Online guide to hospitals for childbirth

Hiya,

I came across this and thought it might be useful, especially since so many of us don't know much about our local hospitals... it gives a number of stats and other info about specific hospitals and compares some stats across localities.

http://www.drfosterhealth.co.uk/birth-guide/

My hospital seems to come out pretty good but one thing caught my eye, which is that it has an extremely low episiotomy rate. Is that a good or a bad thing?

I know the unit is really geared toward natural childbirth techniques and I've heard there are a number of techniques that can help reduce the need for an episiotomy, so I'm hoping this is a good thing...

Be careful with this site. It was not accurate when I had my daughter via c-section and needed to stay for 5 days in hospital. This website listed that my husband could stay with me overnight on the first night and we were shocked and I was devastated when the hospital staff forced him to leave. So, I would contact your midwife as they could more accurately give you statistics regarding the hospital of your choice. Also I would recommend signing up for the maternity tour which should include the Labor & Delivery area and the Maternity Ward.

Yes, I don't know about the maternity ratings, but it seems they don't cover some medical procedures at all (e.g. dialysis).  Also, I wonder about the consultant ratings. There is a very highly qualified consultant not on their list.

I agree it isn't completely accurate, it says my hospital doesn't have water births and they actually do.

A low episiotomy rate is a good thing, it is best to avoid that if possible.

Yes, but episiotomies are down to the type of birth (and difficulty), as well as whether you choose to heed the instructions by your midwife / obs when you're pushing.     My midwife warned me about not pushing until she told me to otherwise I'd tear (while in labour), somewhere in my tired, mushed up and riddled brain I took it in. 

I know the NHS publish their maternity ward ratings.  I know they were posted in a thread either last year or the year before, but I can't find it for searching at the moment.