OMG! Rupert Lowe: comments on maternity/labour wards

He's such an unserious person. Translation services in hospitals are not 'diversity bullshit', they save lives and probably money too as the right treatment can be given instead of relying on guesswork. Or would he rather put people's lives in the hands of Google Translate?

PP have articulated the reasons not to have a load of men on a female maternity ward, and where resources would be better spent, perfectly. I'd agree also that feeding parents of sick children is also a good investment - letting them stay there and be present to soothe their children as well as keeping blood sugar high enough to take in information and make crucial medical decisions.

Yes absolutely, I'd vote for that. We were both fed when DS was in NICU but neither in PICU. Once on a children's ward i got fed cos I was pumping. One ward did used to have a sandwich trolley come round so you paid but you didn't have to leave the ward.

My husband went home after the birth of our child.

Me & the baby were looked after by medical professionals.

Nobody needed sleep on the floor, before or after.

Yeah I get that, I truly do. But I'm imagining four months of trying to nap on a hard chair and take care of my sick child and be healthy at the end of it.

Actually I think I might have been fed at Walsall Manor two years ago, alas not at Birmingham Children's. There are fridges and microwaves tho, and toasters.

Ward 9 has done away with the camp beds, not sure about the other wards. I miss it, the chairs are NOT as good

Perhaps we should look at why the UK keeps bouncing from one maternity scandal to the next, why so many women report feeling dismissed, infantilised or pressured into interventions during pregnancy, then abandoned in understaffed postnatal wards when at their most vulnerable.

Maybe let’s fix that first before we start worrying about the menfolk and their empty bellies?

Just an idea, Mr Lowe.

Rupert is 💯 correct

hth

My dh was allowed to sleep in the single room on a pull out bed beside me for a week and was given food and drinks but it was extreme circumstances. Our baby had been stillborn and his twin was dying in the NICU. They were extremely conpasionate to my husband and I appreciated it. It was the worst week of both of our lives.

I dont think many men would complain about their treatment who arent in dire curcumstances or tragic outcomes. When we were back again this time with thankfully a non eventfull birth, there's was plenty of tea and food in the canteen if dh needed it. My husband was just glad to see our rainbow baby arrive.

There are tens of thousands of people over 90 spending more than 12 hours on corridors waiting to be admitted to wards from A&E every year. I really don’t think feeding and providing bedding for men who aren’t in anyway unwell is a priority.

Agree. Had to admit that in the past I'd have had a different response, but after reading research on depression in new parenthood, and how badly it can affect the whole family if there's not a positive start to their new parenting life, I think any easy switch could only be a good thing. We should also remember that the mum might be supported by an older relative/someone with disabilities (whether or not that is the dad), and, having supported a birthing friend when I was very young and fit, I feel it's important for it to be as comfortable as possible, so that the birthing supporter, whether that's dad, or whoever, can be the best support possible for the new mum.
The staff are so busy that a lot of new mums really feel their need their partner as much as possible. Encouraging them to feel welcome is important, and for a very low amount of money, could have long-term good outcomes. If the partner feels welcome and included, they'll speak up for the new mum and be more involved. Birth isn't always lovely and can be very traumatic for the whole family, so whatever can be done to make it easier on everyone is vital.
Also, if the birth supporters are exhausted/ill driving home, that's dangerous for everyone. Easy to say they should just rest, but few would want to leave a woman who's just delivered a baby, for very long. As for the argument the NHS can't afford to look after the patients it's got in the long-term, easy switches to support the whole family could save more money.

He is such a twat. He posted about how w need to remove nhs staff with an accent (ie foreigners) from work because people can’t understand them.
I chalked he’d and asked where he was going to get staff to replace them but funnily enough he didn’t reply.

There's several campaigns about feeding parents (or at least 1 parent) of children in hospital.

Some children's hospitals offer food for parents via a charity such as Sophie's Legacy.

Every day this prick is writing a letter to someone or something, I hope they are all returned to sender

I don't think men should be staying overnight in maternity wards - childbirth is such a vulnerable time, the last thing a woman who has just given birth needs is strange men hanging around at night.

Also, men are not the patients so should not be given meals by the hospital. They can bring their own or buy something at the hospital as parents of ill children do.

At least 113m according to google - so, no, he's not talking out of his arse - but someone is.

Nope

they aren’t the patients, wee bit different if the child is in NICU

There isn’t even enough provision for the women giving birth- women in labour are frequently told there is no bed available, and women struggle with limited midwife support. The NHS should start with meeting with needs of mothers and babies on antenatal wards.

Men shouldn’t be staying on antenatal wards unless in a private room- post-partum women should not have to sleep with strange men.

Yep.

I was going to say the exact same thing about feeding at least 1 parent if their child is in hospital. It's such an incredibly hard time financially as well as obviously emotionally and some parents go hungry because they don't want to leave their child.

I'm not sure I'd have an age limit but if it was under 5's plus disabled children then I'd also increase it to parents with children in intensive care and not have an age limit on that.

I mean, it's a nice idea.
However, I doubt he has ever tasted hospital food on a maternity ward if he is hankering after a meal there. Or waited in vain for a dr for 8 hours whilst writhing in pain for hours after major emergency surgery after a difficult birth. Or sat for 8 hours in a chair in a and e after being delivered by ambulance with a confirmed heart attack. Or waited 19 months for a paediateition appointment for an SEN diagnosis. Or tried to get a GP appointmemt to get antibiotics for your sick child and been turned away, sent to a and e and ended up in a 6 hour wait. All of which we have experienced in the last few years.
So yeah, nice idea but I think the NHS has bigger problems.

To be honest they saved my child’s life multiple times. I couldn’t give a shit about the sleepless nights.

The women who moan about men's feelings and mens rights have enabled this nonsense 🙄🙄

Its stupid and I simply dont care about a man's potential backache whilst a woman is labouring and pushing a baby out of her fanny / having major surgery

Yanbu

Lowe is an independent and not in Reform.

Lowe isn’t in Reform. He’s an independent.

For what it’s worth, after my C section I wouldn’t have coped without my husband. He had to go to the hospital shop as my meals were missed many times, my catheter bag was overflowing multiple times and I bled through all the sheets post birth and couldn’t walk after a difficult pregnancy. Due to sparse staff, it was him helping me or trying to find some competent staff. Most didn’t care.

So there are decent men who do support their partners through childbirth and shouldn’t be mocked as a ‘poor man’. Some men are damned if they do and damned if they don’t on this site.

Also, this maybe besides the point, but pasta is such an odd choice of food in that situation. Sure, you can knock up a reasonably quick family meal in say 20 minutes, but what I'm picturing on a postnatal ward is a bowl of plain, soggy mush after being boiled to death because the staff quite rightly have other things to concentrate on.

Methinks Rupert Lowe has likely never cooked a bowl of pasta in his life.