What happens during/after hospital birth??

[limetictacs]

I already have a DS but this (DD) will be my first planned hospital birth. I'm just wondering if anyone can advise me on what happens during and after the birth.
I have group b strep so will have to go to hospital early and have been told they will probably keep me in to monitor baby for at least 12hrs after she's born. I'm just worried they will send me home if I'm not in established labour (I live over an hours drive from hospital).
Also will they send DH home after the baby is born if it is outside of visiting hours?? We are getting a lift to the hospital so he wouldn't be able to just go home straight away, and I'd rather he stayed with me if I'm being kept in, but are they likely to allow this??

[Rockchick1984]

Depends entirely on your hospital! At mine, although there was normal visiting hours on the ward, birth partners were allowed to visit between 10am-10pm. I was also still in a delivery room for around 2 hours after the birth before transferring to the post-natal ward.

If baby had been born overnight then yes he would have to leave, I know that if I was on the ward I wouldn't want random men traipsing around at all hours of the night and am fairly sure you wouldn't want this either, so he would have to go home and return the following morning.

Regarding being sent home, I was only 3cm dilated when I arrived at hospital. I was given the option of staying on an antenatal ward or going home, however DH wasn't allowed to stay with me (he wouldn't have gone home though, just perched himself in the hospital cafe until I had dilated to 4cm). As it was, my labour progressed quickly anyway so I ended up going straight to a delivery room anyway.

[JoyceDivision]

I had strep b when had dc2, but staff only realised this during labour.As long as they could get anti b's into me before dc born, we were just inm for obs. I went to ward about 4amand dh had to go and comeback when partners visiting was allowed (9a,m while 8pm ish)

[limetictacs]

This is what I'm worried about. Really don't want DH sent off while I'm in labour as I'm aware it can progress really quickly. This is part of the reason I wanted a home birth the first time. What are the circumstances for being given a private room? Is that a possibility?

[TurquoiseTranquility]

Hi there,
I had DS on a midwife-led unit so can't really advise on how things work on a labour ward, BUT one thing I do know is they can't actually make you go home even if you're not in established labour. If you refuse to leave they can't force you. You'll have to hang out in a waiting area somewhere though, as the likelihood is, they won't give you a bed.

Still safer to be at the hospital though, IMHO, than risk having a baby in the car as someone from my town did when they sent her home despite it being her second baby! And my nearest maternity ward is within 20-30 min drive.

Would be tough if you ended up hanging around for some 24 hours though

Have you thought of staying somewhere close to hospital, is there a hotel or B&B nearby that you could go to if they were to try and send you home, or where your DH could stay? Could you afford that?

The official policy in my hospital is they won't let relatives stay overnight after the baby's been born. That's even on the MLU with single rooms, no mind on the general multi-bed postnatal ward where ladies stay after giving birth on the labour ward. That said, we got the impression our midwife might have let DH stay if I had decided to stay overnight.

I think it may depend on individual people, as we were also told that if we got completely stuck for childcare 2nd time round, sometimes the MWs would allow DS to be present at birth but that's really up to who you get, and how well behaved he'd be.

[ShowOfHands]

Our hospital doesn't have private rooms. The other local one that does is for after the child is born only and you have to pay for it.

DD was born at 10pm at night (emcs) and dh was allowed to stay while I was in recovery but then straight home until the next morning. DS was born at 3.30pm ish and visiting hours ended at 4.30pm so again he had to go (they did allow him a wee bit longer as dd had come to meet her baby brother and they were happy to let her spend another 20 minutes or so visiting after hours). He came back for the evening visiting hour and then left again.

It's worth asking your local hospital tbh.

[EarnestDullard]

It varies from hospital to hospital, but I'd guess that if you're not in established labour they'll give you the option to stay (or go home if you prefer) if they're not busy, but send you home if they need the room.

The hospital where I gave birth had recently started letting partners stay overnight on the post-natal ward. Back when I had DD1 they could only visit after 9am. Some hospitals have private rooms that you can pay for (but availability is obviously limited). You'd need to ask what the situation/policy is at the hospital you're booked into.

[TurquoiseTranquility]

BTW if there is a private ward in your hospital, you may find the cost prohibitive anyway. There is one in my hospital, and I think they charge something like £700-800 per night

[Rockchick1984]

My hospital had private post-natal rooms for around £50 per night however visiting rules were still the same. I laboured overnight and gave birth at 10am, however once I was settled into the postnatal ward I sent DH home anyway - he had been up all night while I was in labour and he needed sleep as much as I did!

[limetictacs]

I'm not too concerned if I have DD during the day as it would be within visiting hours and it wouldn't be too hard to get someone to come and pick DH up- and as I'd be being kept in for 12 hrs he could get some rest- but if I go in the middle of the night I can't really be getting someone to drive down in the early hours so DH would be a bit stuck unless he's able to stay with me. I'm probably worrying unnecessarily but I've not had much experience with hospitals.