After my first child was born in 2015, she seemed to have issues with trapped wind and no matter what I or the nurses in the ward did, nothing seemed to resolve the issue. This went on for several days and the second day in particular was very bad. My little girl spent the afternoon screaming even though she had been fed, changed, etc. I could not get any wind up and it was clear she was in discomfort and because of this, I got quite upset. A nurse noticed I was upset and that my daughter was a little bit jaundiced as my bed was in the furthest corner from the window and she requested that I stay an extra night. What I didn't know was that the nurse had requested a visit from social services - even though there were no issues with my parenting - and that was why she wanted me to stay on. It was the most humiliating, belittling experience of my life and I felt like a complete failure even though I had done absolutely nothing wrong. At 31 years old, having a (supposed) caregiver treating you like an ignorant child was completely unforgivable and disgusting. All care up until this point had been fantastic and I could not fault anything but because of this experience, I have avoided using this hospital since.

My consultant provided excellent care throughout. The hospital facilities, cleaning and ward staff following delivery, and the breastfeeding support, were poor however, and I opted not to return to Holles Street on subsequent pregnancies.

For first baby, good care received in antenatal ward, bad experience in main ward pre-delivery, not enough staff, didn’t listen to my needs or take time to explain anything to me. Despised postnatal ward after emergency c section. Horrible experience. Treated very badly by one midwife in particular who was on night duty when I was there. She made me feel stupid and spoke very aggressively to me, it was very distressing. She was nothing short of a bully. Little or no support received!! Felt it was more of a baby factory than a baby hospital that I now refer to as “Horror Street”. Would never go back.

The care and attention given to me during my pregnancy was exceptional. My consultant's private secretary was a delight as she could answer any of my questions. My consultant is a true gentleman.

I attended NMH semi-private clinic with my first child in 2017 and could not fault it. The midwifes and consultants where always professional and nice. I understand that clinics are busy but I felt they always explained everything to me clearly. I was alway seen in under an hour. When I was in labour I was treated very well. I went from 1-8cm in a really short time and my midwife Josephine took me every step of the way even when my daughter was in distress, she kept it really professional and encouraged me every step of the way. On the semi private ward there was some building work going on but despite this I felt the general cleanliness was of a high standard and barely noticed it. The food was amazing also! I found the midwives on the ward very attentive and patient with me especially Anitha, Natasha, Laura and Siobhan. I still remember their names after two years, they really were amazing. In January this year I unfortunately miscarried and the care I received was second to none. It was the day of the nurses strike and although the midwives where under pressure, I felt so cared for. The only thing I was a bit let down by was the lack of information in regards to what happens etc... I am currently in the early stages of pregnancy and I will be attending Holles Street again. The midwives and care staff are amazing and I couldn't imagine going anywhere else.

Poor nursing care.

The nurses in Holles Street are so nice and compassionate!

I gave birth in this hospital two-and-a-half years ago and I am still dealing with the birth trauma to this day.

I will never attend this hospital again.

Had my baby here last week - semi private patient. The appointments with the consultant are not very well organised and the nurses in that clinic tend to discuss your situation openly in the corridor but when it came to labour and delivery I found the care to be excellent from start to finish. I received good support for breastfeeding after the birth, was checked every few hours. The hospital seemed well managed in terms of hearing tests for baby, visits by paediatrician etc... I would return.

Second time attending Holles Street, this time for twins. The level of care in public is amazing, the staff are brilliant and friendly. Have also attended emergency twice and again the level of care is outstanding. Would recommend public care.

The doctor I saw was an absolute disgrace, bullish, rude and demeaning. I'd brought a friend with me as my previous visit had been so awful and she was shocked at the way I was spoken to.

The gynaecology ward - unit 4 is excellent. Dr Agnew is reassuring and a great surgeon. There is a very good atmosphere in the hospital. Wonderful standard of care. Thank you to all for all the care.

I was appalled by their lack of organisation, lack of hygiene, lack of professionalism, lack of respect for my dignity. The midwives were mostly lovely people but didn’t look after my medical needs, others were incredibly rude, physically rough with me and my baby. The most attention I got was from the midwife who was trying to get me to agree to go home, she checked so many times to see if I’d go, pity they didn’t check that much on my medical needs. Follow up has been a disaster, have lost count the number of phone calls I have had to make to them to find out what’s happening. I wish I’d never booked in there. Also I was a public patient and every time I was admitted I was asked are you semi private or private? Then I’d have to say I was public and was made to feel like a second class citizen.

