Maternity hospital - choose 30 mins walk from home or 30 mins by bus? (London)

[mapotofu]

I live in Islington. UCLH is 30 mins by bus (and 10 mins by tube from my office) whilst Whittington is 30 mins walk (a bit uphill). DH and I both can't drive.

Which one is a better choice for ease of access for check-ups etc? AFAIK both hospitals are highly regarded and can handle complications well.

(I'm not pregnant yet, but we're TTC and I'm a chronic planner)

Are you not just allocated the hospital closet to you? I thought it was like a catchment like a school. That said my nearest hospital is 3 miles, the next are 30 and 40 miles so I've never had to consider this if it isn't catchment style allocation.

You can go to either. I’d ask if they do tours so you can look around them both and get a feel which which one is more preferable.

I’d say this doesn’t really matter until you hopefully conceive? When you do you will be able to self refer to whichever hospital you like. You would also normally only have your 12 and 20 week scan at hospital if you’re considered a low risk pregnancy and then obviously the birth if that would be your preference. Most midwife appointments aren’t held in hospitals.

I personally wouldn't have wanted to do an uphill 30 minute walk to a hospital for any of my appointments either in the first trimester as I was so sick or the third as I felt so big and uncomfortable. I personally would pick the one easier to travel to on public transport. The other thing is to think of how you would get there in labour also. The majority of my appointments though bar scans were with my midwife at the GP surgery so you may not go to the hospital for each appointment. I live in a county with only 1 hospital though so didn't have this to consider.

Yeah I know it doesn't matter now, I just like to plan / visualise what the future would look like to soothe my own anxiety.

Oh I thought all the scans are in the same place i.e. the maternity care/hospital you choose in the beginning? (genuine question as I actually don't know!)

I have given birth in both, would recommend Whittington over UCLH however both are good. You tend to see the same midwife at the Whitt but never see the same one twice at UCLH in my experience. Systems are better at UCLH (IT etc) but I found the Whitt better organised on the ward, especially when it came to pain relief and generally responding to you post natally. They both have lovely obstetricians if you need consultant led care.

The scans are likely to be at the same place but the rest of your appointments with the midwife are just blood pressure, urine dip, listen in with baby, bump measurements, general chit chat about how things are going/if you have any questions and occasionally blood tests. These are sometimes done in hospitals but it's area dependent, often they are done in clinics elsewhere.

Fair enough. I’ve had both my children at St Thomas’ and I only went there for 12 and 20 week scan and the births. Midwife appointments were at my GP surgery

UCLH is really good and if it’s a 10 min tube from your office for check ups that may be easier . I had to go to a hospital a 45 min (on a good day no traffic) drive away and sometimes 60 minutes 😭 but I wasn’t given a choice due to high risk and a specific consultant who was the expert in the conditions but it scared me as it seemed too far away !!!

I’d probably mostly consider how easy it will be to get to each when in labour, you don’t want to be walking or on public transport then!! Will you get a taxi? How easy will that be, is traffic towards one likely to be worse, how long would they each take? I’d go for the one closest/easiest based on that.

Trust me, have a go at TTC and staying pregnant first. Don’t plan anything. And go for closest hospital.

It's the NHS not timeshare! AyM!

I've had babies in both, and worked as a midwife in both.

I was born in the Whittington, too.

I wouldn't give birth in the Whittington if you paid me.

See which one you are in area for. You are then more likely to have midwife appts somewhere local e.g. your GP surgery rather than the hospital.

I had a baby at the Whittington and was happy with it. The birth centre was good, as was midwife care. The postnatal ward was huge and boiling hot, which I didn't like so much. We got a taxi in labour due to it being very difficult to park.

I think they are currently consulting on closing the maternity services at either the Royal Free or the Whittington so there might not be a choice by the time you are ready to deliver! Not sure when a decision will be made.

Once you get to 3rd trimester, you might not feel like walking anyway. I'm South London but in my most recent pregnancy, I was there every 2 days from 36w until I delivered at 39 +3 due to high BP then preeclampsia. In early pregnancy i walked the 40mins to all my appointments, but when there were so many, I ended up taking the bus for my appointments, then a taxi when I went into labour.

I wouldn't have a clue what to look for on a tour. It's a hospital. They look like hospitals.

Your general midwife appointments could be in a few different places. I was at King's and had all my appointments there. Friends were also at King's but a different GP and had most of their midwives appts at the GP.

You basically look at cleanliness and how engaged the staff are.