Birth in University Hospital Galway, any recent experiences?

AliceWalrus

Hello everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone had any recent experience giving birth in University Hospital Galway? My husband works in Galway and we have to decide if I should have our baby (its our first) here in our home country (where maternity health care is excellent) and then come over with our son when he is new or come over now and have him in Ireland so we are already there. My reservation is looking online its hard to tell what the care would be like over there.

Thanks in advance for any advice, my due date is fast approaching and we are stuck on what to do!

Milly33

Congrats AliceWalrus!! Hard one to decide indeed... Any chance tis Dubai ye are in? That's just a guess now by the way I don't know ye..

Have'nt given birth yet in Galway, but have been attending the Maternity Clinic Publicly and have to say from that side, so far so good.. We are due the start of Decemeber so I can come back and tell you more then, I am sure there are a few ladies here who have already given birth there...

So far the care has been perfect, in saying that I have had no complications or complaints.. Same as ye, it is our first so very exciting.. I can say that the ladies in the scan rooms are very nice! Ladies in reception can be hit or miss and don't take this the wrong way people of Galway, I really think that is a County thing people don't come across as very friendly straight away.. They are but you kinda of have to pry it out of them .. The care I cannot fault it

We have Dr. Morrisson and well I have only met him once so far, and that was enough sunshine to last me until we give birth.. Comes across as a bit of pompous man, but I have only met him once so he has two more chances before I fully judge

AliceWalrus

Hi Milly,
Thanks so much for your reply! I'm in Belgium where you are seen every month by your gynecologist who then goes on to deliver your baby, I feel very comfortable in his care. 
I'm due at the end of November and would love to be over there with my husband but going into the unknown is scaring me. We don't know too many people in Galway yet and as I need to make the choice this week (flying deadline) I'm feeling very overwhelmed. I'm British and I know a lot of my friends have horror stories of giving birth on the NHS and I wanted to avoid that. Its really reassuring that you are happy with the care you have received.
Good luck with yours, we are due not too far apart then!

Milly33

Oh I could understand your dilemma! Tough one, is there anyway your husband could stay with you there for the birth. I suppose stupid question if there was you would not be asking...

Found it quite surprising that Galway isn't the easiest to make friends, it is a very friendly place but I suppose like anywhere else you must make the effort too..

Best of luck in your decision I hope it all goes well for you.. Someone here surely has experience and will come back to add more information

shesty

To be honest Alicewalrus, if it's your first, you are this close to the birth and you are comfortable with your doctor then maybe you might be better to stay where you are?
Believe it or not, it can be easier to meet people with a baby in tow :-)

AliceWalrus

Thanks a lot ladies :)

Gatica

We were happy with our care in UCHG. However we didn't have any complications. The nurses in the maternity ward were helpful and friendly (bar 1 that I saw once in my 4 days there).
I have heard from others in my baby group though of being left helpless after C-section because they were so understaffed that midwives couldn't come to give a hand with baby and were taking ages to respond to a beep request.
I'm not Irish, so I'd thought before of having baby outside of Ireland because I don't feel that I'm safe here if something goes wrong (I'm likely to be let die etc... due to 8th Amendment.) However, all my support network is here and luckily everything went well.
If I were you I'd have baby in Belgium, your care is going well and you know you're in good hands. That's a huge relief off anyone's mind. If you are planning on relocating after, know that it's not easy to get things done with baby in tow, so prep as much as you can now.

AliceWalrus

Hi,

Thanks so much for your reply. Indeed doing everything with a tiny baby in tow seemed overwhelming which was one of the main motivators to have the baby in Ireland, so at least we were all together when he arrived.

Seems to be being sure you are in good hands is a big player in having a calm birth so maybe being Belgium is the best option.

Thanks again, your reply seems to confirm what I've heard, that like the NHS if your treatment is standard then its great but anything out of the ordinary becomes more hairy which given that I'm no spring chicken is a concern )

Meeeee79

Gatica wrote: »

I'm not Irish, so I'd thought before of having baby outside of Ireland because I don't feel that I'm safe here if something goes wrong (I'm likely to be let die etc... due to 8th Amendment.)

Seriously?

Milly33

Well it would be true, I know a lot of people who say they wont have kids because of this..

shesty

Really?

Milly33

Yep, in fairness tis fairly messed up. Same goes for having the choice lets say if you find out about defects or something wrong with the baby it should be a choice but it isn't.

lazygal

The eighth amendment is a definite factor in many people's decisions. I'm iffy about having another until it's repealed. You're really at risk with it in place, as many doctors have confirmed.

rainbow kirby

I feel a lot safer having my kids in the UK while it's still a thing in Ireland tbh. Had a good experience with my son in my hospital's alongside birth centre with the midwives and everything is going well with #2 so far (24 weeks).

shesty

No, I find it odd that people would decide to have kids or not based on the presence of the 8th Amendment.Seems a bit extreme.

As for the defect thing-yeah I get what you're saying but at our 12 week scan last week we were offered the option for testing for Down's.We declined.Realistically if it was positive, what would we do?I don't mean we couldn't travel to the UK.I mean I couldn't end the pregnancy.I had seen the heartbeat and the baby and we'll take our chances.

