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Original poster

A woman on the antenatal ward has been snoring for 12 hours

245 replies

Winterfellismyhome · 23/01/2022 08:57

Currently in for reduced movements (again) and drs talking about a section tomorrow. A woman in the opposite bed is the loudest snorer in the world. Each time shes been woken up for monitoring, shes fallen back to sleep very quickly. I have no idea how she does it. Tell me your ward horror stories to make me not lose my mind Grin

And yes i have earplugs but stupidly didnt bring enough so trying to ration them

OP posts:
PastMyBestBeforeDate · 23/01/2022 11:16

The couple who had a screaming row about the baby's parentage were special.

Thegirlwhocan · 23/01/2022 11:22

Oh that's so shit.

I'd be tempted to throw a large tangerine at her but that wouldn't be advisable.

Wax ear plugs are better than those foam ones. Also, headphones over the head on top of that. And a pillow too. On top of your head

I've been there and it is shit.

Any chance of bagging a private room?

Good luck 💕

AffIt · 23/01/2022 11:27

I had fairly major abdominal surgery a few years ago, and was on one of those small wards with four beds.

I was alone when I came round from anaesthesia and all was well and good, but later that evening, an older lady with some cognitive disturbances (possibly quite advanced dementia or similar) was admitted and spent the rest of the night shrieking, swearing and getting in and out of her bed (which meant staff were in and out trying to settle her).

I felt very sorry for her - she was obviously very confused and frightened - but I didn't get a wink of sleep and was in a lot of pain. Neither did it help that the ward assistant kept whipping my curtains open, even though I begged to keep them at least partially drawn.

In the end, I managed to convince the ward sister that it was doing nothing to aid my recovery, phoned my other half and discharged myself less than 24 hours later.

I do appreciate that the NHS is stretched, 'Nightingale' wards / small multi-occupancy wards are easier for nursing staff, and if I had really wanted a private room, then I should have paid for it, but I also think it's pretty inhumane to expect people (who may be very unwell) to try to rest and recover when there is a lot disturbance going on around them.

Dizzybintess · 23/01/2022 11:30

I was on a gynea ward due to my endo impacting my bowel. I was in a F ton of pain and trying to sleep.

I had an absolute dick of a woman in the bed next to me who literally talked day and night really loudly on her phone to whoever would answer. She sounded loud. each time the story was recounted again. This went on for 3 days solid. The nurses kept telling her to sleep but she would be back on the phone again as soon as they walked away.

Shehasadiamondinthesky · 23/01/2022 11:30

When I had my baby back in the 80s I had a boy I was next to a lovely Indian lady who had just had her 5th daughter. The very traditional family would troop in and sit there for a couple of hours looking like they were at a funeral and then leave.
She said to me the family wasn't pleased that she hadn't produced a boy yet.

Original poster
Winterfellismyhome · 23/01/2022 11:33

@Thegirlwhocan they're being saved for covid or emergency patients which is understandable. Luckily ive got headphones aswell. Thank you Thanks

OP posts:
Arsewangry · 23/01/2022 11:34

Post natal ward when I had ds2 was horrific. I've spoken about it on here before.

  • visitors all day every day
  • loud mobile phone calls in the night
  • one husband arrived with 3 young children, promptly left them with post-natal wife and went off to work.
-Young child was rummaging through my bag and took some of my food. I couldn't get up, when I told him to put it back he flicked me the bird
  • tvs on full blast all day and night
  • I got "reported" to the midwife because my baby woke up crying one night and I couldn't settle him - he had tongue tie and couldn't feed properly- mw just said "he's hungry dear, feed him, swished the curtain and left"
  • after c-section I struggled to get on my bed as the wheels weren't locked. The bed moved and pushed a cabinet slightly over in to the next curtained bay and I was told by the midwife that I was being "inconsiderate" (I hadn't noticed)
Crinkle77 · 23/01/2022 11:36

@Winterfellismyhome

They're just foamy disposable ones and are all squished when I take them out
I use the foam ones but they do go back in to shape after a while.
grey12 · 23/01/2022 11:38

The one next to me kept a continuous half scream (like opening your mouth and making a loud noise, not really a scream not really a shout) for most of the night Envy the nurses were p*ssed at her for annoying everyone and kept telling her she WASNT in labour yet and to rest and save it for later on. They had to get her a private room and I could still hear her weird muffled loudness Hmm

I was gladly too tired (and had packed hearplugs!!!) so I managed to still sleep a bit

grey12 · 23/01/2022 11:38

@Winterfellismyhome

They're just foamy disposable ones and are all squished when I take them out
They unsquish if you leave them out Hmm
AngelinaFibres · 23/01/2022 11:40

I had my first baby by elective cesarean 3 days before Christmas. If you had surgery you got a room to yourself which was lovely. Baby was very unsettled but eventually managed to get him to sleep for a bit. Nurse came in and said there was a man outside who would like to visit. I thought it was my dad. It was actually a random man,dressed in a flammable santa suit, who walked and shouted "Ho ho ho" at the top of his voice. Baby jumped and started screaming, I burst into tears of exhaustion and hormones. Santa didn't hang about SmileSmile

Mirrormirrorontheball · 23/01/2022 11:41

I feel strangely jealous. It might be the drugs, perhaps, but 12 hours of unbroken sleep? Lucky lady. Sorry OP that sucks for you, I hope you get some sleep and a healthy baby. I’ve never slept on a ward if it’s any consolation, the movement, light and noise always prevent it.

rooarsome · 23/01/2022 11:42

I have so many stories but this is the most recent. I had DC3 during covid lockdown, no visitors allowed on the ward. I used to be a midwife in the unit I delivered in.