I had my first baby in Holles street in Novemeber 2015. Durning my pregnancy I went public and attended the outpatient ward for my appointments, it's a bit of a confusing queue system the first time you go but I never waited more then one hour start to finish. The rooms and corridors are tiny and not really suitable for heavy big pregnant women. My pregnancy was straightforward and no issues so I never actually met my consultant as the hospital prefer midwife-led care. But then I suppose if I needed him I would have met him and I prefer the midwives anyway. The night I had my son the hospital was packed and there was no delivery suites so I was labouring in a corridor and waited a long long time for the gas and air. I didn't have one midwife either I had several and they were all checking my cervix which I think multiple checks slow you down so I ended up refusing them in the end. My delivery was very long and stressful and the midwives were under real pressure and it was all a bit manic. I had a student midwife in with me who stayed with me the whole day/night, she was a star but it was her first day. Baby was delivered and he's perfect. After delivery I was in a lot of pain and struggled to move and walk. I was breastfeeding and he took to it like a duck to water. But I did find the midwife helping those who were formula fed more showing how to wind etc and I was totally left alone. Also the visitors rules kinda depend on the person in charge. One night the girl next to me had her brother and his wife in until at least 11pm. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.I had to return to the hospital A&E three times in the following weeks due to complications with my stitches (pain was unbearable) and I found the A&E midwives to be lovely and reassuring. I also attended physio as an outpatient for a few months after and found the girls in there so nice and helpful. It took one full year to get a follow-up gyno appointment but again they were helpful once I saw them.

Absolutely disgusted at my care. I've contacted the hospital to say I never want to be treated by my consultant again. Feel manipulated and lied to. Feel sorry for anyone who has or will have treatment from this doctor. Never setting foot in here again.

Horrendous experience from start to finish. Was admitted early and left for three days because no one could get me a scan. Was not seen by my consultant once in that time even as he passed me to see other patients in the ward. Three failed attempts were made to give me an epidural during labour and after hours of screaming and begging for help I was rushed to the operating theatre for a section. Thankfully I did not need a section and was able to push baby out myself after a spinal tap. Post labour was just as bad, left on the bag for over 24 hours. IV drip left on me unchecked for hours. Breastfeeding interrupted to give baby bath and then told couldn't be done on arrival to the room as he was on IV also. Absolutely third world treatment, was shocked and appalled by it and dread the day I may have to return for another birth.

I attended Holles St. during my first pregnancy (baby born in April 2015) and am currently attending for my second baby, due in November as a public patient (combined care). 1. Building (outpatients/antenatal care). The facilities leave a lot to be desired. The whole hospital building structure is old and doesn't inspire much confidence, with the exception of the Foetal Medicine Unit on the second floor where you are given the anomaly scan around 18-20 weeks, where the general ambiance is modern and the facilities look state of the art. If you attend as a public patient you usually have to queue for a minimum two hours with another 40 women approx. to see the midwife, give a urine/blood sample and have a very speedy scan. The staff (midwives, nurses, doctors) are very competent, some may/may not be too sympathetic, it just depends on your luck. The whole antenatal appointments routine feels (as many friends also commented) like being a cow in a cattle market. 2. Antenatal classes. For first-time mums the hospital offers a set of classes (maybe 6/8?) to which partners can attend too. The midwife and physiotherapist are competent but I didn't feel I learnt anything more that I had found reading online. 3. Delivery. I personally had the silly idea of bringing my chart at home after the appointments, and ended up going into labour as I was out on errands - with no chart on me, obviously. I was lucky enough to be near the hospital itself, but they wouldn't admit me, visit me, nor give me any sort of basic pain relief until my husband arrived with my chart, despite the excruciating pain (I ended up delivering less that two hours later; thankfully husband was at home and grabbed the chart and hopped in a taxi). Delivery was medically unassisted (I was concerned about the possible use of forceps) and I had two midwives with me, one of them a student, plus a senior midwife after delivery to give me sutures. I felt that the student was more empathetic and tried to comfort me in my distress, while the other repeated at me not to shout as I was wasting my energies (try that when you dilate from 1 to 7cm in half an hour). I had a birth plan that wasn't even looked at until I pointed it out (after baby was born). 3. Stay in the hospital. I was admitted for 4 days instead of the standard 3, because I stated that I wanted to exclusively breastfeed but I was struggling with it. They preferred to keep me a day extra to be sure I was managing, and I appreciated the concern. A bit disappointed that the shop in the hospital did not sell latch assist suction cups, that were recommended to me by the nurse in the ward to facilitate the breastfeeding, which husband had to hunt for while I was nerve-wrecked because I couldn't feed the baby. The stay in the ward was pleasant enough (considering you share with other women who may be chatting loudly on the phone through the night while you are trying to recover and deal with a crying newborn), again the younger midwives/nurses/staff felt very empathetic while the more senior staff felt a bit more brisk. 4. Other. No parking in the hospital, expect to pay 2.90€ an hour for on-street parking in the area; when attending for antenatal care you may be splashing nearly a tenner in parking. Great food, unexpectedly! All in all, despite the poor look of the facilities, the 'cattle market' feeling at the antenatal checks and some brisk staff, they know what they are doing and baby's safety was never a concern for me. I can well imagine that they are understaffed/overworked and manners sometimes get lost along the way, but baby gets priority for me and I am happy to trust them again with baby number 2.

