Living in Southeast - Waterford Maternity or Kilkenny?

Sparky100

Hi All,

I am trying to decide on what hospital to have my baby in?

It is my first baby and I would be anxious enough and a bit of a worrier so I would like best support possible

I have read and heard that Kilkenny do carry out a lot of Caesarean Sections! I understand that it is necessary sometime to do so and I may at some stage in future need to have one my self.

Where would you recommend?

- What are the consultants and mid-wives like in both?
- Are you given good aftercare when have baby?

I would really appreciate your advise from experience? Thanks

Sparky100

Anyone any advise on this? Thanks

Nevyn

I would suggest you speak to your local health nurse about the hospital and go and view them, explain you are considering having the baby there and get a tour.

wmpdd3

I'm having my baby in WRH, I had the tour of the labour ward as part of the anti-natal classes and I was really surprised at the facilities. The rooms were much better than they were 13 years ago when my cousin had her child. I was a bit worried about overcrowding going by the throngs of women at the outpatients appointments, but the midwife said all rooms are never full. I even saw the Cesarean theater which was ......... sterile!

I havent seen the hospital in Kilkenny but I'm glad I'm going to Waterford. I would also hate to have an emergency section but I get the feeling it depends more on how the midwife handles your labour and the well being of the baby then the willingness of doctors to just do them to cover themselves.

anxious1

How many labour rooms has waterford?

wmpdd3

There are 3 wards and the ward we visited had 3 labour rooms and 1 section / opperating room.

Also the midwife said, they had about 2000 - 2500 births per year so about 5-6 per day. Compared to 8000 at each Dublin hospital.

Cat Melodeon

I had my boy a year ago in Kilkenny and can't fault the place at all. I was a public patient and had all my antenatal appointments in the hospital clinic. I only saw my consultant once, but his team of registrars were very competent and the clinic midwives were excellent - only surpassed by the midwives on the labour ward. The antenatal clinic is very modern and new, the labour ward/delivery rooms dated but ok, the postnatal ward not so good (the shower rooms were a bit of a mess but apparently were about to be redone).
I had some minor complications toward the end of my pregnancy and would not have been better looked after were I a private patient.
I'm not sure about the c-section rates in Kilkenny. I ended up very overdue and was finally induced. I was hoping for a natural birth and made this clear to the midwives who did everything to help me avoid any interventions. I felt completely safe throughout, knew that if we ran into danger the consultants were ready to go, but got the birth I wanted using just gas&air. Every birth is different, but they are under pressure to reduce c-section rates. There is research out there suggesting that births where an epidural is given are more likely to end in c-section, maybe keep that in mind when 'planning' your birth and kit yourself out with other forms of distraction/pain relief etc (I did hypnobirthing and found it brilliant).

In all, the staff in Kilkenny are excellent and equipped for every eventuality. For me the main factor in choosing where to go was how far we had to drive to get there (Clonmel was the other alternative). We ended up having to go to the hospital every second day for monitoring in the last 2 weeks of the pregnancy so I'm very glad we factored that in when we made our choice.

wmpdd3

Sorry for hi-jacking but Cat Melodeon, where did you do hypno-birthing?

Cat Melodeon

I used CDs and a workbook, although there are also workshops (I think they're held in Dublin and Galway). I don't know if I'm allowed to recommend a particular product on here, but it was the Gentlebirth program by Tracy Donegan (I wouldn't have been able to handle any of the ones with American accents!). I'll be doing one of the workshops next time - the CDs were great but I think my husband would benefit from a bit of training too!

wmpdd3

There's a lady on the Dunmore Rd here in Waterford who holds classes but I couldn't afford the cost!

Might look into 2nd hand CD's.

Thanks for the info.