Birth centre at Queen Charlotte & Chelsey Hospital?

Hey anyone has given birth in the birth centre of Queen Charlotte (Imperial)? Would love to receive some feedback of the overall experience at birth and post natal with the midwives etc.

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They were so nice in antenatal. We switched hospitals but wish we gave birth there honestly.

I had both my babies there, great experience for Labour, did feel a bit rushed to leave after the baby was delivered but I guess that’s because they’re in such high demand and need the rooms , but especially with my first I was discharged a few hours after which was a bit overwhelming. But in terms of birth both midwife’s I had were lovely, informed me throughout the process, listened to my birth plan etc.

Had my son at Queen charlottes 9 weeks ago.
In my experience everyone we met through our pregnancy and labour were amazing. Unfortunately their postnatal care was horrific. I’m still recovering from some of the trauma I suffered from their team. A dr examined my sons genitals with no gloves on and didn’t tell us why he was examining him in the first place, had my help alarm disabled without help coming and found used medical supplies in my sons cot. Not to mention a baby who was there unattended (her mum was in intensive care) and all the midwives did was complain about her crying. I’m sorry to say it’s the worst place I have ever been

Agree with the other mums.
Everything and everyone is amazing until you step into the postnatal ward.
I would recommend it anyway 🙏🏻

I had a baby here in 2023 and had my antenatal care here for my second in 2025.

The antenatal care is amazing, all the midwives were lovely throughout both times. However, my labour in 2023 was hit and miss as I was in labour for a while so I had a few shift changes throughout, some were nice and some were not so great, one midwife was telling me to push while looking at her computer and not even paying attention to me. The postnatal care was awful.

I then was registered to have my second there as it’s my local hospital , I was booked in for weeks to have an induction and they called me the day before to say they were full and transferred me to St Mary’s. I had the most amazing experience here, the birth centre is lovely.

I know so many people recommend queen charlottes and probably had a good experience but it’s so busy that I don’t think you can get great care all the time, you could be lucky but not always.

Birth amazing, postnatal care not great. But I think that will be the same across most nhs hospitals

I am mostly worried about the birth centre as I am trying to decide whether I’ll opt in for the maternity wards or birth centre. Please help ❤️

I understand post natal is terrible so no expectations on that😅

in our community

Anyone else up feeding their Bebe?

As above. Trying so hard to keep my eyes open

Oh my God, oh my God I hope this is not true!!!! I’m kind of scared

I’ve been throwing up and taking a shit all night!!! I just hope that it’s not what I think it is

Is this normal??

I’m 29 weeks pregnant and having really aching legs and they’re all lumpy and swollen. Above the knee and behind the knee . Should I be worried ? My legs have never looked like this up until a few days ago. ??

Anyone else experiencing this?

Gave birth (vagina) 5 days ago and yesterday morning and this morning getting lot of pain in my right bottom side and lower back

Induction experience

I just wanted to share my experience with being induced as I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought it may help others.

I opted for the foley balloon which was inserted at 8am Saturday morning, I had to stay in hospital due to hypertension and protein urine however usually you can just go home once this has been done. The insertion of the balloon was not painful, was slightly uncomfortable as there was slight pressure. I actually found having the cervix checked prior to be worse (again not painful at this point just uncomfortable) The balloon had little effect and after having it removed I was still only 1cm. Removal also was pain free and hardly even noticeable.

I then had my first dose of the gel and definitely noticed a difference, I started experiencing period like cramps almost immediately however they were light and manageable. After 6 hours I had another cervix check and although my cervix was soft it was still only 1cm and was only open at the front. I had another dose of the gel and felt an increase in pressure and more intense cramping where I now required pain relief (codeine). After another 6 hours I had another cervix check and I had now dilated to 2-3cm however was still quite difficult to get all the way through so a third gel was recommended which I agreed to.

Almost immediately I noticed the difference and was in considerable pain, I had paracetamol and codeine however the contractions had now become intense and a lot closer together (around 3 minutes apart). After a couple of hours I had my last cervix check and was 4cm and taken down to the Labour ward to have my waters broken and an epidural.

I had been in my room for approx 20minutes when my waters broke by themselves and I was now 10cm and actively pushing…. There was no time for the epidural and my beautiful girl arrived into the world within 2 minutes of pushing.

All in all I would say the cramps/contractions were manageable up until the third gel where it became pretty unbearable however it was for a very short time a gas and air helped take the edge off. The worst part about any of it was actually the later cervix checks where after stimulating the cervix my contractions were at their most painful.

If I had to be induced again I would skip the balloon and opt for the gels immediately as thy had a quicker effect and I would have been out a lot sooner if I had done this to begin with.

One more thing, I’ve never believed when people say “you forget the pain once they’re here” but I can honestly say this is true. It’s been 4 days and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

It’s my birthday tomorrow.

Ok so I am going to be 35 years young. I can’t believe how much this life has thrown at me but it’s okay I’m a survivor. I am truly blessed to be alive. 🥳🧁🎂 The only downside is I won’t be celebrating my birthday because my man can’t take me out. So many emotions right now.