South London maternity units

[Itsme09]

Hi everyone

I am 8 weeks pregnant with my first baby. Very excited but feeling a bit overwhelmed by which maternity unit to go for. I live in south London and my closest units are Croydon, St George’s or St Helier. However, the CQC reports show St George’s and St Helier to either need improvement or be inadequate, which makes me very nervous. And I’ve had a poor experience at Croydon before - with gynae rather than maternity unit, but it’s really put me off going there at all. Does anyone have experience with either of those maternity units or others nearby?

I’m also looking at Lewisham, Chelsea & Westminster or St Thomas’ (all rated good) but not sure if any will take me as I might just be out of catchment.

Any experiences / info you could share on maternity services in the area would be much appreciated! Thank you

I had mine at kings, and had good experiences both times. Friends have given birth at c&w and st. thomas' - also fine! Postnatal seems to be a bit rubbish wherever you are though

I was St. Helier, St. Georges and Thomas & Guys.

All three great, no problems. Birthing partner to friend in C & W during covid, very nice rooms.

Don't worry about the CQC ratings, you will be well looked after wherever you go.

I was in Crystal Palace when we had DD and had NCT friends go to all the ones you list except C&W.

I had a great experience at St G’s (I mean, birth was a difficult one and it was the pandemic but they were great). The only one of our group who had a bad experience went to Croydon. I’m aware though that’s very much anecdata!

I don't think you need to be in catchment these days OP you can go where you like, I don't know the first set of hospitals you named but Lewisham are great, and I know people who have had great experiences at C&W and St Thomas's

Both of mine were born at St Hellier. Antenatal services were generally good, and the midwives for the actual births were nice and supportive, however my stay in postnatal with baby 1 was horrible. Baby 2 I successfully went home the same day and so luckily avoided it.
One thing I would say is that there were 2 consultant sonographers there, and one seemed to love making gloomy and upsetting speculations aloud (all unfounded). The other was great though.

I'm with Lewisham and really happy so far (I'm 22 weeks)

Thanks so much for your replies everyone! Will mull the options over.

I have a thread on my very recent experience at St Georges - DD2 is 8 weeks old https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/childbirth/4879344-st-georges-hospital-sw-london-cqc-inadequate-maternity?page=2&reply=135078694

I wont repeat everything i wrote there, but generally my experience was good. The issue with St G is that depending on your postcode, if you are assigned to the antenatal clinic, rather than the community midwives teams, then it is pretty hellish in terms of appointments always being really late. But the midwives themselves were all so lovely.

Your hospitals cover a really wide area - i would have a think about travel times if you end up having a difficult pregnancy. It's easy to think the travel will be fine when you are 8w, but by the time you are 36w, its a very different experience. I was having to go to the hospital every 3rd day from 36w due to high blood pressure / preeclampsia and there is no way i would want to be travelling 1hr there and back each time in traffic / public transport etc each time. I had my fertility treatment at Guys and St Thomas' but i was very glad i opted for a closer hospital for maternity care.

Have you looked at Kingston? It is rated outstanding. I had my care at St George's for a period of time earlier in the year and I was quite happy. A really caring team, lovely midwives. I mentioned the recent report to a consultant and they said a lot of improvements have already been implemented in response. I have only moved care because Kingston is nearer to me, and as a PP said I'm thinking about the easiest travel options when I'm getting tired and huge or for an emergency.

I had a bad experience with Croydon with my first (in 2012) so for my second in 2016 I went to Princess Royal in Orpington who were genuinely brilliant despite it all getting a bit scary after I'd had DD2. Would they be an option for you?

We've had good experiences at PRUH more recently too - not antenatal though.

I was at Lewisham. Catchment doesn't matter, just self refer on their website.
My experience was good. Antenatal midwifes were nice and reachable ( I always had thousand questions). Actual birth got complicated but the doctors and staff was really good. Post natal care was okay, sometimes I had to ask for one thing multiple times( probably understaffed) but good overall.
But before this baby I also had a miscarriage and the nurses in early pregnancy unit were horrible. It was such a difficult time for me and was completely clueless as to what was going on and the nurses was least bothered.

@Sunnyshoeshine - super helpful thread, thank you.

Kingston and Orpington are a bit far for me although actually no hospital is that easy to get to…Croydon is the nearest but I 100% don’t want to go there.

I‘m most keen on C&W but hadn’t really considered the difficulties of travelling there repeatedly when heavily pregnant, so maybe Lewisham or another of the hospitals might be slightly easier. Will do a bit more reading and discuss with my husband.

Thanks for the help, everyone!

Think about journey times, depending on where you live one may be better positioned, you don't want the stress of a long journey in labour, being so congested even a 3 mile drive can take ages! Dd was born at mayday which was undergoing major refurbishment at the time a long while ago, it was basic but fine.

Anyone given birth recently in St George’s? Im being referred there for high risk medical support and not sure how I feel about it. Would love to hear any other opinions on the staff, aftercare, support, etc

I've given birth there twice - once in 2021 and most recently in April. I linked to a thread I created upthread but here it is again - https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/childbirth/4879344-st-georges-hospital-sw-london-cqc-inadequate-maternity?page=2&reply=135078694

Basically in a nutshell, the antenatal care by the community midwives was a bit chaotic. If don't live in wandsworth, you are seen at the antenatal clinic, which is always running massively late, and you see a different midwife each time. If you live in wandsworth, you mostly see the same team of midwives in the community. Although if you are high risk will you be consultant led? If so, that might not affect you.

However, I found the consultant midwife and obstetric care was excellent. I had a really good birth in the delivery suite (I had preeclampsia and a breech baby so couldn't go in the birth centre) and the postnatal ward was fine too. This time around, the breastfeeding support seemed much better than in 2021, but we still had a lot of issues due to an unrecognised tongue tie. So I'd still recommend seeing a private lactation consultant when you come home (I can recommend one in Croydon if of interest) if you are hoping to bf.

The building is really old and doesn't look great, but the midwives told me they have been asking for new facilities for years and haven't got them. So pretty much out of their hands.

DD1 had a two week stay in NICU and I must say that the neonatal unit is absolutely amazing. The doctors and nurses are wonderful and very supportive.