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Pregnancy

Lister Hospital Stevenage or Luton and Dunstable

33 replies

popsy76 · 21/02/2007 16:42

Hi, my doctor has advised me to choose the hospital closest to home rather than one with the best "rating". Does anyone have any experience of either Lister or L & D and also is distance more important than quality of care? Also, are all your doctors really negative - mine wants me to pretend nothing is happening until 12 weeks I am going mad with depression ! Thanks xxx

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marchbunny · 21/02/2007 17:54

Hi popsy76
Do not have any experience of Luton, sorry. But I had both my dc at Lister one in 1999 and one in 2003, currently expecting dc3 in July also going to Lister! I live in mid beds area and chose Lister over Bedford, Adenbrookes or Rosie purely because it was the easiest to get to!! I also took into consideration any vistors I might be lucky enough to get, and where was easiest for them to get to - especially if I had had to be in for any amount of time.

The care I have received whilst there has been good, particularly my last experience in 2003 they were extremely busy in the delivery suite but I had a superb midwife. Actually, both experiences on delivery suite have been good. Ante natal ward experience was Ok, not excellent but not awful. Was only there a short time ( came home the same day).

The care I have received so far in this pregnancy has been ok, a little slow to start (was over christmas, so maybe I should let them off!) Lister offer a dating scan at about 12 weeks, anomaly scan at 20 weeks, triple test (bloods) at 16-18 weeks. Your doctor should pass your details to a midwife so you can 'book in' with her at some point before 12 weeks. I saw mine at about 10 weeks. Basically, I would recommend Lister as fair to good. So sorry for waffling never have been good at putting thoughts into words! If there is particular you want to know please ask, I will try and answer! Good Luck. x

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midnightexpress · 21/02/2007 18:27

No experience, but my brother used to work as a nurse at the Lister, so I'll ask him if he has any advice and get back to you.

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madhide · 22/02/2007 15:06

Hi Popsy

I had my dd at the Lister in 2004 and had a good experience lovely midwife and like March Bunny ward was okay much like many others I am sure

I am due to have no2 in 3 weeks and am going back to the Lister so if I have time I will post a message afterwards to let you know how I got on!

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popsy76 · 22/02/2007 17:06

Hi Ladies, thanks so much for all the info and advice. Is really lonely being at this stage as I can't ask anyone for advice. Sounds like Lister will be a good option then. Waiting to find out when scan is - then hopefully I can start feeling "normal" again and not lying to everyone i meet (work is a bl**dy nightmare! They have given me loads of new projects to take on and I just have to smile and keep shtum as I won't be here then...

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Whoooosh · 22/02/2007 17:16

Highly recommend the Lister-had great care there.Midwife friend in London tells me they have a great reputation too.

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lisadutton · 22/02/2007 17:19

Hi
I gave birth to me DD at Lister 4 years ago and recieved a wonderful service. Im now pregnant with our 2nd child (only 8 weeks), but due to complications with my daugther last time, Im already under the hospital and they are very on the ball with my difficulties.
Im new to this mumsnet (normally too busy at work to go on sites, but off sick at the mo).
Where abouts are you? Im in stevenage myself.

Lisa

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iwillbepgbydec07 · 22/02/2007 17:49

hi popsy,

i am not pregnant atm but felt i should post as L&D is about 5 minutes from where i live.

when i was pregnant the care i got at the L&D was astonishingly bad (i was having a m/c) and when i fall pg again i will be doing everything in my power to avoid that hospital. I lot of my friends though have had babies there and say they have been fantastic with them.

I think at any hospital you can have good/bad experiences.

i dont know anything about the lister hospital but i shall be rooting for Milton Keynes for me in future.

good luck whatever you decide

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elibumbum · 22/02/2007 21:11

I had my DS at the L&D. Midwives were great and had a good birth experience and felt very safe. They have a respected neo-natal care unit - however this makes them a little busier because difficult cases get sent there from all over the region.

Recommend going for a private room if you can as they are ensuite and quieter. Post natal care on the wards varies from shift to shift. The last two night shifts were awful (I was there for 5 nights) but the rest of the care was really good.

