Northwick Park Maternity hospital experience

I would avoid it if you can.. had a bad experience and had my baby 2months ago

I've had 2 there. Actual birth was all positive, felt very looked after. Getting discharged after took few hours longer than needed as they were short staffed. But only an issue as I was keen to get home to my eldest. When I had her I felt they discharged me too quick to get a bed back! But at end of the day, the actual births went well so that was most important part

I also would like to know this, I am in exactly the same boat x

I've had a negative birth experience and also the post birth wasn't great due to being short staffed, but from other people I spoke with, the birth experiences seem to be similar everywhere in the NHS as they have the same policies on birth, induction, etc.

i can’t flaw my experience there to be honest. i also heard negative things which made me very on edge about going there, but my sister had two prior to me there & she preferred nwp over st mary’s in paddington. nwp was also the closest fir me. every hospital has its pros & cons, it just depends on the staff you get i guess. if it’s your closest & you haven’t fit a car yet i personally wouldn’t change. if the mat. unity was extremely poor then it wouldn’t be up & running. my step mum is a nurse (not at nwp) & she told me in the past (as in many many years ago) it was very bad, so they had no choice but to improve otherwise they would’ve been shut down. remember a lot of hospitals are short staffed, so it’s not always the hospital/ nurses fault. i hope you have a positive experience as i did & i wish you well! x

(also i can tell you my full pregnancy/ birth story if you like, maybe it’ll help put your mind at ease? just pop me a message if you’d find this helpful!)

I had 2 children there. In 2019 and 2022. Over all for me wasn't bad experience but there were some issues. However depends on the person and one situation might not seem same for everyone. But I always tell people if they have a chance - change it. My priority was close by hospital and NWP is about 10mins drive from my home. Although 29weeks seems far long but worth considering. Good luck

Thanks a lot everyone to share your experiences, this was definitely helpful ❤️❤️ happy to know that some of you had positive experiences and really sorry for those who had negative one.Hoping that there are more of positive stories to share going ahead 🤞

@Maryam yes I 100% understand and relate.until now my personal experience has been mixed - service wise they have been fine and sincere mostly but some midwives have behaved rudely while few others have been very sweet. This wanted to know others’ experience as well

@~Sherisse🦋 Sure Sherisse thanks a lot ! That would be super helpful ❤️ just curious, when did you have your baby at NWP?

Had my daughter there in 2011 and sadly it was a horrific experience from start to finish - which I didn’t know at the time as she was my first. It was only until I had my two boys in 2020 and 2021 in Queen Charlotte and it was blissful in comparison that I realised just how bad NWP was.

@surabhi i’ve messaged you!! August ‘22 x

I am 33 weeks and have been with Northwick Park up until now but just changed to Watford due to the increasing number of horror stories I’ve heard. There’s no way I’d go back to Northwick Park after hearing those. Self referral to Watford was easy and they’ve booked me in for this Friday. They were so lovely on the phone and I’ve heard much better things about them…

I had my baby girl in last June A very positive experience for me Looked after very well during all appointments, labor, delivery and post delivery as well I was nervous too due to the stories I heard but my experience was really good Had a 28 hr labor and all the staff was so helpful kind and experienced I felt

I had my second birth there Jan 22 in the midwives led unit. It all went very smoothly. Nothing bad to say about it. The postnatal ward was a bit disorganised and I left one day later than I should have because of miscommunication within the department, but all in all a very positive experience for me.

I gave birth there in January this year. I transferred from Chelsea and Westminster due to nwp being closer and I regret it so much tbh

It seems to me that, on the balance of probabilities, it’s better to avoid Northwick Park if possible - especially if one has any risk factors associated with birth. I’m consultant-led due to advanced maternal age (I’m 41) and I’m not willing to take any risks, if avoidable. When I saw the anaesthetist, she was baffled as to why I was opting for NPH when I’d had my second baby at Chelsea. That was scary because clearly even she knew there was no comparison. Distance with 2 older kids was my primary issue as the hubby will need to be back n forth so I’ve opted for Watford. So far so good :)

@Chetana Kaur Ive had both my kids at Watford, which was great, however just something to be aware of is that because you’re out of area for their community midwife team, after your baby is born you’ll be put back into the care of the Harrow midwife team which is based at Northwick Park. I had no issues with my after care, but for example, in herts they come out on day 1 for a home visit but in Harrow you don’t see a midwife until day 5