I have mixed feelings. For the actual birth, I couldn’t fault Medway- my midwife team and doctors (natural birth with a few complications) were incredible- cannot fault them at all, they even stayed past their shift to stay with me. However I was kept in for a few days after and the care (or should I say lack of) really put a dampener on the experience. I hope this helps and good luck mumma!
I thought the staff were incredible at Medway! I ended up having an emergency C-section which was obviously not the plan. Every single person from my midwife to the surgeons were amazing. All made me feel at ease, explained the whole process and really listened to any questions or concerns. I had a midwife with me my whole labour while in hospital. Got to the ward at 2am and was industry given tea and toast. They even gave my husband some which they don’t usually do. Partners can also stay on the ward overnight which was amazing for me after a section. I do agree with Georgia above, once on the ward it was a little slow getting pain relief after however I was told that back in March they were short on nurses on the ward so it’s probably just that. Wouldn’t hesitate to give birth there again xx
I had a TFMR in July last year and the maternity team in delivery suite were amazing! Considering how things went, they treated my baby with so much care. Fast forward to this year, the maternity team on delivery suite again were amazing. They understood my anxiety around labour and was so supportive. I highly recommend the midwifery team at Medway! 🙂
The birthing ward was amazing for me and my little one, I gave birth just under 8 weeks ago. I had an induced labour and it all went well except the midwife on the night shift ignored me because she didn't believe i was having contractions until I went into active labour. Can't remember get name but literally everyone besides her were lovely and it was a really good experience.
In my opinion the midwife’s were all amazing for me. Couldn’t have chosen anywhere/anyone better
I was with Darent Valley but I moved back to Medway where I'm from originally so I had my care transferred to Medway hospital and honestly the maternity care there is brilliant! I was worried about transferring but honestly way more organised than it was at DV. I had a natural delivery at The Birth Place in June this year. We had our own room with a pool, partner could stay overnight, always staff around to answer any questions or help with anything you're unsure on. Being a first time mum I was very anxious but I definitely recommend Medway. I know it has a bad rep but can't fault the maternity side of things. Xx
I don't have a bad word to say about both of my birthing experiences at Medway. Both I have delivered in delivery, but with my first I recovered on the ward and my 2nd I went to the birthing place. X
Hiya hun iv given birth twice at Medway my first wasn’t too bad but could have been better and my second one was a bit of a surprise but the staff with my second labour was phenomenal
I had my LO there in January and I cannot fault them one bit. They were amazing!! My labour came to a traumatic stop after 26hours as my baby got stuck so I needed an emergency c section and through the whole thing they were amazing. They talked me through everything, helped me stay calm and made adjustments for me in theatre to help me cope due to a needle phobia. I already know that if I’m lucky enough to have another baby they will be born there as well xx
First experience wasn’t great at all. But it was also COVID times which complicated things. I had a prem delivery, a stint in NICU etc. Whilst my treatment and care left a lot to be desired, and there were mistakes etc, the care in the Oliver fisher ward for my son was incredible- I can’t fault them at all for that. Second birth, they were fantastic from start to finish. Couldn’t have asked for anything more.
I had my second girl on 9th October. It was an amazing experience, midwives were great, the aftercare was great. The birth centre has its own room where we could go make tea coffee, they had all types of milks, they had biscuits sandwich’s etc you could help yourself to. We had someone come around and ask us what we wanted for lunch. I had a student midwife deliver my little girl and she was honestly amazing My first was delivered via the delivery suite & again amazing midwife, partner couldn’t stay overnight unfortunately, but if I want finish having babies I wouldn’t hesitate or worry about the birth at Medway ☺️
As a first time mum I didn't feel listened to, and ended up having quite a few students or newly qualified midwives who worried me about baby's heart rate where actually it was fine. FYI you can decline being hooked up to a machine and ask them to manually check baby periodically. The machine and not being able to move stressed me out. I was left for long periods and ended up with an emergency c-section where the doctor was clearly eager to have a surgery. The recovery on ward went well, had some good advice from the midwives on ward, pain meds were slow but I didn't need them as much as I thought. Food wasn't great take snacks.
I thought the care I received was great however I felt somewhat pushed to have an induction by some of the medical professionals because baby had passed meconium (apparently significant amount so I get why they wanted me to have an induction) but then I ended up having to have an emergency c section which I found pretty traumatic tbh. I did find everyone there was compassionate and professional and I might have ended up needing an emergency c section without the induction, who can say - so mixed feelings overall. I quite liked the food personally haha 😂
@Lucy we had soggy toast or yoghurt for breakfast, an ok lunch and then a sandwich for dinner July '23 x
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My first was born there and my labor nurse was fantastic and lovely .my ward night nurse should've picked a different career . Day nurse, lovely again.
@Tammy I got asked 4 hours after my section if I was in pain because I was. My nurse acted surprised . My baby passed meconium too and they were like you can move around and I was bit like how as had wires everywhere. I felt like an epidural was forced upon me then they gave the pitocin IV which i don't remember agreeing too and it didn't work even passed the highest setting. So yep emergency section after 17 hours of active labor . Took q7 hours ti get from 4cm to 6cm lol
@Sam that sounds awful I'm so sorry they didn't give you the proper care or inform you x
@Tammy oh god that sounds terrible! 😱
@Lucy it wasn't the best, I've had a follow up with the midwives to discuss what happened and they "will feed back" to the student midwives /newly qualified about not leaving for long periods and confirmed that the doctor I had is quite keen for surgeries Medway have got a 52.5% c-section rate roughly which is high got the UK
I couldn’t fault them at all and I work there although not in midwifery. Had my little girl in March and was induced, my midwife that delivered my baby was amazing and had multiple students who were also great. I did however discharge myself once moved to the post natal ward as it wasn’t a place for me or baby and I wanted to be at home. But no complaints from birth or anything leading up to birth, always felt listened to, never made to feel stupid x
I had mixed feelings before I went in, I went in and was induced, the lady’s were very welcoming and any questions I had they answered, the care was amazing and once your bubba is here the care would be even more x
I had an elective c section 5 years ago there and they were amazing made me feel so comfortable and I'm going to have another one in March with my twins xxzz
I had my LG there last September and the actual birth, I couldn’t have asked for a better team/midwife. The delivery went as well as it could and the support I had during and after was great. Once I got moved on the ward however it wasn’t as great. I had to ask for pain medication multiple times before I got it, requested food and it never got bought and the nurses/midwives that were there just wasn’t generally very friendly