Maternity at Kings and St Thomas

[Calvert]

Has anyone had any recent good/bad experiences of Kings /St Thomas maternity services (specifically for the birth)?

thank you!

[Howl]

Very positive birth experience at St Thomas?s- Cesarian, 2 nights on postnatal Ward. Partners allowed but I was the only one without one there and the midwives couldn?t have been more helpful.

However, I had antenatal at kings (had to switched to st Ts for planned home birth ha ha like that happened).

The care at the Harris fetal medicine centre is incredible and far surpassed the antenatal care at at Ts that I got with my first. It?s an amazing place and if you have the choice I?d recommend you start there.

[Howl]

Should have said my experience is from

November 2017

[Calvert]

Thanks that?s helpful to know!

[carebear]

Hello,

I?ve had two v different labours at St Thomas?s; first fairly long vaginal delivery with a few issues in 2012. Care throughout labour was second to none. Postnatal was quite a different story and resulted in a complaint from us.

In spite of this, I opted (with a v high risk pregnancy) to go for St T?s over Kings the second time in 2014. This time for c section due to the complications. Again, care was fantastic throughout delivery and post natal was significantly better, possibly partly because we were more prepared to put our foot down about certain things this time.

Number 3 due in a few weeks? time and the plan is St Thomas?s again even though Kings is a lot closer. This is nothing against Kings, more a testament to St T?s and a belief that the pros outweigh the cons.

Feel free to pm me if you?d like more detail x

[nina_maniana]

Both labours at kings. Both of them complicated for reasons not the fault of the hospital. The second one i probably would have died if i wasn?t at kings which is a major trauma centre.

We all want lovely natural births, but the test of a hospital is how they respond if things go wrong and for that kings is unbeatable.

Good luck xxx

[B&G]

I'm at Kings and have had exceptional care from the Harris Fetal Centre at every antenatal appointment. World class facilities that picked up on a a few issues identified at early scans. The community midwives have all been wonderful so far. Not given birth yet so can't comment on the labour care.

[hypnobirthingplace]

I have to say I hear brilliant things about both Kings and St Thomas from the couples I teach. I had a fantastic experience with the Kings homebirth team and equally, I regularly hear about how good the care on labour ward is and how lovely the birth centre is. St Thomas is also brilliant according to those I've taught, though my only experience of it is having a cervical stitch put in during my pregnancy (the support I received was beyond first class) and I was incredibly impressed with the consultant midwife Julie who spoke at a conference I attended recently - she spoke at length about the importance of treating each woman as an individual and listening/having informed discussions about care options.

I think we're so lucky to have such amazing care close by!

Zoe x

[louise.flynn]

I had 2 births at St Thomas. However both were at the midwife led centre which i believe is a very different experience to the standard ward. If you are planning on having a natural birth (i know emergencies happen and you may not have a choice!) then i cant imagine anywhere better. It always seems so peaceful and no-one makes you rush.

I had a water birth with my 2nd and there was never a question of having to wait which i believe can be an issue at Kings. The view is so beautiful and waking up with your newborn and seeing Big Ben is so special!

Happy to discuss further if needed via PM

[monniemae]

I had baby #1 at kings and my antenatal care was frustrating, I never saw the same person twice, and they only told me at the last minute that I was out of catchment for a home birth despite me flagging early that I was trying to clarify this. However, my actual birth was brilliant (ok it was 3 days of hell but the midwives were great). I believe my experience while not uncommon wasn't the same for everyone - and they've since changed their midwive caseload model.

My second baby was a home birth with st thomas' riverside midwifery team and it was every bit as great as I'd hoped. My caseload midwifery experience was unfaultable, and the actual experience of scans etc was much smoother than kings - no massive waits, easy to talk to people etc. I didn't really care about this - I'd only signed up for St T because I wanted a home birth if possible.

Honestly there isn't that much in it really, and I would happily recommend Kings, but I do feel like St Thomas overall was an unexpectedly better experience.

[ElliotW]

Hi,

Just wondering if there are any more recent experiences with either of these? I know reviews by nature tend to see to normally particularly negative experiences (and a few extremely positive) but some of the reviews I've read of experiences of postnatal care at kings have been particularly worrying.

