Girls in the UK

[luckyme225]

I'm curious, those of you who have had a baby, what is the experience in the hospital like? I think I read that your spouse isn't aloud to stay with you overnight? and that sometimes you share a room after delivery. Is that true?

 

[Becky]

Im not wtt but I will reply to your questions -

Your OH is only allowed on the ward between certain times these are normally longer than general visiting hours though

After delivery you are taken up to a ward which has beds that are each curtained off so your not in full view of everyone

Hope that makes sense x

 

[winegums]

after delivery your taken to the post natal ward. my hospital had about 8 beds in there and they do have curtains you can pull but people are always pulling them about as it's so tight for space. as i had a c section i couldn't get up to move my curtain for a couple of days so it was constantly getting left open which actually really upset me as i kept asking the midwives to close it for me, i was struggling to breastfeed with my boobs (which i hate anyway) out all the time and everyone elses family and partners wondering around.
i think the visiting hours were like 8-8 or something but they said only 2 people at a time / close family members however some people had big groups of friends and family!

 

[amyclaire]

cant be any help about answering the question but im interested about this too! - i just hate the fact that they actually send home OHs/birth partners! its actually the main reason i think i'll be considering a home birth, i really cant imagine my oh there with me and i know he'll hate having to leave xxxx

 

[princess_bump]

for my experience, which was pretty crap tbh (due to a few other problems) but my OH was able to stay with us throughout, but once she was born, and it was nighttime, about 9pm, he had to come home, and returned at 8am the next day.
once i'd had maddi - i was in the delivery suite, which was a room on your own, then in theatre for em. c-section, then moved to post natal ward, which was FULL! maybe 24 women??
once in the post natal ward, even after em. c-section, they basically get you out in 24hours, as quick as possible
now the old hospital is closing and moving to another hospital, which has been extended, they are losing 100 maternity beds, so thats going to be fun
although yes we get free nhs care, sometimes the standard of said care, especially from my experience, is rather questionable!

 

[amyclaire]

exactly. the nhs think that we cant possibly complain as we're getting it for free..! urgh xxxx

 

[luckyme225]

Wow, that's crazy. I probably would have lost my marbles if my husband wasn't aloud to stay the night. I couldn't even walk until 24+ hours after birth. No wonder you ladies leave so quickly after delivery, I would hate to have to share a room with other people, even if there was a curtain for separation.

 

[tabby28]

Urgh, this really confirms my wish for a home birth...has anyone here actually delivered at home? Is it realistic for me to want to? Or is it just putting me and baby at risk?

 

[winegums]

this is why i wanted a home birth too! unfortunately ended up having a c section the only reason i was in hospital was horrible

speak to your community midwives about home birth from what i understand they are trying to promote it now for low risk births as it is just as safe as hospital and ends up with less pain drugs, less interference e.g. forceps less c - section rate etc

i did lot's of research on it even bought a birth pool and another great thing you get the same 1 or 2 midwives throughout generally whereas hospital birth you get whoever happens to be there at the time!

xxx

 

[plutosblue]

You know what.. I am really concidering a home birth now.. lol

I don't want OH to leave me I am a baby.. and I would be a baby with a baby.. Thats not a good thing..

I don;t mind sharing a room though, I'm quite a chatty sociable person and I like company in that sense.

 

[tabby28]

Winegums - Oooh thanks! It sounds really positive - I had suspected that home births had lower use of drugs, intervention and c-sections. I also really like the idea of sticking with the midwife I have got to know too, especially as one of our friends is a midwife. I'd love a birthing pool - was it expensive? So sorry that you ended up having to have a c-section; your little one is absolutely gorgeous!

 

[princess_bump]

tabby - they actually sell a birthing pool in mothercare, and you can hire them too, personally i don't think they are **too** expensive, and i no girls on here sometimes sell there's on after use, clean of course

honestly, for though's worrying about spending a night away from OH, it really wasn't bad at all, your not alone, you have this most amazing small person! me and maddi really bonded and this is from the women that in nearly 5 years me and james have had like 3 nights apart ever!

the worst thing about my hospital stay was i couldn't move due to c-section, and they weren't any help

luckyme - yep there are curtains, it's not so bad as the ladies are all friendly, i found we were united by not liking the hospital

saying all this, i still cannot wait to do it again

 

[lorrilou]

i actually didnt mind being away from oh for a night and staying on a ward wasnt all that bad either, having said that i was the only person on the ward at the time, lol!! With my 2nd and 3rd i came home same day but did spend the day on the ward and it really wasnt too bad.

 

[Blah11]

Wow, that's crazy. I probably would have lost my marbles if my husband wasn't aloud to stay the night. I couldn't even walk until 24+ hours after birth. No wonder you ladies leave so quickly after delivery, I would hate to have to share a room with other people, even if there was a curtain for separation.

Its not a big deal tbh. Its an NHS hospital, it's free. If you wanted a single room with your hubby staying, you can pay for a private room.

I had a very positive experience in hospital. I wanted to go home the day amelie was delivered but was advised to stay in overnight. My OH went home at 8pm and I was moved to a 4 bed bay. I had a chat with the other ladies and we spoke about our birth experiences (one baby was 11lbs and HUGE!) and I went to sleep at 10pmish. Obviously I was up and down all night with amelie though. I got help with BFing just to make sure she was latching okay. The next day my OH was allowed to visit at 9am and amelie had her hearing test and photographs taken she was checked over by doctor and we were allowed to go home.