I would say if you have any choice do not go here, the staff are some of the worst, the way they treat you and the way they explain anything is just awful. I am so disappointed with this hospital, puts a bad taste in my mouth for the birth of my child. I will be looking to lodge formal complaints and I highly recommend to not use this hospital unless it is required. If you do have to go then enjoy getting no information without asking and enjoy the midwives utter lack of any form of respect. They seem to hate their jobs. There has not been one visit where we left happy with them and we often left in a fowl mood.

Doctor was a disgrace, turned up 30 minutes late, was indifferent and cold. Totally ignored the fact that I was very very distressed. Despite repeatedly saying the doctor was hurting me, they made no effort to comfort me or stop the procedure. I was not a human being, just another cervix. Angry is not the word.

I gave birth there in August 2015 and I was very pleased with the amount of attention, care and help we received. I would recommend it to anyone.

Having any form of surgery can be nerve wrecking however my doctor definitely put my mind at ease. He provided outstanding care and I felt well informed throughout - from where I was on the list for surgeries, to what the surgery would entail and also a detailed account of how the surgery went. I felt well looked after and in good hands.This was only reinforced by how well the nurses treated me and ensured I was comfortable throughout my stay.

I thought it was a bit strange that the bedsheets weren't changed in the two nights I was there after giving birth. The food was served at the end of the bed where I couldn't reach without pain after giving birth and the table didn't move. Breastfeeding support could have been a bit more consistent. The manner in which patients were asked to leave to free beds for new patients could have been a bit friendlier. And when mums and babies (and dads) did get ready to leave they had to wait a long time before being discharged.

Since I got pregnant with my first baby in 2016 I was going to NMH. I can say really good things , but as well really bad things. 1. I was attending antenatal classes with my partner, they were very good for my partner to understand the labor and more about babies. I didn't learn anything new which I couldn't read. 2. In one of the antenatal classes midwife asked everyone who is going to have epidural and who is against it. I said I am against it and she almost attacked me and made me feel not really well. She explained of course why I should have an option of epidural, but the way she explained it was just really not nice. 3. Physiotherapy classes were great! I learned a lot. Especially because I have scoliosis, this was very helpful. Plus the physiotherapist was very nice and explained everything. 4. The appointments in the hospital were good. I did not need to wait too long in the waiting room. And the doctors were nice. 5. At the end of pregnancy I made an appointment for physiotherapy. I was struggling with my back, hips and pelvic floor. I got my appointment just after the birth of my baby. 6. Just before my baby was born I went to hospital with contractions three times in a week and a half. The third time was the lucky one. First few times I stayed in the hospital for few days. And staff were amazing and treated me very nice. 7. Third time I came in to hospital I was finally getting into labour but very slowly. I was in huge amount of pain. But the doctor gave me gas and kept very rudely saying to me that I should relax. Until she actually understood that I'm in too much pain and I was dilated just two cm. So it was not normal. That's when she started to be nice with me.8. I had an emergency c-section and it was really traumatic. When I woke up everyone was really nice. 9. Second day after c-section one of the midwives started to put my baby into my bed to sleep with me, I did not want that and I was terrified of it, but she kept doing it. I think it's because I kept calling them when I needed to feed my baby. So they would take him out of his bed. ( I could not move much and was in a lot of pain). 10. Same midwife was really pushing me about breastfeeding. I wanted to breastfeed, but already third night my nipples cracked very badly and I was asking maybe someone could show me how to express or help me with my nipples. Thats when she become really rude and kept telling me just feed him and basically stop whining and made me feel just horrible about myself. Other midwifes and nurses were very nice. 11. I was not expecting that food would be that nice. It was actually lovely. 12. There was as well a point when I was bleeding (as you do after birth), and I needed someone to help me, and I kept pressing the bell. It took them an hour to come for me when my sheets were bloody and I was almost crying. They said that the bell had not worked, but it kept happening. 13. And the last when discharging me they never even told me what I need to do with my scar, can I lift anything, do I need to clean it etc...? So there is definitely some good things about this hospital. Antenatal care was really good. But straight away after birth (especially after c-section) when you are asking their help, they just don't want to help you. And so many times I was told I will come help you in 5 mins, and they would not show up for half the night.