[sillywoman]

The postnatal care at most hospitals is the weak link in the maternity chain - always under resourced and the midwives are overloaded. I wouldn't be too concerned about Kings in particular. I'm a midwife locally and can definitely assure you that over the last 15 years I've heard many many just as bad (or worse) stories about the other local units too - Kings is not alone. You're lucky to live in an area where you have a choice of world class birth units, some consultant led and also a gold standard birth centre. There's no perfect solution, I would suggest you consider booking with the hospital that's easiest to get to from your home.

[ElliotW]

Thanks for that, good to know. That was also a factor for us, Kings is about 7 mins vs. 25/30 for st thomas.

Any other recent experiences welcome!

[midivydale]

I was with Kings for my first birth 6 years ago and couldn?t fault the care we received. We had a tough time but not through the fault of the hospital. I am currently pregnant with my second and am with Kings again. Shared midwife and consultant care and they have been outstanding in their support. I feel looked after, listened to and in very very safe hands. I spent a week on the postnatal ward last time due to complications and no it was not fun. But I did find that staff there genuinely cared and did their absolute best to support despite the circumstances. For example I had lots and lots of breast feeding support on the ward as well as emotional support after a traumatic birth.

[betty163]

I was with Kings for my child's birth at the end of last year (2017). The care I received was exceptional. The scanning facilities were excellent at the Harris Birthright Centre. I was with a home birth team so was treated on a caseload basis. This means I saw the same midwives pre, during and post birth - they even visited the hospital when we got admitted for a post-birth complication. They were incredibly supportive post-birth with feeding issues etc.

I was glad I went with Kings as they were the nearest to us, in case we did have to go in and as other have stated, they have the facilities to cope with any emergency treatment needed.

[bettyblu79]

I?m also with the home birth team. Not dropped yet (my first) but so far the care I?ve received from this team is exceptional. They go above and beyond. Was less impressed with the mainstream midwifery service although once I raised the issues I did have with the Service manager they were resolved immediately.

[TreacleRabbit]

I had a CS at King?s in 2015. The post natal Ward (William Gillat Ward) was horrible - staff were not nice, the Ward was so hot, the one bathroom was disgusting. There was no care.

Second CS at Chelsea in 2017, midwives were all lovely, clean, efficient. It felt safer.

[Tenequa]

St Thomas was awful had emergency c section and caught septis from them by not having clean tools so me and my baby was affected by that plus stayed in a extra 28 days after birth as had 2 major operations as there was a lot of puss infection in me that they had to remove put in complaint and still on going 2 years later

[NazrinBegum]

Hi,

I had a natural birth at kings (Sept 17). Whilst planning the labour with midwife we arranged for a water birth but on the day I was not able to due to lack of staff. (Upset me quite a bit) I went in at 3xm and moved around 3 times which was exceptionally stressful hence why I opted for an epidural. However despite these hiccups, overall the midwifes are amazing!

[klh]

I had my son at King?s. I couldn?t fault the pre-natal care at all in terms of scans etc. I had an emergency c-section in the end and thought the staff were excellent and very kind. The post-natal ward wasn?t great but no particular complaints. When I felt very ill a few weeks after my son was born, the midwives were fantastic there and instantly said I should come back in. Overall, I felt well cared for, particularly at all the critical moments.

I think at St Thomas?s you might be able to get private post-natal rooms if they are available for a fee whereas not sure you can at King?s.

[vivien27]

Had my baby at Kings last April. Exceptional midwife during delivery, however the doctor was quite pushy to intervene and induce me which I just knew wasn?t right. I stood my ground and my midwife had my back the whole time (even delaying the doctor to come down and use forceps at the pushing stage because she knew I just needed a little more time). I ended up having a very calm, natural birth that encourage a quick recovery. Overall I think the care is great but due to the nature of the types of complicated deliveries they get, there is a little too much emphasise on medical intervention at times when it?s not always necessary. If you can remain strong and confident in your choices, you will have great care.

Post natal Ward isn?t the best - very hot, no chance of sleeping. But the on call lactation consultants are very helpful and will come to your aid at any time.