CUMH/Waterford Regional or South Tipp hospital?

pooch90 · 14-05-2015 12:05PM #1

Hey ladies!
Hoping for some advice from those in the know.
Just found out that first bubba is due in January, all going well.
Now we have to decide which hospital to go for.

We live in Clonmel so South Tipp would be the obvious choice. However, our GP said that if you needed an epidural, you may or may not get it depending on whether the relevant staff are on. I've also heard that in cases of complications they have to call consultants from other hospitals. Also, I'm a teacher and a lot of the mothers in my school are midwives and nurses there and I don't think I'd be comfortable (especially as one or two would be gossips).

So really we are thinking between CUMH (my best friend has had her two kids there and was very happy) and Waterford.
Cork is a bit further away but the road is better than to WD.

Any advice or experience in either that could help us decide? Have to let doc know in next few days.

Penny Dreadful · 14-05-2015 12:38PM

pooch90 wrote: »

Hey ladies!
Hoping for some advice from those in the know.
Just found out that first bubba is due in January, all going well.
Now we have to decide which hospital to go for.

We live in Clonmel so South Tipp would be the obvious choice. However, our GP said that if you needed an epidural, you may or may not get it depending on whether the relevant staff are on. I've also heard that in cases of complications they have to call consultants from other hospitals. Also, I'm a teacher and a lot of the mothers in my school are midwives and nurses there and I don't think I'd be comfortable (especially as one or two would be gossips).

So really we are thinking between CUMH (my best friend has had her two kids there and was very happy) and Waterford.
Cork is a bit further away but the road is better than to WD.

Any advice or experience in either that could help us decide? Have to let doc know in next few days.

I live in Dublin so don't have a decision like yours to make (I'm attending the Coombe for the second time- also due in Jan). Given your choices and the ease with which you can get to Cork I'd opt for CUMH in a heartbeat.
It's a bigger hospital, more experienced staff, etc.

pwurple · 14-05-2015 12:48PM

Had both my babies in CUMH. It's a fantastic hospital for birth. New, custom built. No huge wards, max in a room is 4, but there are single and double rooms as well. I was in a double room both times, on public. Plenty of staff, all very caring. Midwife led birth, but buckets of consultants around if you need them. I had two really great birth experiences. One was a long labour, the other shorter (induced for medical reasons). Epidural was arranged within a few minutes of when I asked for it.

The only thing I'd say, is that the waiting times in CUMH during the pregnancy can be flippen ridiculous, so if you could get your checkups moved to a clinic nearer you, you might be a lot faster.

pooch90 · 14-05-2015 07:15PM

pwurple wrote: »

The only thing I'd say, is that the waiting times in CUMH during the pregnancy can be flippen ridiculous, so if you could get your checkups moved to a clinic nearer you, you might be a lot faster.

Any idea how I would go about doing that?

Thank you both for your replies,I'm not from this end of the country and only a few of my friends have had kids. Its so early on and I can't talk to anyone about it cos we aren't meant to be telling anyone!

A big part of me is thinking it would be stupid to bypass Clonmel when the hospital is literally 5 minutes from my house and,with the due date being January we are taking a risk with the weather.

I think in my own head I have ruled out Waterford. my heart says CUMH. I'm telling my mam I'm expecting tomorrow (so excited!) so ill bounce it all off her and see what she reckons.

pwurple · 15-05-2015 03:04PM

pooch90 wrote: »

Any idea how I would go about doing that?

Thank you both for your replies,I'm not from this end of the country and only a few of my friends have had kids. Its so early on and I can't talk to anyone about it cos we aren't meant to be telling anyone!

A big part of me is thinking it would be stupid to bypass Clonmel when the hospital is literally 5 minutes from my house and,with the due date being January we are taking a risk with the weather.

I think in my own head I have ruled out Waterford. my heart says CUMH. I'm telling my mam I'm expecting tomorrow (so excited!) so ill bounce it all off her and see what she reckons.

When you go to your first appointment in the hospital, they assess you as low risk or high risk I think. If you're low risk, they give you the option of going to one of the midwife clinics. Or maybe you can ask for it. It started up on my second pregnancy, and I took it.

It was a bit of a mess in the end for me, as my blood pressure is normally low, but the midwives kept sending me back to the back of the CUMH queue to get it checked after every appointment (even though the consultants kept writing that it was fine and perfectly normal for me). So my time-saving clinic idea did not go to plan! But if you're a bog-standard pregnancy, it would probably work out much better.

dido2012 · 16-05-2015 02:45AM

I'm attending Waterford. I'm due in a couple of weeks. The consultant I'm under has an excellent reputation. Luckily I only had to see him when I had the vomiting bug and was admitted due to dehydration. Excellent care from the midwives when I was in there and find them very thorough at every appointment. Was told at the ante natal class that they don't have a huge catchment area..less than 3000 in their care compared to 10000 or more in Cork so if you have any complications you'll be admitted and monitored closely. You can have a lot of hospital appointments from 28 weeks and you just can't predict how the pregnancy will go so might be more convenient to be closer to home.

r3nu4l · 16-05-2015 03:09AM

First off, congrats

We had our second baby in CUMH, just over a week ago...hence my posting at this time of morning

CUMH was fine and the staff were excellent. We had the same choice as you, South Tipp (not in a million years), Waterford, or CUMH.

The motorway to Cork is excellent and should be driveable even in poor weather, can't say the same for the road to Waterford. Also, if you get stuck behind some ignorant farmer in a tractor who won't help you overtake by pilling in on the road to Waterford, you could be stuck for miles. No such problem on the Motorway.

Funnily enough, I was in Waterford regional only yesterday and the day before as I was dropping someone down for an overnight stay. The hospital itself was okay but there were three sets of roadworks on the way there and there were delays as a result. Less likely to happen on the motorway.

My vote would be CUMH, especially if going from Clonmel.

pooch90 · 16-05-2015 03:39PM

Thank you so much, yet again for the replies.
Can you tell me why you'd be so against Clonmel?

pooch90 · 25-05-2015 10:19AM

Thank you for all the help ladies, we opted for CUMH.
All systems go now!

pooch90 · 28-07-2015 09:09PM

Hi again ladies, sorry to drag this thread open again,I just didn't want to start a new one! (Mods, hope that's OK)
For those of you that are around Clonmel, could any of you point me in the right direction for ante natal classes and pregnancy yoga or Pilate's? Apparently you can only have the ante natal classes in South Tipp General if you are having the baby there,which is fair enough! But I was with the GP today and forgot to ask.

r3nu4l · 30-07-2015 11:55AM

Not a lady but pregnancy Pilate's is available in Cahir. I believe it's the physiotherapists near the craft gallery in Cahir. I can confirm with my good lady wife.

pooch90 · 30-07-2015 01:27PM

r3nu4l wrote: »

Not a lady but pregnancy Pilate's is available in Cahir. I believe it's the physiotherapists near the craft gallery in Cahir. I can confirm with my good lady wife.

Thank you very much kind sir. I had heard about the physios in Cahir. I pass through for work so could be ideal. Starting to stiffen up now so need something!

CUMH/Waterford Regional or South Tipp hospital?

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