forth valley hospital larbert

[Anderson8]

is anyone on here due to give birth here?
i hear there moving the maternity ward from stirling at the beginning of July, im keeping my fingers crossed that they move in time, so i can give birth in the shiny new labour ward.

has anyone seen the labour ward there yet?

 

[lm81]

I was there for my 20week scan... It's lovely. It opens on 12th July so I may miss it as I'm due on 6th July ... But who knows

 

[Anderson8]

oooh fingers crossed youll hold off!

 

[lm81]

haha! Thats a tricky one to be honest ... Id love the new ward, but mentally I dont think ive even thought about going over. I think in my head I have this idealistic view that due date comes, out LO pops and away I go ... Need to get my head into gear I think

 

[Amygdala]

I've seen pictures online but can't find them now. It looks lovely though, all new and shiny. Are you booked in for NHS antenatal classes? I think they give you a "virtual" tour there? I'm not due till mid-August so I really hope I get to go. Are either of you hoping to use their birthing tubs?

 

[Michelle84]

Hello, i have heard it's July too. Hopefully everything is in place on time. Also my midwife said there is no recovery ward now- you get your room and basically your there until you leave. That would be nice!! xx

 

[Anderson8]

im planning on using the birthing pool. they have 2 at the new hospital so more chance of getting to use it!
im going to do a wee google search and see if i can see the online pics, im doing the nhs antenatal classes but im impatient!

 

[Amygdala]

Hi all! Just thought I'd revive this thread and see if anyone has any more info or knows where to find pictures? Since they moved we've not had any more antenatal classes and I can't find any info. I'd be interested to know how many labour rooms they have and what kind of stuff they have and what you'd need to bring (birth ball? CD player/iPod?). I'd love to get a better idea of what to expect...

 

[tottiepots]

Hi ladies, Im new here, but due at the end of October and will be at the new hospital.
I was at the midwife last week and she told me that, although we dont get a tour, we do get our own room for labour, birth and afterwards, until we are ready to leave. We might have to go onto the ward if our stay is extended for any reason, but could be out in as little as 6 hours if everything is ok (eek!! i really hope to get at least a night!)
anyway - for those of you, like me, still waiting for D day...you can see a pic of the birthing tub and labour room on the new website (i cant post the link as I'm too new to the site) but if you go to Forth Valley Hospital website, click on multimedia, 'hospital interior' images, and its one on page 2.
looks ok, but i have been researching birthing pools, so will have to look at this tub situation instead!!
hope that helps and looking forward to updates from those who have used the facilities!!
tottiepots x

 

[Anderson8]

my lo was 3 weeks early so i didnt get to forth valley. he was the last one to leave stirling!

 

[Wannababyx]

hey im due tomorrow and will be going to this hospital when the time comes just wanting to know of anyone who has given birth here what it was like and if u get ur own room xx

 

[Wannababyx]

and also wondering if your allowed 2 birth partners because i really want my partner and mum xx

 

[Anderson8]

im sure it will be the same rules as stirling, one birth partner at a time. my mum and hubby had to take it in turns,

 

[Wannababyx]

thanks i was just wondering xx

 

[Amygdala]

I was just trying to find some info on Forth Valley (about the size of the normal bath tubs in the non-pool rooms - Does anyone know???). I noticed that lots of people ask questions about hospitals but few remember to update/answer after giving birth. I didn't either. So here's my experience and things you might find helpful from LO's birth in 2011:

- LO was born in late August and when we arrived, both pools were available
- the labour rooms I saw (the two pool rooms as in the first, the pool wasn't plumbed in yet!) we're clean and spacious but very much hospital rooms, no home comforts, not so much as a picture on the wall
- the pools are great! They're the smallest version but still plenty of room to move about in
- we never thought to use our iPod in the end so I'm not sure about speakers etc
- there was a chair in the room for DH to sit on but no birthing ball or other equipment in sight. I'd been told they have those though, so you might have to ask and they bring you stuff.
- our first midwife was very anti-waterbirth and quite short with me. On arrival, they strapped me to a bed for continuous monitoring for half an hour for no obvious reason, even though I asked. Next time I would refuse this but as a FTM I wasn't confident enough.
- our second and third midwives were lovely and supportive, no complaints there at all!
- I had a fairly straight forward water birth, with 2 hours of pushing, placenta took a long time but eventually came by itself, and was discharged about 11 hours after LO was born.

Overall, we had a good experience but did feel like it was a bit of a baby-factory athmosphere and next time we'll be prepared to stand up for ourselves and our wishes more and create a more comfortable atmosphere. I definitely don't feel negatively about going back there though. If anyone reads this and has questions, feel free to ask!

If anyone has experience of a non-waterbirth there, I'd love to hear about it!