Wigan Hospital / Royal Albert Edward Infirmary

How many pools does Bolton have? Thanks

I’ve been wondering this myself about Wigan! It actually is very close to me though so I really hope they have enough pools available…As aside from that I really like Wigan hospital it has a nice vibe

Also I think you’re able to change hospitals no problem.. you just need to tell your midwife at your next appointment I think they’ll be able to sort it

I’ve given birth at Wigan three times and cannot fault the care, they’re amazing. Yes, they only have one birthing room with a pool, but they are very accommodating to your requests and will always try and meet your preferences. With one of mine I accessed the bath before giving birth. A water birth was my preference for my last baby but he flew out 😅

I had my baba in Wigan and I can't recommend them enough! The care I received from them was amazing! Everyone was lovely 😍💖 Good luck with your birth! 😍 xxx

I had an induction so wasn’t allowed to have a water birth but annoyingly it was free when I had my little girl. One thing to bear in mind wigan have 2000 births per year versus boltons 8000 per year so even though there is only one pool you’ve probably got more chance of getting in it due to how many births happen there. I will also agree with the ladies above, I had a wonderful experience at Wigan and I think because it is a smaller maternity unit it’s a bit more personal x

I had mine at Wigan and was given the birthing pool 😊 when you go in, if the birthing pool is available they will tell you I didn't end up actually using it because I was so hot. Definitely take a hand held fan in with you! X

@Emma online I find things saying there are rooms with birthing pools so I assume more than 1, whereas RAEI only says ‘a birthing pool’ 😅

@Rachel that’s true! They’re really helpful I find and the staff are nice, we might just stick with it and hope we get lucky with a pool!

@Michaela thank you for the reassurance! I think I’m going to stick with it as the feedback is positive! Typical that third time lucky he flew out 🤣

@Jessie thank you so much! I’m hoping it’ll all be fine and I’m just giving myself anxiety for no reason!! Think I’ll look into hypnobirthing as a plan B!! Xxx

@Emma ahhh didn’t know that about inductions! Yeah that’s true actually, I think even without it I’d prefer it feeling more personal compared to where there could be 20 odd babies born on the same day as mine!! 😅 x

@Nicola ooo that’s reassuring! I will definitely try wait out at home as much as possible if it’s not available and maybe just hang out in my bath until the last minute 🤣 Added a fan to my hospital list!! Thanks 😁 x

@Kelly honestly i couldn’t speak higher of Wigan infirmary. I didn’t know that stat until I was chatting to one of the midwives. The night of my induction I was on the ward completely by myself. They didn’t smother me, they let me know they’d be there but literally let me rest, chill out and then I buzzed for them when I could feel things really kicking in. Felt really nice to have that space to keep myself calm and labour the way I wanted really. Meant that when I got into delivery even though everything went 0-100 and then everything got busy (not in my birth plan) I was already so relaxed and I’m convinced that’s why I had such a nice labour. The birthing pool is lovely though and hopefully next time I’ll not need to be induced and I’ll be able to use that. I’d have no reservations about going back to Wigan xx

I’d also second @Jessie with the hypnobirthing though as that’s why I probably had gone zero to 100 as I’d used my hypnobirthing technique so pretty much when I buzzed them for help I was ready to be taken down to the delivery suite. I wasn’t rushed out of there after the birth either. My student midwife was based at Wigan and had contact with other student midwives at different hospitals and she said she will be applying at Wigan when she’s done as she said she feels compared to others she’s had a lot more time and hands on experience as Wigan are a lot quieter so they’ve more time. Found it all really interesting c

@Emma I had to be induced too, I wanted to do the birthing pool but sadly I couldn't 🥲 The midwives were amazing, me and my partner have never been away from eachother overnight and we've been together 10 years so I was a crying emotional wreck whenever he had to leave for the night but the midwives were so lovely and understanding ❤️ All through having contractions they were so great as I was so anxious 😭 I had to go for emergency c section in the end though as my cervix wasn't coming down or opening 🙃 my stubborn body and stubborn baba 🤣 xxxx

@Jessie yeah I did most by myself. My partner only just made the birth 😂 x

@Emma omg 😂❤️ xx

@Jessie he got there 45 mins before. My contractions started at 2am she was here by 4.20am lol x

I gave birth in the birthing pool in Wigan. Such an amazing experience , planned it again with my second but she was practically born on the car park so didn’t have much time! Fingers crossed for my third