The L&D runs tours (on Saturdays) so you could see for yourself and compare with the Lister. One of my main objectives on the tour was to see how clean it was. I would have gone to another hospital if it didn't pass the cleanliness test!

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CanSleepWontStarve · 22/02/2007 21:16

Hi Popsy. I had dd at the Lister last year (as well as an m/c there in 2004), and was pretty happy with the care that I got.

The rest of my NCT antenatal group had their babies at the L&D, and all were happy with them too. I believe that parking is not so easy at the L&D though.

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sandcastles · 22/02/2007 21:20

I don't have any experience of pregnancy & L&D, but my MIL was there for a few days after she dislocated her elbow & they were horrible.

She is a nurse & she had to write up her own theatre admission (she chipped the bone & needed the peices removed), as the nurse attending to her had poor reading English & couldn't read the questions. The didn't write up her notes, no meds given, she was given the wrong sling which made healing longer, they wrote the dates for the op wrong on the letter they did for her Dr & insurance (she lives in Oz & needed one for her dr). The ward was flithy, MIL said the loos were too. No staff around to ask what was going on...etc etc

I wouldn't let my cat (if I had one) give birth there, tbh. If that is what there surgical ward is like.

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misdee · 22/02/2007 21:22

I had dd2+3 at lister, they were really good.

i had dd1 at QE2, and wont go there again.

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hillary · 22/02/2007 21:26

Hi there Popsy76

I've had alot of experience with maternity and neonatal care etc.. Lister is all very well but they don't have half the facilities that L&D have!

I'd recommend if you have the opportunity to go to L&D then do. Not saying you will need neonatal care but its always handy to have the best up to date equipment and specialists at hand. Don't get me worong Lister is good and I know alot of nurses who work there but they too admit their resources are limited.

Not to advise to chose a hospital on the 'best rating' is crazy! Like you're going to go to a lower resourceful hospital just because its closer! You go to the best! NO MATTER IF ITS 100 MILES AWAY - Doctors like to even out the figures thats all but its a little life we're talking about here not a ingrowing toe nail

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CanSleepWontStarve · 22/02/2007 21:39

Oh don't be silly Hillary - of course you don't go to the 'best' hospital if it's 100 miles away. You'd probably end up giving birth in the car if it was that far!!

Fair enough if there's only a bit of difference in distance, but IMO you devalued the rest of your post with this absurd comment.

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hillary · 22/02/2007 21:46

Excuse me!

Dont speak to me like a silly little girl!I'm speaking from personal experience, you may wish to go to a lower hospital but I'v had babies in these hospitals and it doesn't pay when things go wrong!

Yes I have gone the distance to get better care! These days you have to.

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misdee · 22/02/2007 22:25

SCBU at lister has just been redone.

dd3 was in scbu in early 2005 and they took good care of her.

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wizzywig · 28/05/2007 21:08

hiya i had my first baby boy at the l&d and they were fantastic! all of the 8 ladies in my nct class had there kids there and wouldnt not have chosen any where else. they also have one of the best special care unit in the country. i had my fertility treatment there too and was also well treated. it was so good that i didnt want to leave there after my c-section!! im going to be moving into herts later this year but i will be going back to the l&d. i felt safe and well looked after there. when i had a screaming baby in the middle of the night the midwives would regularly come in for a chat and to help me. that peace of mind and feeling that im in good hands means im definately going back to the l&d. its so good there that if i knew that by moving into hertfordshire, it would mean i couldnt go to l&d then id wait to complete my family and then move. good luck whatever your choice xx

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lou33 · 28/05/2007 21:15

its been a while, ds2 is now 6, and i dont rate the L&D usually, but i couldnt fault them when i gave birth to ds2 there

wish i could remember my consultants name, i think it was griffiths

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Princesspowersparkle · 28/05/2007 22:42

HI
Had to post- an currently with L&D hospital and I cannot fault them one bit. Every bit of care I have received there has been fantastic and I have no worries that my baby and I will be well looked after when I go there to go bith in a month and a half. I was also seen there when I had a MC 4.5 yrs ago and again care was faultless. Plus they have excellent facilities should your baby need extra care.
Saying this I don't have any experience of Lister which may be equally as good.
Hope this helps a bit.
PPS (32+3)
XX

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holsnovell · 05/06/2007 18:13

im now under care of luton. i had my first daughter at barnet in 2005 and i cannot fault luton one bit (after shamefully slagging it down) ive been into del suite following a scare and the care i recieved was faultless. its if i dare say it better than barnet where labour was a disatser. looking forward to giving birth to my second daughter in sept x

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MuffinMclay · 05/06/2007 19:30

Spooky. I was going to post the same question this evening.

