PRUH experience?

I would never recommend PRUH! I could read a book about how bad the care there was and how many mistakes they made etc thx at the last moment in week 36 I was able to switch to Kings College hospital! The best decision.

I had my daughter at PRUH and the care was amazing! I had a private room and the midwives /nurses were very attentive and helpful!

I could say the same about Kings college hospital though @Malwina Scans etc all fine but after care from the consultants when I was really poorly, absolutely terrible. @Nikita I've heard both good and bad reports about the PRUH as I have with Kings and Lewisham. I can't help about the private rooms but sounds like a luxury and if you can get it, go for it. 4 women in a room with crying newborns is a little overwhelming! Good luck!

Hi! Gave birth twice there. In my experience, staffs were amazing. First birth I had a private delivery room at the labour ward then was transferred to a shared space after birth. They literally gave me everything possible to make everything and everyone fine. Second birth, was at the oasis birth centre, had a private room with birth pool and bed and a little sofa then again, transferred to a shared space after birth. Also everything depends on the people are working there and is assigned to you. If some of the midwife doesn’t give you a good vibe you can always ask for someone else. They work for you. You can always give them a call and ask about the private delivery option. Or to speak with your midwife about as your birth plan. Also congratulations for your baby 🥰and wish you an amazing and as easy as possible birth experience.

I was seriously ill with pre-eclampsia and spent a whole month at PRUH until my babies were delivered by c-section. The care was amazing apart from one nurse that was looking after babies as a part of the transition care from NICU. I also always had a private room. You can’t book/pay for these anymore they said. But they just gave me one x

Hi. I self referred to PRUH from Croydon mid pregnancy as I had really bad experiences at Croydon. I got a call the next working day and that was that. You’ll have your scans at Denmark Hill, at Harris Birthright and delivery at PRUH (both under Kings). Harris is incredible and focussed on research, I felt they went above and beyond. It was thanks to them that it was identified that my daughter was small and had to come out immediately at 33weeks. I had a traumatic birth and my daughter spent a month in the special care unit. I couldn’t be more thankful to the staff in the labour ward and nicu unit for their care and patience (I’m sure both will be irrelevant for you ☺️, but perhaps good to know). I’m not sure about booking private rooms but I ended up in one. Also, parking isn’t great at PRUH (despite them opening another car park) you have to be dropped off or park nearby (we always managed to get a side street).

I had my third at PRUH for a scheduled cesarian as I had a rupture before and was high risk. I had private rooms 2 weeks before delivery because I had contractions and had to be monitored closely. They were great. I did share a room after because during 2021 it wasn't allowed to pay for a private room. I'm from America originally and had 2 emergency csections there and still loved the care here.

@Malwina I’m really sorry about your bad experience there..kch is a great hospital I’m sure, just like UCLH however it’s quite a distance from us Bromley girls but I’ll see how it goes at PRUH first I reckon and if I’m not happy, I will make the switch like you!

Thank you so much ladies for all your input, it’s definitely put my mind at ease a bit!! I know the whole private room thing is a bit…bratty of me lol. However I’m almost 99% sure I don’t want to have another baby naturally after this and would therefore like for this experience to be as smooth as possible if that makes sense. For those of you who had difficulties during or around the time of your birth, I’m really sorry about that and I hope you’re all doing better now and have had the time to heal❤️ Thank you all so much once again for your reassurance and kind words, it really means a lot!

To those of you who are currently expecting, congratulations! We got this 😁😁 I hope you have a happy and healthy pregnancy journey, and that your little baby brings you all the joy once they’re here ❤️

Hi @Nikita congratulations on your pregnancy. I just delivered at PRUH 1 month ago. I had a wonderful experience overall. Most of the staff is really lovely. I delivered at the delivery suite / Labour ward which is private and then was moved into the maternity ward. Which is basically a shared space with 4 ladies. I asked about a private room but unfortunately they no longer let you pay to get one. They have side rooms which are private with a bathroom attached but those are only reserved for ladies & babies who need additional care due to complications or who need to be monitored very closely.

@Lakshmi heya! Thank you for this response. Congratulations on your baby, I hope you’ve been having a lovely first month 😁😁 I’m glad to hear you had a pleasant experience at PRUH, it’s super reassuring! About the maternity ward, how long did you have to be in there for? I’m from Singapore and all our hospitals, be they government or private have the option for patients to pay for better wards but that’s not really a thing in the UK I guess so I’m just a little bit concerned as I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve had to share a room in a hospital setting before. The whole crying babies thing is also stressing me out a bit, dealing with your own baby is one thing but 3 others may be a bit daunting! Also, were your family/partner allowed to be with you in the maternity ward and if yes, did this mean that other women also had their family there and the ward was therefore packed with people?

