Starting to regret maternity ward choice (Milton Keynes GH)

[TrixieLox]

My local maternity ward at Milton Keynes General Hospital was in the press a few years back for some bad cases. But after a multi million pound refurb, more staff and so on, I started hearing better things and also good experiences friends / work colleagues have had.

But now I'm nearing my due date, am getting worried again, especially after a woman at work, who used to be a midwife in London, asked me if I've really thought hard enough about it? With the baby being transverse and what with being on Clexane injections, plus having had an obnoxious consultant the other week... there are other options, such as Stoke Mandeville, Northampton and Bedford.

I'm 34 weeks on Tuesday and just don't know what to do now. Anyone had any experiences and advice? Is it all too late to switch now? And MK hospital is just 5 mins always but others are over 30 mins.

 

[Nic64]

I personally have just moved to a new area and didn't know where to go 2 hospitals and a birthing centre to choose from

The more I researched all of them and the more I looked into everything I found they all had as many pros and cons as each other! So had opted for the birthing centre as it was closest! Sadly that decisions now been taken out my hands as am being induced early and means I have to go to the hospital which a journey there can take between 40 mins on a good day or 2 hours if u hit traffic! This on its own is stressing me out! Especially as am goin in on a Sunday, and husband will have come back on Monday morning during rush hour! :s

Anyway what I guess I'm getting at is every pregnancy is different as are everyone's circumstances! Every hospital/birthing unit will have had good and bad experiences and sadly the bad ones are heard of more than the good ones!! I suppose u have to weigh up all the options and what's important to you! Good luck with your decision!! Xxx

 

[summer rain]

I have heard of bad experiences at a couple of the other hospitals you mention as well and I'm not even living in that area. I am in a similar situation, the hospital where I am going to have my baby now had some really horrific cases up until about 18 months ago, it was all over the news and to a large extent the negative media coverage was justified, however it wasn't mentioned that some of the cases involved extremely high risk women and pregnancies anyway so who knows if the outcome would have been entirely different had it been at a different hospital? Another thing is some of the cases happened at the other hospital under the same trust where I did have a horrific experience with my eldest but a great one with my youngest-I could not have improved anything about that experience at all. Originally this time I was under a different hospital but I have had problems with them from start to finish, being unable to book appointments, rude staff, them suddenly deciding I was higher risk at 36 weeks and the hospital itself is a dump. They did do some refurbishment recently but it cannot hide the fact the hospital building was built in 1960 really as a temporary building and is really, really run down and they do have terrible staff ratios that just about meet the minimum standards and not all the time. Also I'm vegan and found that they just don't really cater for vegans at all. Whereas the hospital I am going to now I have heard are much better, and they have several big shops, a coffee shop and restaurant in the hospital where my OH went to recently when he had a meetinh near there because he knew they had vegan stuff there for him to eat and drink.

The hospital I am going to now, because of its bad past has really pulled its socks up and not has the best staffing ratios in the country, they have redesigned the maternity department so it has more space and is more patient-friendly and I have only heard good and excellent reports of late. One of my sisters in law they didn't realise how far along she was in labour and she went from 3cm to 9cm in about 30 minutes but as it was her first baby this could happen anywhere really. I had my second eldest at the best maternity unit in the UK, at least it was awarded this a few years ago yet even there, there have been cases of negligence and things going very badly wrong. Had I read about those cases before going there it would have put me off. Do what your gut instinct tells you is right xx

 

[TrixieLox]

Thanks girls, this is quite reassuring. You can go to the best hospital and maternity ward in the world and something could go wrong. You could go to the worst and things could go smoothly. I made me decision months ago and need to stick with it.

 

[Nic64]

All will be fine!! I keep changing my mind on things! My hospital bag has been packed a zillion times! But am sure I will have forgot something or will get something wrong, but am sure it'll all work out in the end! Good luck and am sure the hospital u decide to go with will do a fab job with you and ur baby xxx

 

[chicky160]

My work colleague just gave birth (6 weeks ago) at Milton Keynes and had a fantastic experience! I will be going to stoke and just had my tour, it's lovely and very clean, but there's good and bad stories about every hospital isn't there x

 

[TwoRdue]

I only have one to chose from and is a case of to bad if you dont like it, im not allowed a midwife due to high risk and that has sometimes made this pregnancy hard as I am always having to talk to someone new a having to explain everything all over again and that includes why im high risk (not a convo I want to keep having over and over again) but in saying that its a great hospital with a great team that I fully trust and hope that I get a great midwife for labour and continue this experience

 

[A43]

You will find good and bad experiences where ever you go. My local is Northampton. Had my first in Peterborough around the time when there was a death there 2 years ago but I had a fantastic experience.. It all depends on the day and the staff etc. X