Hi everyone,
Just wondering if anyone has had experience of giving birth in the Royal Maternity hospital in Belfast?
I attended the Royal last week for an appointment and it was like a cattle market..it is also far away travel wise for me where as Dundonald hospital is closer.Ive heard pros and cons with both.
Any views would be very much appreciated!
Any hospital clinic appointments tend to be like that unless you go private or have a local birthing centre. they have to see soo many patients, I always felt the same during my clinic appointments and i was there every 2 to 3 weeks in last trimester for growth scans but giving birth is completely different the chance of it being anywhere near that busy are so slim.
No experience of either hospital, but have you considered a home birth? I did a hypnobirthing course and decided I wanted a home birth with my first, but didn't like the nearest hospital if I needed to go in, so went to a midwife led unit. Second time we'd moved to a new area and I loved labouring at home, without worrying about when to go in, having two midwives at my house, just looking after me. One of the midwives on call when I went into labour was the midwife I'd seen throughout my pregnancy, it was so nice having that continuity of care.
Ask for a tour of the labour wards at both hospitals, if they don't do tours, ask to speak to a Supervisor of Midwives at each hospital and express your concerns and they should invite you in for a chat, to reassure you and may then give you a quick private tour - that's what I did first time round.
