Whittington Antenatal & labour ward care

Hey Monica. I gave birth there in 2021, and to be completely honest, had a pretty horrendous experience due to staffing issues (me and the baby were all fine though). The staff were caring, but didn’t have the time to properly look after us. In my birth debrief they did say they’d been on a big recruitment drive, so I’m hoping this has changed in the last 18 months, but thought it was better to be honest. Congrats on the pregnancy. Xx

I’m currently 40w+3days pregnant and we are with Whittington as well, I moved from Harringey to St John’s Wood, and still stayed with them. So far we had an amazing experience with the hospital from the very first visit, triage visits and check ups.

I gave birth to my daughter there and my experience was incredible! (Before Covid). I had midwives constantly in and out checking on me and was allowed pretty much my whole family in the birth centre with me. After giving birth I was even put in a private room as my daughter had suspected sepsis so we had to stay in for 2 days. They were very helpful and provided everything we needed; they even gave me formula as my daughter wouldn’t latch on no matter how many times I tried.

36 weeks pregnant and we had the same question between Whittington and UCLH, my sister in law, who trained as a midwife in UCLH said that despite being a bit crumbling down when it comes to facilities and technology, the best staff is at Whittington, and most obstetric emergencies end up there from other hospitals. So far is been good for us, they are caring and will investigate as much as possible. However I'd say it's technologically behind, and being paper first means they miss things on the book or they spend 40 mins trying to book you for an appointment in a computer that is at least from 1999 🤣

@Flavia agree with this, the paper trail (we ended up being in for 8 days) made it impossible for staff handover to know about our case. The NICU and emergency obstetric team were fab though.

I gave birth in the Whittington Birthing Centre in October 2022. The first midwife I had was great and we were really on the same page. But unfortunately when I arrived around 7pm, the staff were changing shifts (day to night shift) so she left and I was then told there weren’t enough staff to keep the Birthing Centre open and I’d have to go up to the labour ward. I really wanted a water birth so this was a big blow as it wasn’t an option on the labour ward. However last minute they said they’d found agency workers to come and cover the night shift so we could stay where we were. I was grateful, but the midwife I ended up with was very tough love and still denied me a water birth (having a debrief soon to find out why, as in the moment it was a all a blur). It just depends who you get I suppose. Overall the check ups and lead up to the birth were all good, but it seems like the Whittington haven’t sorted their staffing issues as of Oct last year.

I gave birth to my daughter at the Whittington in January and the experience was excellent. I had some complications towards the end of my pregnancy which the midwife (who was amazing) picked up on really quickly and was dealt with excellently by every staff member I came across. I ended up being induced early and everyone on the Antenatal and Labour Ward was great, they really ensured I got the best care possible and made sure I had a safe delivery. I was really impressed by the whole team on the Labour Ward. We had to stay for another 4 days after birth and staff looked after me and my daughter really well.

Thank you so much for your feedback everyone, I appreciate it!

Hi, I am in the same shoes - I am choosing between Whittington and UCLH, and it’s a tough one..

Gave birth on Sunday, was post date induction, and the care we received was absolutely wonderful.