Home from Home ward St Thomas’s Hospital

[DreesC]

Has anyone used the NHS home from home ward at St Thomas’s Hospital in London? Seems impossible to have a water birth anywhere private in London other than the very expensive Portland hospital that I have only heard bad things about! If anyone has had a great low intervention birth somewhere in London I would love to head about it.

The midwife led unit at Kingston was very nice but it’s been a long time and I only saw it as I was passing through. I was on consultant led unit. I had complicated pregnancies and they were excellent.

Kingston is excellent

I had water birth at St Thomas’s although over decade ago. Good facilities and very good midwife care. We had to return for a jaundice baby and post natal ward was not fun but normal from what I hear..
Had my second at home (NHS) also water birth

Glad it’s still the case. I found the care excellent but my boys are 13 & 8 now so wasn’t sure if it had changed.

Queen Charlotte’s in East Acton has birth pools in the midwife led birth centre.

My friend had two NHS water births in London, and she paid a relatively small additional amount for a private NHS room. I believe she was at Hammersmith - might also have been Queen Charlotte though - but I’m just double checking with her and will let you know. She had a really positive experience both times

It was Queen Charlotte which is the same as Hammersmith!

Sorry for the broken up comments: she just clarified they’re quite strict about not allowing you a water birth if you have any complications at all. So she only had one in the end. She had a one off high blood pressure reading with her second baby and they wouldn’t allow her to use the birthing pool (but her second arrived in under 2 hours in any case!).

She said this hypnobirthing series hugely helped her too, and she feels was a large part of why her births felt so calm. https://www.hypnobirthing-positive-birth.com/ The series gives women tools to be informed and make their own decisions (without being pushy about certain kinds of birth)