My GP/MW sends everyone to the Lister, as far as I can tell. Last time I had just moved into the area and was already booked into L&D so they let me stay there, albeit rather reluctantly. It takes me about the same time to get to both, so distance isn't a factor.

The L&D were absolutely fantastic, all through the pregnancy, birth, and beyond. I had pre-eclamspsia at the end and had to go there all the time for monitoring, and always receieved excellent care. In fact, I'd known the consultant who oversaw my case for years, as I'd seen him for grim gynae stuff and fertility treatment, and felt very safe in his hands.

I was induced 2 weeks early and in hospital for over a week. I had my own room and bathroom which was fantastic. They have a mix of 4-bed wards and single rooms.

Where L&D really came into their own, IMO, was after ds was born. A few hours after the birth he became very seriously ill and all very rapidly. He had to go into a SCBU isolation unit, and it was all very touch-and-go for a while. I cannot praise the staff there highly enough for saving his life and for the quality of care they offered.

They also went out of there way to offer assistance and support with bf, at any time of day and night, which I really struggled with.

My only gripe with L&D was that some of the night staff could be very noisy indeed. I think they forgot that people were trying to sleep. But I guess all hospitals are noisy.

I don't know if I'll be able to convince the GP to let me go to L&D again. The chances are that I might have to be monitored quite closely this time (over 35, history of pre-eclampsia), so I really want to be sure I get the right hospital.

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sparklygothkat · 05/06/2007 19:47

I had my 3 kids at the Qe2 and am pregnant again. I have chosen to go to Lister, as I felt that the Qe2 didn;t take me seriously. I have had 3 premature births and the Qe2 wouldn't investigate them, even though I had had 2 previous preterm labours. Also the SCBU didn;t keep me fully informed of dd1's condition, and she was given blood without my knowledge or consent. We found out a year after her birth that she had blood poisoning and GBS while in SCBU.

I am 18 weeks pregnant atm, and so far the Lister have scanned me twice, and I am on arspin (sp?) to thin my blood, I will be admitted at 28 weeks to have steriods, I will be having 4 weekly scans and they have also put GBS stickers on my notes so I will get antibototics as soon as I am admitted in labour.

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daisybee · 15/08/2007 12:29

I gave birth at QE2 hospital. They were negligent and dangerous. They were full and didn't have a room when I rang up. I was 3 minutes apart and live in St Albans, however, they did not seem to be concerned about this. I rang twice! Upon arrival the room was not ready and I ended up giving birth in the surgical recovery room.

The midwives were downright rude and could never be found. When one was tracked down, they never came back to check me or my baby. No one came to discharge me and I almost discharged myself. Appalling! For your own safety I would not choose this hospital.

I have heard that L&D is good. However, if I have another child I would definitely go abroad.

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MuffinMclay · 15/08/2007 12:37

I opted for L&D in the end, mainly because their SCBU staff are so fantastic. My GP also thought it was the better option for me, because I'm apparently a high risk pregnancy.

I've heard positive things about the Lister, but decided to stick with what I know.

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FoghornLeghorn · 15/08/2007 12:37

I used to live in Luton and had both DD's there, 2 and a bit years apart. With DD1 the care was awful, midwives were horrendous on both labour suite and the ward - with DD2 the midwife I gave birth with was amazing, more helpful than I could've ever asked for, the care on the ward is what I would've expected to receive.
I don't know too many people who have had a great level of care at the L&D

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MuffinMclay · 15/08/2007 12:39

FHLH

I'd never heard a bad story about L&D before.

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