Can I choose which hospital to give birth?

Queen_P_2

Hi,

I have recently found out I am pregnant.. :j :j :j

A doc at my GP surgery has been really unhelpful and not at all reassuring for the issues I have raised (I had an xray in my 3rd week of pregnancy - few days after conception) Im worried I may have caused damage and she told me yes it was likely..

She also told me that I dont have a choice to choose the hospital I can go to to give birth and for antenatal care.. and I have family who have been to this hospital and it is really bad care.

I live in the west of london (Greenford). I wonder if anyone can suggest what I can do and if you had your baby or are having your baby in around the same area, could you suggest a good hospital for giving birth?

Many Thanks

Queen P

cally1_2

Had mine at West Mid and the care was fine.

sooz

hi

first congratulations!!

and commiserations on the gp - s/he sounds awful.

have a look at http://www.drfoster.co.uk/localservices/birthGuide.asp
for a good comparision of hospitals to give birth in

when i went to book in at the gps a few months ago [halfway there now, and the bump is huge ] i was asked which was my prefered choice, and have to give a second choice if it it was full. i got my first choice, but was told that there is such a shortage of midwives in west london that had i booked in a few months before, i would have had to go the central london for antenatal and to give birth. [sure, so i'd have to set off before being in labour to make sure i got there in time!!!!!]

if this is the case again, perhaps there is no choice available at the moment. just because family had bad care at this particular hospital does not necessarily mean that you will too - were they delivering too, or in for something else? you could ask to have a look round the maternity part of the hospital. or, assuming no complications, a home birth could be an option.

is your gp part of a large practice - could you go and talk to another gp about your options, and your worries about the xray?

personally i'm really not bothered by antenatal care - seems to be rubbish everywhere as everyone is overstretched....which hospital you get offered might mean the difference between a 2 hour wait in a nice waiting room or in a scruffy one. either way, it's a 2 hour wait! what really matters is what the midwives are like, and in london the chance of seeing the same midwife through from booking in to birth is virtually impossible, so even if you don't like one, the chance is you wont see them again!

hope this helps, and good luck with your pregnancy

jellyhead

i don't know the rules on this but just wanted to say congratulations! :grouphug:

before i knew i was pregnant with my first baby i had all kinds of things - flu jab, pneumonia jab, steroids, the wrong antibiotics, the wrong painkillers, cough medicine, all kinds of things you're not allowed - but you don't always know you're pregnant. my baby was fine although i don't know anything about xrays.

you can get a guide to local facilities here but it doesn't seem to work for me. http://www.drfoster.co.uk/localservices/birthGuide.asp

Queen_P_2

Thanx Guys,

Will check that link.

Yeah my family were having babies in the hospital that they reported having a bad experience in.

My doc never said there was no choice in hospital because she had researched it or checked the availability, she just said it as she didnt want to offer any advice on it.

Oh decisions decisions.

Crispy_Ambulance

You have the right to choose where you have your baby. You can also choose to have a homebirth - it is not up to your GP!

Try this website for more information on your choices
http://www.aims.org.uk

andycarmi

Congratulations. :j :j :j :j

Poor you.

Im 20 weeks pregnant and found this website useful. The link is to an X-ray and pregnancy infomation. It seems to depend upon how much radiation you were exposed to.

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/expert/536412.html

I would also consider changing you doctor if your not happy!
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/localisation/

Good luck.

StartingAgainKayla70

Hooray Congrats

I had my first two at the main hospital which most women in my area would go to. I had one in 1990 and the second in 1998, both times I was not impressed!

Then when I was pregnant a couple of years ago, someone mentioned why dont you change the hospital, I looked into it, my midwife tried to put me off changing but I decided I would try another hospital as I had spoken to quite a few people who recommended this hospital.

I had my girl and I couldnt fault them one bit, for once I didnt feel a nuisance, I never got the impression that I was ever interrupting them, it was such a much better experience than having my first two.

So if you have any doubts about that hospital check around, ask other mums and see which you think you would feel much more comfortable in.

mancitychick

I had both my babies in Queen Charlottes & Chelsea Hospital, first baby when Hosp was in Chiswick and second baby at its present site next to Hammersmith Hosp. (Does it come under white city/Shepards Bush?) I would highly recommend it. I was living out in Brentford by the time I had second baby and the midwife that visits me at home after the birth said next time ask to go to West Mid as its near for you. I didn't want to go to West Mid and fortunatley my doc sends you to QCH but the Midwife said you can choose your hosp.

Anastasia

Most antenatal care is provided in the community now at GP surgeries or health centres. You may only have to go to the hosp once. I would say concentrate on the birthing facilities. Ask about staffing. Look for a homely atmosphere - most maternity units have midwife led areas on the Labour Ward or Home from Home rooms.

Poor care in the past can mean that the unit has had to make major improvements to meet DOH targets so you may be surprised!

Lillibet_2

Whe I was pregnant I wanted to select a local hospital (Kingston) but because my GP's surgery don't deal with it I didn't have a choice, only the one they dealt with (St Peters) which was further away. If I had wanted to get my choice I would have had to switch GP's to one that dealt with my choice of hospital. Most GP's lists were full & it seems they can refuse to accept you to their lists on these grounds, in the end I didn't try & just accepted it. I now understand that there is actually no such thing as "patient choice" , which implies you have a right to chose, only in fact "patient preferance" which means you don't have an automatic right to your choice unless it can be accomodated. "Patient choice" is a media term & has resulted in the public being deceived into thinking they have rights which they actually don't have!
You can, of course, chose a home birth, all being well.

For what it's worth, I found the labour care at the hospital I ended up at fantastic, although the post labour care left a lot to be desired but that wasn't as important to me, this was in the face of at least half a dozen friends & family who all reported poor experiences there.

HTH & good luck;)