Due to significant mental health issues my personalised plan had me down in my own room. Got to the ward, plonked in a bay with 3 first time mums so I could "help keep an eye on everyone for us" (the midwives). One kept going for hour long cigarettes, one had been in theatre and had an unstable temp and one had had a c section that morning. I ended up as an unpaid HCA, particularly for the baby whose mum kept disappearing.

I had a full on meltdown, very little was done about it until I demanded to see the SOM.

kitkatsky · 23/01/2022 11:43

Sorry OP! I'm a terrible snorer and was paranoid about this happening when I had DD2. In the end she was in nicu and I got a private room but I would've been your ward mate if we were together, though not to sleep for 12 hours!

Holskey · 23/01/2022 11:46

Noisy eaters, midwives who will not whisper no matter what time it is, loud face-timers. Awful. I was genuinely hallucinating from sleep-deprivation by the end of my one-week stay.

But! Due to covid there was no visitors allowed. Whilst I was sad my partner couldn't come, I am so glad I didn't have to put up with men there all day, and crowds of other people's relatives traipsing in and out.

I'm due July and hoping there isn't a free-for-all on the visiting front. It really sucks to have such a busy bedroom and so little privacy at such a time.

Olliphant · 23/01/2022 11:48

Easy plugs up her nose!

alexio · 23/01/2022 11:49

Had a csection in March last year and was taken up to the ward after recovery. The woman across from me screamed (not in pain) for hours at the midwives and hca about how shit they were and finally self discharged so I though yass peace and quite. The next lady got brought up at about 9pm and proceeded the whole night to talk on her phone on loud speaker, play music and sing along. I got no sleep and had had enough. Made sure I got discharged the next morning 🤣

LeftieLucy · 23/01/2022 11:52

@IncompleteSenten

Erm. If any of you were sleep deprived by a magnificent snorer 22 years ago in Hemel - I'm sorry 🤣
Or in 2017 in Abergavenny 😬😬😬
nursecarli · 23/01/2022 11:55

@Emanchego

Keep waking her up.
Eh no, of course don't do that.
Whyemseeaye · 23/01/2022 11:59

I went in to labour a month early, waters broke etc. arrived at hospital and was put in a large side room, with a dividing curtain, to be monitored as my delivery was supposed to be was scheduled section as dc was a footling breach.

I’d be in the room 12 hours happily minding my own business when another pregnant woman arrived with her husband in tow.

She complained relentlessly about the outrage of having to share a room with me. I was there first and it’s ideal for neither of us 😵‍💫 and the n the two of them proceeded to devour a HUGE Nando’s take away, while I was nil by mouth 4ft away.

I was so furious with hunger she’s lucky I didn’t berate her.

After dc was born, after a harrowing delivery, I was taken up to the ward, without my baby who was in NICU. Put in a bed next to a couple who shone a light in to my cubicle all night. Not the best experience I’ve ever had 🤯

Inastatus · 23/01/2022 12:02

I was in overnight after an operation years ago and an old lady who was on a trolley at the end of the ward was very confused and was shouting at the top of her voice ‘emergency on D ward, call the police immediately’ on repeat, all night long. The nurses kept asking her to be quiet but that just incensed her even further. She eventually went quiet about 5am.

HPD76 · 23/01/2022 12:09

Hell is other people.

RightOnTheEdge · 23/01/2022 12:09

@nadgersbadgers

Put your ear plugs.... up her nose
🤣🤣🤣
ContadoraExplorer · 23/01/2022 12:11

Post natal ward at night, the young girl in the bed across buzzed for help multiple times during the night which would have been fine but the horrible midwife (who the following night told me my upset baby was taking the piss out of me for crying) kept switching the full ward lights on instead of just using the ambient floor lighting/switching on the lamp at her bed on and waking us all up from whatever sleep the rest of us were managing to get. I am not looking forward to my impending visit to have number 2.

KloppsTeeth · 23/01/2022 12:13

Some of these are horrendous.

I was in hospital waiting to be induced. 3 bed ward, I could see the ward bathroom directly opposite my bed.
I saw the cleaner use the toilet brush to clean around the sink and then she rinsed it and put it back. 😱🤮
I was so shocked. I thought I was hallucinating.