Hospitals in Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire

[CB23]

Hi

I have to choose a preferred hospital to give birth in and have no idea and just wondered if anyone had any experience of any of my options:

Lister at Stevenage
Bedford Hospital
Rosie at Addenbrookes, Cambridge
Hinchingbrooke at Huntingdon

I think the last two are too far away from me so that narrows it down to Lister and Bedford really. The doctor I saw told me his wife had their second child at the Lister and it was fine but not heard anything about Bedford. Any comments at all very welcome.

My OH has said he doesn't mind - he knows as much as me so its difficult to decide!

Claire

 

[sananbaz]

Hi CB23

I had my son in Bedford hospital four weeks ago and my friend had her daughter in Lister 8 weeks ago. We've obviously compared stories and both hospitals seem to have good reviews!

the main differences are;

Lister do not have a birthing pool, bedford have one.
Lister do not provide formula, bedford do if you don't have any with you (ie if you are having problems breast feeding etc)
Lister have a security system that sets off an alarm if your baby is removed from its cot by a person that doesn't have the key, bedford have an alarm that goes off if your baby is removed from the ward.
Bedford use pethidine, Lister use morphine.

I was at bedford for five days due to an emergency c section and my son developing pneumonia, so spent time in the neonatal unit too. The midwives and neonatal nurses were lovely and provided emotional support as well as effective pain killers!

Main concern was the variable attitude towards breast feeding - some midwives will try and talk you into swapping to formula , especially if you have trouble getting the baby to latch on initially.

Otherwise, i can't say that i regret choosing bedford over lister, however it was on the advice of the community midwife (she said staffing levels at bedford were better).

Hope that helps, and good luck

 

[maybebaby]

I had my son a home but was admitted to Bedford Hospital for 4 days with high blood pressure at 37 weeks. The staff were lovely, the whole maternity unit is only a few years old so really clean and modern. I ended up on a side room with my own loo & shower because it was free & they thought the babies might be keeping me awake so they offered it!And the food's lovely! There was always someone around to talk to.

Although I obviously don't know about delivery suites etc because I never used one I was really impressed with the ward & staff.

 

[CB23]

Wow that is really helpful thanks for being so quick with your responses. I had been tending to Lister as I know how to find it but Bedford sounds better with staffing levels and being so new. I would like to breastfeed though so hmm about that.

 

[maybebaby]

I'd see if you can visit both hospitals, if you haven't got a MW call the unit & explain your situation I would have thought they'd be happy for you to have a little tour before you decide.

Breastfeeding: I wasn't in hospital at all after I had my son but I had a bit of trouble getting the latch right to begin with & the community midwife sent round a breastfeeding counsellor to talk to me & show me how to do it properly. It was really helpful. If you stick to your guns and accept that it will be hard to begin with then you should be fine. If the midwives suggest 'just one' formula feed let them know you'd rather try to establish breastfeeding and they should respect that.

 

[Lynsey]

Hi CB23,

I had my son at the Lister last November. My over-all experience was great but I do think it depends on how many people are giving birth when you are in and the midwife that you get. It was very quiet when I gave birth so I had 2 midwives and a student with me all the way though and they were amazing. Afterwards, they really encouraged me with breastfeeding. However, a friend of mine had only one midwife when she gave birth and she kept leaving the room. She was really rude as well so my friend actually wrote a letter of complaint. I would try and get on the hospital tour for each and see which one feels better for you.

Hope this helps xxx

 

[sananbaz]

forgot to say - bedford do tours of delivery suite and postnatal ward on saturday afternoons at 2pm and 3pm. Give them a ring to arrange a tour.

maybebaby - i also was offered a side room with en suite
I had the room for four days and it was so much nicer - quiet enough to let me sleep and was great when friends and family came to visit (didn't have to worry about disturbing sleeping mothers in the next bed).

CB23 - the side rooms are available primarily for mothers with a medical need, however if there is one empty, you can pay for one to get some sleep and privacy (£60 per night i believe). Not sure if Lister has this option.

hope that helps