Now to avoid this descending into a dogfight about the 8th amendment, I will clarify that yes, I understand there are situations where people would want to abort for medical reasons and yes, I do agree they should have the option to. I am not getting into a debate about it here though.I just find it odd that the 8th amendment would make you decide about such a big thing as having kids or not-I can only imagine they had other reasons or were on the fence about kids in the first place, I suppose.

To change the topic, there could be an argument for Galway now being quite a safe place to have a baby given the level scrutiny it has had in recent years.Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted kind of thing......

lazygal

The eighth amendment affects every pregnancy, regardless of whether you'd want an abortion. Masters of maternity hospitals say it's dangerous. Why would you put your life in the hands of doctors who have to wait until the law says they can intervene?
I seriously doubt much has changed in UCHG maternity service wise. Organisational change is incredibly difficult.

Toastytoes

lazygal wrote: »

The eighth amendment affects every pregnancy, regardless of whether you'd want an abortion. Masters of maternity hospitals say it's dangerous. Why would you put your life in the hands of doctors who have to wait until the law says they can intervene?
I seriously doubt much has changed in UCHG maternity service wise. Organisational change is incredibly difficult.

Have to agree with this. Every pregnant woman’s life is put at risk in Ireland by the 8th. The 8th isn’t just about wanting an abortion.

And I’d seriously doubt much has changed in UCHG.

Milly33

Yeah I don't think by the sounds of it, it is the worst place. This is our first now so I cant say I have words of wisdom. But after talking to friends who went private in Cork we get a lot more on the public side of things than they were offered..

Hopefully things have changed there regarding the care.. I was very upset when my first GP was pushing Portiuncle on me to have our first, she was quite pushey with it, until I asked a friend of a friend for advice and well it was stay well away and go to Galway

Gatica

Meeeee79 wrote: »

Gatica wrote: »

I'm not Irish, so I'd thought before of having baby outside of Ireland because I don't feel that I'm safe here if something goes wrong (I'm likely to be let die etc... due to 8th Amendment.)

Seriously?

Whatever the reason behind why women are being allowed to die here (8th or not), the result is still the same, women don't feel safe. I'm not saying all women, but clearly I'm not the only one. I only gave my own experience and my own perspective, I don't FEEL safe here. I was luckily treated well and came out well from the situation, but I did go in with my breath held wondering if I was gonna come out of it alive and well because of the history of Galway hospital. It might be an exaggerated feeling, but hormonal and worried isn't a great combo.
As to whether things have changed there. I have friends that worked there and they conveyed that attitudes in the hospital haven't changed, staff felt that crap went badly in Savita's case, but that it was just bad luck. So with such attitudes in the hospital while they put up a front to the media of new guidelines and whatever other BS, I don't think we're that much safer than before. It's just my view of it, and I'm not stopping anyone from going there or from thinking otherwise. but yes, I'm serious, and I'm worried for myself and other women.

kippy

Our three kids were born in Galway over the past six years. Most recent a few months ago. Very positive experiences for all three. Great staff and very efficient.

PhoenixParker

Toastytoes wrote: »

Have to agree with this. Every pregnant woman’s life is put at risk in Ireland by the 8th. The 8th isn’t just about wanting an abortion.

And I’d seriously doubt much has changed in UCHG.

Before I got pregnant I thought the 8th was about abortion, it's not, it's about miscarriage. Miscarriage is where it really complicates treatment and causes problems from additional trauma all the way up to life threatening situations.

Savita didn't want an abortion, she had a miscarriage.
If your hcg level is detectable at all, the doctors have to wait and work out what is going on with your pregnancy before they can offer treatment.

A suspected miscarriage with poorly documented dates, you'll have to wait to see if it grows. A suspected ectopic, you'll have to wait til it's clearly visible on ultrasound etc. Etc.

The 8th needs to go.

scarepanda

The 8th didn't stop us having a baby, obviously. But I won't lie and say that it didn't cross my mind on more than one occasion through the pregnancy. I also think it was in play when I was full term and ultimately lead to an emergency section - but I doubt I'll ever know for definite.

It worries me that the debate surrounding the 8th amendment will descend into a heated debate about abortion and not be centred on women's health. An awful lot of people don't realise that the 8th amendment is about more than abortion.

shesty

scarepanda wrote: »

An awful lot of people don't realise that the 8th amendment is about more than abortion.

Never a truer word spoken.Unfortunately I think it has already descended into abortion vs not and nothing else.

scarepanda

shesty wrote: »

Never a truer word spoken.Unfortunately I think it has already descended into abortion vs not and nothing else.

Unfortunately shesty I'd have to agree with you. But, until the date is set for the referendum and the campaigns are underway officially, I will hope that there will be some group that can rise above the abortion debate and highlight how much the 8th is tangled up in every decision related to woman's health.

lazygal

scarepanda wrote: »

Unfortunately shesty I'd have to agree with you. But, until the date is set for the referendum and the campaigns are underway officially, I will hope that there will be some group that can rise above the abortion debate and highlight how much the 8th is tangled up in every decision related to woman's health.

AIMS does just that.
http://aimsireland.ie/

rainbow kirby

Parents for Choice do quite a bit of work in relation to the effects of the 8th in continued pregnancy and birth as well.

kippy

I'm not entirely sure why the 8th amendment has come into this thread which is specific to UHG.......

Without being crass about it, the maternal mortality rates in ireland in general are comparable to or lower than countries where such "complications" don't exist. UHG's rates arent out of kilter with other hospitals in Ireland.