 

[Blah11]

You know what.. I am really concidering a home birth now.. lol

I don't want OH to leave me I am a baby.. and I would be a baby with a baby.. Thats not a good thing..

I don;t mind sharing a room though, I'm quite a chatty sociable person and I like company in that sense.

That doesn't make any sense? You're going to have that baby to look after for the rest of your life Your OH will be going back to work after 2 weeks will he not?

 

[jackiea85]

Although I didn't have the greatest birth, I thought the hospital itself was pretty good. It was quite a new hospital (Derby City), my husband stayed with me throughout the whole labour and was allowed to stay until I was settled on the ward. I was put onto a ward of 3 other women but I barely noticed they were there anyway. My husband was allowed to visit me all day until about 8pm. I was in from mon-wed and the midwives were great x

 

[winegums]

the proper ones - birth pool in a box - are expensive but you can use secondhand ones as you buy new liners every time it is used!!!

i spoke to a few midwives and they recommended a normal (large) paddling pool which turned out to be about the same size as the 'small' birth pool in a box but for £25 instead of 100 lol!

i think it depends on the hospital the other people that are there at the time the midwives on duty etc!

i did hypnobirthing so i was very relaxed about having the home birth and was really into it!! i was so upset when had to go hosp.

i plan to have ahome birth next time even though they generally don't recommend it after a c - section. i'm doing an access to HE course in midwifery at the mo so I can go to university to do the midwifery degree and have been looking at this sort of thing a lot and it turns out to be a lot safer than they say... they just have to err on the side of caution a bit

good luck with everything xxx

 

[poppy]

Hi!

I have a 17 month old son and delivered him in a NHS hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland. I had a good experience overall - the midwives were excellent (as I had a near 30 hour labour, I ended up with three midwives and two student midwives in total throughout the labour). They gave really good advice and were really supportive to both myself and husband throughout the labour. I also ended up having to get my placenta removed manually after my son was delivered and the midwife gave me lots of reassurance.

Throughout the labour your husband/partner is allowed to stay with you but after the baby is born, your husband can't stay over as you are usually (well in most NHS hospitals) on a ward with other women. Your husband can usually visit whenever he wants throughout the day - more than regular visitors anyway.

 

[poppy]

Wow, that's crazy. I probably would have lost my marbles if my husband wasn't aloud to stay the night. I couldn't even walk until 24+ hours after birth. No wonder you ladies leave so quickly after delivery, I would hate to have to share a room with other people, even if there was a curtain for separation.

Its not a big deal tbh. Its an NHS hospital, it's free. If you wanted a single room with your hubby staying, you can pay for a private room.

I had a very positive experience in hospital. I wanted to go home the day amelie was delivered but was advised to stay in overnight. My OH went home at 8pm and I was moved to a 4 bed bay. I had a chat with the other ladies and we spoke about our birth experiences (one baby was 11lbs and HUGE!) and I went to sleep at 10pmish. Obviously I was up and down all night with amelie though. I got help with BFing just to make sure she was latching okay. The next day my OH was allowed to visit at 9am and amelie had her hearing test and photographs taken she was checked over by doctor and we were allowed to go home.

I agree with Blah. I delivered late on the Monday night and went home mid-day on the Thursday. I had heard loads of stories of women being rushed out of the ward a few hours after birth and was worried about this, but the hospital was excellent. I initially found it difficult to get Tristan to latch on and they gave me excellent advice and kept me in until I (and Tristan as babies are learning as well!) had got the hang of the breast feeding thing! I was on a ward with three other women (so it wasn't so busy), all who had very different birth stories, so that was interesting. I quite liked the bustle of the ward (except at night, when it was so hot and difficult to sleep - they seem to keep some lights on at all time). I also liked the fact that you had meals brought to you, so you could really bond with your baby without having to worry about cooking and stuff like that.

I personally wouldn't have gone for a home birth for my first birth for a few different reasons (worry about how I was going to cope with the pain, knowing that I was in safe hands if the baby or I got into trouble being a few of those reasons). Actually, I was glad that I did go into hospital to have my baby as my placenta thing was something that would have had to have been dealt with in a hospital anyway (obviously I wouldn't have know that before giving birth) and could have ended up being potentially dangerous. Obviously, home births are every woman's individual choice - but, if you are thinking of one for your first baby, I would definately advise getting as much information as you can beforehand including knowing the protocol about being referred into hospital should you encounter any problems and how long it would take you to get into hospital if it came to it. For example, if you live an hour or so away from your nearest hospital and this is your first baby, it might not be an easy thing to get you quickly into hospital if your baby encounters difficulties during the birth. Also, after the birth, if like me, you ended up with a complication, like a retained placenta or lots of blood loss, in hospital, they can manage the situation a lot more easily. I don't mean to scare people or put you off if you have your heart set on a home birth - most are probably complication free (I am sure everyone who is considering this option has thought it through clearly anyway), however, I think arming yourself with knowledge is extremely important as there is much more to think about with home births than just what type of birthing pool to buy.

Good luck whatever you decide to do in the future regarding your birth choices.

 

[luckyme225]

Glad most peoples experiences were positive. I guess it was weird to me because it's not the norm over here.