your notes.

This is so helpful to know! I've heard the car park is very small and spaces are limited at the hospital.

Thank you SO much for all of your responses in this thread, they have been so helpful I really appreciate you taking the time.

I actually just went through this choice as had my first in Barnet and having my second now

barnet has allegedly got very good maternal care vs royal free. can’t comment on north mids beyond saying their breast feeding support team were incredible (in Enfield town they do a breast feeding cafe at the culture palace and I got referred and seen at north mids via there)

parking in Barnet is indeed a hot mess if you appointment is before 10 it’s fine anything after isn’t great. To the point I have parked in the spires car park and gone on foot. North kids wasn’t the best either though.

what is cool about Barnet is your options for birth,
they have a LOVELY birthing centre, are very good / don’t make you jump through hoops for ELCS, support home births
basically support whatever you want.

the triage antenatal clinic (forget the proper name) is Amazing and those women are angels

My son died during labour at Barnet I would stay WELL away

I complained and they blamed me. Absolutely terrible hospital full of cover ups

Hi, do you mind if I’ll ask some questions about 2 of these hospitals and your experience with them?

Hi, did anyone else struggle choosing between north mid and barnet hospitals in 2025? Or if anyone recently had a baby in either hospital, what would be your review on overall experience there? Thank you.

Hi there, I've not had the baby yet but so far am planning to have it at Barnet. Currently 28 weeks and no complaints against them, though one thing to know is that the car parking isn't great. It's a big car park but fills up, and you can easily drive around for over an hour looking for a space! I can't fault the staff though. Xx