Scared of my maternity unit

[staybeautiful]

Hi! As the title suggests, I'm freaking out about the thought of having to give birth at my local hospital (the new maternity unit at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy incase anyone has any experience of it) because of all the horror stories I seem to have heard about people having babies there. 2 of my OH's close friends from work had stillborn babies due to the midwifes either telling them they didn't need continual fetal monitoring, or letting them go 3 weeks overdue to see if anything happened naturally (albeit allegedly, I think I have to say that because it's going by what he was told by the women). With his DS from a prev relationship, he really had to push to get continual monitoring for his ex, and the midwives weren't bothered that the fetal hb was dipping and it was only when OH mentioned it to a doctor who was in to discuss the length of the labour that the midwives got a bollocking for letting that go on for so long and she was rushed in for an emergency section. The same thing as that happened with my ex's sister with her first baby.

So the long and short of it is, I'm freaking terrified about having to go there. I know that they deliver hundreds of babies every month, but all I seem to be hearing are horror stories. Is this a normal thing to be worrying about? Or is it a normal thing to be worrying about at almost 11 weeks more to the point?

 

[mrs.wally]

If you don't feel comfortable with them at 11 weeks, you might not be comfortable at 40 weeks. It is literally your life and your babies lives in their hands! Trust your gut and 'shop' around for new providers. You need to be able to trust the people helping you with the birthing process.

 

[Stardust1]

Can you afford to hire an independant midwife who'll be with you constantly through labour? A friend of mine did as she wanted a homebirth but the nhs couldn't guarantee her a midwife. She was a godsend apparently and totally worth every penny. But I've no idea how much she cost x

 

[ttcbambino#1]

Sorry you're so worried, it must be awful. Is there another hospital close by/in a reasonable distance? You can chose usually what hospital you want to have your care under, so this could be an option. An independent midwife sounds great, I have no idea how much they cost, but you could also look into a doula, they are there to support women through labour, they vary in cost, but you could hire one thats not quite fully fledged (they have to have been to a certain number of births) as they are more affordable

 

[ladysarcasma]

Does your OB have any other hospital affiliations? If so, tell him/her that you want to go to a different one. If your doc. doesn't, then you need to find a hospital where you want to deliver (healthgrades shows maternity care ratings for any hospital in the area), then find a doctor affiliated with the hospital. You should do it right now, though, before you get further along so you're with the same doc for the majority of the time you're pregnant.

I just went through exactly the same thing and I'm in the process of switching docs so I don't have to go to my local hospital. Check with your insurance provider, first for a list of hospitals they cover. Good luck!

 

[AP]

Its normal to worry about and believe me - you will hear the horror stories rather than the positives. When pregnant with my first i googled reviews for the Royal Infirmary and I decided I was changing hospitals. However at 27 weeks the decision was taken out my hands and I ended up at the infirmary. There were things that happened that were questionable in that situation I was in but however, they treated me fine and saved my baby, and I was very happy with my experience there with my second.

What I am saying is you will hear the negative stories more, because people are more likely to vent about it. But its your decision and you can choose to give birth however you lilke

 

[staybeautiful]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Where I am there are 3 other maternity hospitals about 20 miles away (St Johns in Livi, ERI and Falkirk Royal Infirmary), but my midwife care is all through NHS Fife and the Victoria Hospital (used to be done at Forth Park) is the only maternity unit in Fife, and the other hospitals come under NHS Forth Valley or Lothian, so I don't think I'd have that choice unless I moved house!
I'm definitely going to look into how much a doula or independent midwife would cost, although it's something I doubt we could really afford. I'd almost prefer a home birth, but I know that by and large I'm safer at a hospital, and there is no way that OH would let that happen because his one stipulation for the birth is that I get continual monitoring, other than that I can do what I like as far as he's concerned.

AtomicPink - I definitely understand about how you tend to hear more negatives anyway, it's just really hard not to get hung up over them when it feels like everyone I know who gave birth in Kirkcaldy had at least some sort of complaint/complication I think I just need to man up

 

[AP]

Not at all! If you feel in your heart it's not for you then try another path. However, my friend always said if you aren't heard the first time, shout. And it worked.

People got sick of me phoning every hour demanding things, they just blimmin did it anyway

 

[CandyApple19]

you dont need to give birth in your local hospital, you have a choice of any NHS hospital in your county. x