I had two miscarriages in 2009 and 2015 at 14 and 10 weeks. First time I was told after a scan that the foetus was dead and an appointment for a D&C was not scheduled until six days later, I had to go home and wait until I passed it the foetus on my bedroom floor, fast forward a few years to my second pregnancy, spontaneously began to bleed at 10.5 weeks and passed a foetus again. Rushed into hospital and a few clots were removed and I was just sent home with a cup of tea. Miscarriage was incomplete and I bled on and off heavily for a month and had to keep going back in until a D&C was done a month later despite me asking earlier for it as I couldn't cope with the bleeding anymore. It was utterly traumatising. I was not offered any testing to see what had gone wrong as unless I had a 3rd miscarriage I didn't 'qualify'. I got pregnant 4 months after the miscarriage again and had intermittent scary episodes of bleeding. Despite being semi private and my history I didn't see a consultant until 17 weeks. I got no extra care. At 24 weeks the bleeding came back and I was discovered to have an open cervix with my water sac bulging. I was going to give birth extremely prematurely. I was thrown into a ward with seven other women, a few who were in labour, it was terrifying. The facilities are horrific. My so called consultant breezed in as if it was all nothing and questioned me on my insurance. After 10 days in a hostel like environment I gave birth 15 weeks early to a baby weighing less than 2 pounds who just about survived. Again no investigation was offered despite 3 pregnancies now having gone wrong and I had to fight to get an MRI. The bill for my insurance provider was over 11 grand for the crappiest facilities imaginable.

Wife booked a consultant for her maternity who left the semi private clinic in week 35 of the pregnancy. Nobody bothered to tell us that he left and still waiting to hear from the hospital. Staff even after 3 weeks still didn't know he had left. No communication still from staff that we have no consultant. 10 days to due date and no idea of who our consultant is. Spending €900 for nothing. Waiting 45 minutes in waiting rooms and nobody knowing if a doctor is coming or not. No communication from staff of what is going on.

My wife had a bleed and pain very early in her pregnancy. We were advised to go to Holles Street straight away by a GP. We are currently here at the moment. Initially the care was good and pretty prompt. Scans were done and second opinions got. However we can not be discharged as we have to wait for a doctor. Approx two hours later there is no doctor and no information. We were told the doctor was In delivery and would be 30 mins. We were left sitting in a freezing room with air con on full blast, no magazines or offer of any food or even a cup of tea. Bare in mind it is nearly 9pm and we have been here since 5pm. My wife is tired, emotional, upset and not one nurse has given an update or checked on us. When we have approached the nurses desk, I was spoken to in a rude and obnoxious way. We are an inconvenience. If this is supposed to be care I'm flabbergasted. In my line of work if I promise an update in 30 mins and have to be prompted two hours later I am in no position to give attitude. Really feel like we are an inconvenience and frightens me that only one senior doctor is available in a hospital of this size.

I had three miscarriages at the hospital and was told to get testing done to see if there was any medical reason behind it. Getting an appointment took a few months. Was told to get tests done. My appointments were cancelled or moved on a few occasions and I was spoken to with contempt by one of the nurses when I told her the reorganised times were not appropriate for me and when I had an appointment to get the results, that was also moved. When I told my doctor I was displeased with the change of dates as this caused me more stress I was told 'I am entitled to take holidays' and they then treated me poorly for the rest of the consultation. I have made a formal complaint but I expect nothing will be done. really hope somebody realises women in my position need more support not contempt.

Awful treatment, an animal would be treated better.

I was scared after reading some of the comments on this site. We had selected NMH, gone to a few appointments - which were fine.....and then I made the mistake of reading this site. I genuinely feel that the only people that come on here are the few that have had bad experiences. I'm sure this does happen on occasion. I can not rate this hospital highly enough. The staff are amazing, so caring and thoughtful throughout the entire pregnancy. I would suggest looking at the number of complaints on this site and compare that to the number of people that go through this hospital on a daily basis. To put it into perspective: the night before my son was born there had been 24 births in a 16 hour period. If this were to happen often you would be looking at hundreds of births per month. If you go back 100 reviews on this site I think you would be reading comments from 2012.......thousands of people have had amazing experiences since that review was written. WELL DONE AND THANK YOU TO ALL THE STAFF IN THE NMH!