Hospital Choices - QA Portsmouth / RHCH Winchester .... What to do!?

[ngozi79]

Hi Ladies,

Hoping for some advice here.

I am 5 weeks pregnant today, and have just had my first contact with a midwife and I've been told I need to make a decision about which hosiptal I would like to choose already!

Basically I live in a village between Portsmouth and Winchester. Closer to Portsmouth but in the Winchester City Council Area. The midwives that serve our village only direct mothers to Winchester, and not QA in Portsmouth and so if I want to go to QA ALL of my appointments will have to be there and I will not benefit from the midwife services 2 minutes from my house.

The problem is that I have heard very mixed (mostly negative) views of RHCH in Winchester, particularly with their post-labour care. I don't know anyone who has delivered at QA and because I am only 5 weeks, its still a bit early to be asking people!

Having to go to Portsmouth for all of my appointments will be a hassle. I have a long commute out of the county anyway (beyond Winchester) and the traffic is generally mental. On the plus side though, it's easier to get there than Winchester when I actually do go into labour, and my OH works in Portsmouth too.

I'm sorry, I realise I'm rambling a bit, but whilst I knew I'd have to make this decision at some point, I didn't expect it this early!

Any advice, experiences, voices of common sense most appreciated! Thanks!

xx

 

[embojet]

I know nothing about Winchester, but I had Ethan in QA, and it was amazing. Their maternity ward is all new, and the staff and my care were amazing. x

 

[Bournefree]

You don't have to decide where you would like to birth untill you are in Labour.
So I would say (and I have an idea of where you live, as I grew up in Titchfield) Go with the local midwifery team - as that will save you time and hassel (and no one wants that while pregnant) Remember that you can transfer your care at anytime.
For example I Lived in Bournemouth at the start of my first pregnancy, and then moved at 36wks to Fareham, I had all my care transfered - just contacted my local doctors and spoke to my new midwife.
It is the reason we have hand-held notes - you can be just visting a friend and go into labour, so you can birth anywhere.
If you need consultant lead care, you can also change this at anytime to your prefered hospital.

Hope that helps
X

 

[2imps_1angel]

arrange to visit both in your 3rd trimester, i had my little boy in qa but as i'm classed as high risk (high bmi, previous pre-eclampsia and 2 sections) i don't get a choice x

 

[OktoberCat]

Hi Ladies,

Hoping for some advice here.

I am 5 weeks pregnant today, and have just had my first contact with a midwife and I've been told I need to make a decision about which hosiptal I would like to choose already!

Basically I live in a village between Portsmouth and Winchester. Closer to Portsmouth but in the Winchester City Council Area. The midwives that serve our village only direct mothers to Winchester, and not QA in Portsmouth and so if I want to go to QA ALL of my appointments will have to be there and I will not benefit from the midwife services 2 minutes from my house.

The problem is that I have heard very mixed (mostly negative) views of RHCH in Winchester, particularly with their post-labour care. I don't know anyone who has delivered at QA and because I am only 5 weeks, its still a bit early to be asking people!

Having to go to Portsmouth for all of my appointments will be a hassle. I have a long commute out of the county anyway (beyond Winchester) and the traffic is generally mental. On the plus side though, it's easier to get there than Winchester when I actually do go into labour, and my OH works in Portsmouth too.

I'm sorry, I realise I'm rambling a bit, but whilst I knew I'd have to make this decision at some point, I didn't expect it this early!

Any advice, experiences, voices of common sense most appreciated! Thanks!

xx

Howdy! I live in a town/village between Portsmouth and Southampton (Whiteley if you know it?) and was given a choice of princess anne or QA. I chose QA because it's got both a labour ward (recommended for women who are high risk) and a midwife-led unit (B7). Personally I chose QA because it's very clean, newly built and I have the privilege of knowing some of the midwives. My husband works in Portsmouth too so I felt it made sense, just incase anything happened when he was at work.

You should be able to have a little tour around both hospitals, so you can get a feel for each one, then make a decision from there?

Congratulations btw

 

[lauren28]

I had my dd at Winchester RHCH and have nothing but poitives to say about it. I had a choice between Princess Anne and RHCH and chose RHCH because that is the hospital that my community midvives were attached to and didn't much like the look of Princess Anne from OBEM.

If it is the aftercare you are worried about at RHCH then I wouldn't worry. I was on the postnatal ward for about 7 hours after birth, and was given some privacy, with a midwife on hand if I rang a buzzer, there was a very nice midwife who came round to help with breastfeeding, I was showed how to bath the baby if I wanted to, some one came round to do a hearing test and quick check up on baby.

I have also heard positive things about QA, so I think it would really be down to convenience etc.

 

[Heidi]

i live in the same place as oktobercat
ive had my first at Winchester and plan on having my second there also. i think with any hospital you will get the odd mw who isnt so pleasant, even though i had a cs i was home after two nights and the actual care was really good.
as already suggested i would ask to have a tour of both x

 

[ngozi79]

Hi Ladies, thanks for your advice and experiences.

For those of you who know the area, I'm in Wickham, so have decided that QA is the way to go. OH works in Pompey, and getting to Winchester is a bit of a mission at the best of times!

I'm currently trying to get hold of a Fareham-based midwife, without much luck!

 

[Heidi]

Its strange that your local MW wont give you a choice as to where you want to go. I was allowed to choose any hospital and i know im one of few that actually go to Winchester from my area but still see the local MW for all my appointments i just have scans at winchester and will birth there.

I know its a bit early for you to be thinking about this sort of thing yet but wanted to mention that there is fantastic baby yoga and baby massage groups in wickham, im really hoping to go again with this little one!

Hope you can find a MW soon x

 

[ngozi79]

Strange isn't it, and slightly annoying TBH! I really wasn't expecting to have to make this sort of decision at this stage! When I spoke to the Wickham midwife she said that there had been communication issues with QA in the past so they now avoid it.

Thanks for the info about the groups. I've been checking out what happens at the Childrens Centre and Community Centre. I'm planning to make the most of my local resources!!

 

[Beccaboop]

Im going to winchester hospital this is my first baby so i dont know what the labour ward is like but i have been to the hospital 5 times with dehydration due to hyperemesis and they were great!

Ive got a tour booked on monday id suggest going for a tour to help you decide.