How to get the best hospital treatment for pregnancy.

audioblackout

Hi everyone,

My girl and I are thinking of having a family after 16 years together. The general hospital where we live (Leeds) is not the best and obviously I want this whole experience to be as lovely as possible for her.

I was thinking perhaps she should join on of these private treatment plans and we cancel once we're done. Would that get her into a private hospital for all the necessary treatment/scans etc? Which ones would ppl recommend?

Or does everyone just have to go to their general infirmary to have a baby?

Would sooo appreciate any advice here...

Many thanks!

bunty109

I don't think private policies cover maternity care. You'd have to pay a private maternity hospital for all your scans, care etc. The only private scan I had was a nuchal scan at 12 weeks and that cost £130 about 4 years ago, if that's anything to go by. It was a special scan to help detect abnormalities and we couldn't get it on the NHS so paid privately.

LondonDiva

Just to also say that where the private hospitals win out is in 'hotel' type services rather than care or safety. A friend of mine works at the NHS hospital closest to the private & expensive Portland hospital & the amount of 999 or 'oopsy' calls dumped on them is frightening ~ far more than would be acceptable in an NHS situation.

The NHS will generally do all neccessary tests etc, the problem is when parents want things that aren't strictly essential 'just in case' or because it would be 'nice' to have a 4-d scan etc.

Go private for the experience if it's important, but be aware that if anything does go wrong, you will be bused to the same NHS hospital in a heartbeat.

nicola1982_2

Try the Baby Expert Good Birth Guide - you can compare local maternity suites etc. My nearest hospital didn't provide as good facilities as one slightly further away so I asked to be refered to the further one. I'm glad I did as they picked up my complication and dealt with it straight away.

http://babyexpert.drfoster.co.uk/birth/

Stargazer_Lily

audioblackout wrote: »

Hi everyone,

My girl and I are thinking of having a family after 16 years together. The general hospital where we live (Leeds) is not the best and obviously I want this whole experience to be as lovely as possible for her.

I was thinking perhaps she should join on of these private treatment plans and we cancel once we're done. Would that get her into a private hospital for all the necessary treatment/scans etc? Which ones would ppl recommend?

Or does everyone just have to go to their general infirmary to have a baby?

Would sooo appreciate any advice here...

Many thanks!

You can go private and as long as everything goes to plan then that's great. If anything goes wrong it's normal procedure to put the mothers in an ambulance and send them to the nearest NHS centre which is not necessarily one that you would choose and a complication you could do without whilst in labour!

Have you asked other mothers what their experiences were like at your nearest hospital? That might give you a better idea of what it is actually like to be there than just looking at league tables etc. It's also worth bearing in mind that a hospital can have an appalling record for A&E services, but be fantastic when it comes to maternity.

You can also look at things like home births too - you get one-to-one care from your midwife in a place you feel comfortable in and the nearest maternity unit is no further away than it would be from a private hospital.

Lil

samf1971

Perhaps you could give a bit more info as to why it's "not very nice". Do you just mean the wards etc, if so you can probably get a nicer side room for more privacy? Or is it the actual health care received there? you say it's your first so I presume that someone you know has had a bad experience?

I had my first boy in 2005 at an NHS hospital and the care was lovely throughout, scans etc but the treatment I received in hospital was substandard which I had to then take to solicitors upon leaving. However, that said, I'm trying for a second and I wouldn't say that I'd never use NHS again

themaccas

You will find that private hospitals like BUPA etc won't cover for maternity care as they acknowledge that the NHS provides the gold standard for maternity care. If you want consistant midwifery care you could look at getting a private (independant) midwife that will cost around £2000-£4000 depending on area, she do antenatal/ intrapartum (birth) and postnatal care.
Good luck!

pukkamum

When i had my first baby my main gripe was being in the ward with the other mothers it may seem a bit anti-social but between the babies waking at different times of the night (and waking each other) and the snorers (i am one of them) i got no sleep at all in the few hours when my lo did. So knowing i was having another c-section (which means you are for 5 days) my dh paid for me to have a private room on the maternity ward it was bliss!!! Not all hospitals do this so but it is worth checking x

inkie

The usual BUPA etc do not provide obstetric care. Also, you need to bear in mind any risk factors, whether this would be a high/low risk pregnancy etc, as that will influence the type of care that we recommend.
Have you actually been and looked around the mat units? I think that this is something that you would need to do prior to dismissing them?
One option would be to have an amenity bed where you pay for the priviledge of having an ensuite room - however, you would be asked to vacate this in the event of a genuine medical need for it, which would always take presedence.
Wher abouts in leeds are you? What about surrounding units, or midwifery-led units (risk permitting of course!)

McG_3

The Clarendon Wing (infirmary) is known as a centre of excellence. This means it's a very good place to be if you have problems. If you don't what about a home birth? You would still probably want a scan and you could have this at the hospital or pay privately. If you are low risk you could opt to go to the Wakefield birth centre. Like most units the main problem is a shortage of Midwives, you can opt to go home very soon after delivery if you want the security of a hospital enviroment. Rather than going on other peoples experiences why don't you ring the Head of Midwifery or Delivery suite team leader and ask for a look round and discuss any fears or anxieties you may have. Midwives want you to have a good experience, you could even talk to your GP's practice and ask them to see if the midwife there could have a word with you. If you don't like the Clarendon Wing you could go to St James.
I wish you the best of luck, talk to the above mentioned people and I think you may be surprised how accomodating they will be.

starbump

audioblackout wrote: »

I was thinking perhaps she should join on of these private treatment plans and we cancel once we're done. Would that get her into a private hospital for all the necessary treatment/scans etc? Which ones would ppl recommend?)

I was seen as a private patient at an NHS hospital. Perhaps your local NHS hospital has consultants that do both NHS and private care? To put costs in perspective: private obstetrics/maternity care costs about the same as a small car or a really good vacation. I looked at other options but BUPA does not cover this and my nearest private hospitals only seemed to provide antenatal care.

If you choose not to go private in the end, let me pass on the same reassurance my consultant gave me: you will get the same "basic" care on the NHS and you should not be worried that you will not have a healthy baby by not going private. The difference with going private is you get extra attention e.g. frequent scans, more appointments, more time spent chatting to the consulant, same consultant throughout for both natural labour and c-section, 24/7 availability, more customised treatment, etc. (The private room, facilities, etc, goes without saying but you can always pay for this option whether private or NHS.) People have healthy babies every year on the NHS. However, our next pregnancy will also be private - we feel it was worth every penny.