I had my little girl at the PRUH I February. I was in hospital Monday to Friday and had a C section. Was the best experience of my life. The care was incredible!! In all honesty, the midwives made me feel so comfortable and supported that I was actually sad to leave!! Crazy I know! Have heard mixed reviews about maternity care in the hospital, but honestly, if you need more help when in there, just ask. They are amazing at giving you and your family space and time together, but don't feel you can't call on them if you need them! I was also given a side room, so it was always worth asking if they have one available!!

Hi I’m here now! Staff are amazing. The only thing I would say if your at the pruh you get scanned at king college at the Harris birth right and they are awful! But as you can see different op ions different times different staff so it’s all dependant really! X

I’ve had both of my children at the PRUH and the care was great! I can’t fault it! The oasis birth centre was especially good! I have also heard bad things about the PRUH but never experienced it myself x

@Katie congrats 😊 it’s great to hear this as I’m also thinking of a C section at PRU. Can I ask, did they allow your partner to say overnight? I’m worried about picking up the baby after the C-section and have heard horror stories of midwives being too busy to assist sometimes.

@Jen we were in hospital for 4 nights and hubby stayed all 4 nights!! They actually encourage it for c sections as it takes the pressure of the staff. I was pleasantly surprised by how the c section recovery was xx

I gave birth there by elective C-section last month and had a really positive experience overall. At the moment they don't offer private rooms on a paid for basis - they are only for those who have additional needs. You are allowed to have one partner stay with you at all times and then two visitors (must be the same each time) during visiting hours. This means that the wards can be extremely busy and noisy. Some practical tips for me are that the ward is absolutely boiling so wear as few clothes as possible and tell your partner to do the same, bring your own pillows, large water bottles, your own food (the meals are terrible and not exactly conducive to a healthy postpartum recovery especially if constipated ), earplugs and eye mask. There is no microwave access but there is hot water so you can make your own teas and porridge etc.

My one criticism is that I struggled with breastfeeding and the advice I received from midwife to midwife very much varied. They were ready to discharge me after a day but I refused to leave until I had seen the feeding team so stayed another night. I have since discovered that the feeding team failed to notice that my baby had tongue tie and that was why she was struggling to latch.

@Grace heya, thank you for all this extra information! Honestly, whilst I feel reassured the actual birthing experience will be OK, it seems like the overall hospital experience after labour is a bit sh*t. I don’t really understand why they have removed the whole paying for a private room thing, I feel like having a baby is such an intimate experience and having to be thrown into a room with strangers and their families right after giving birth sounds absolutely dreadful. I had a feeling the meals would be awful and I’d have to sort myself out, crap that there’s no microwave access! And the ward being boiling is the icing on the cake lol, sounds like an absolute nightmare overall…or maybe I’m just spoilt. I know for a fact I will not be having another baby in this country ever again!!!

Hi Nikita, I had all 3 of my children at the PRUH. The only bad experience I had was with my first. After I had my daughter, they forgot to pull the sides of the bed up. I fell asleep cuddling my daughter and woke up in a panic because she wasn’t next to me & she had fallen off the bed. She was fine though!

@Nikita frankly, if you want the overall top quality experience, you need to book yourself into a private hospital like Portland or Lindo Wing, but it will come with an appropriate price tag. Singapore healthcare is in a league of its own so you'll have to lower your expectations for sure. Most important though is that your baby is brought into the world safely by highly qualified medical practitioners and fortunately you'll find that in every British hospital, for free!

My experience at pruh in October 22 was awful, I was induced at 39+2 due to lack of movement, the first pessary went in was all good until it was due to come out in 24hrs they left me with the same pessary for 36hrs without being checked, then the second one went in almost 40hrs later and I had server pain was told by one rude midwife that no way anything was happening that quick!! And I’m not gonna cope in real labour.. I then got off the chair and my waters broke so she didn’t know where to put her face.. I then went onto delivery suite.. the midwife’s were amazing in delivery and I couldn’t fault them. Eventually my baby boy was born 18hrs later.. because I had a kidney infection due to the pessary being left in to long 3 days after my baby was born I was told I had a kidney infection and a rupture on my kidney which was why I was being pumped with 3 different antibiotics my husband wasn’t told anything.. overall very traumatic experience and awful! Best of luck xx

All in all I was in hospital for 6 days and it was awful x

Hi I’m the chair for the Maternity Voices Partnership for the PRUH (and an antenatal instructor and birth educator @betterbirthuk). If any of you would like to give feedback on your experiences, good and bad, please consider sharing here: https://linktr.ee/PRUHMVP