Long hospital admission due to pregnancy complications

[Oatmilktea]

Due to pregnancy complications (placenta previa and vasa praevia) I am going to be admitted to hospital from 32 weeks until delivery (planned for around 36 weeks).

The longest stretch I have done in hospital is two nights which felt awful! Whilst I will be grateful to be in the safest place for me and baby, I feel sad that I’ll be away from my DP and dog during the last weeks of pregnancy, I’ll miss them and being in our new house terribly. I’ll also miss being able to lounge in the garden to enjoy the nice weather which we don’t often get in Scotland!

I’m looking for some tips or advice on how to cope with such a long hospital stay please.

I already have the essentials packed (chargers, kindles, nice toiletries, laptop, eye mask, ear plugs, will bring my own pillows etc). But would love to hear from anyone who has experience of long hospital stays! Thanks

your DP can bring the dog and meet you outside for walks presumably?

have you bought all your baby bits? if not, that will be a nice way to spend some time!

I was in for 4 weeks before our twins were born and wasn’t allowed off the ward in that time. Then stayed as they were in nicu for 6 weeks after. I would suggest give yourself a daily routine. I got up every day for a shower had breakfast. Mornings were always quite busy with monitoring, dr rounds, blood tests, blood pressure checks etc. Had visitors every afternoon then watched tv in the tv room usually for a bit. Made some good friends there which made the time go easier as we were all stuck in the same situation. I would suggest noise cancelling headphones, books too. It was very hard but the time before they were born was focussed on getting through every day without the babies appearing, so didn’t think more than one day at a time. Hope it goes well 💐

Bring some comfortable casual clothes and try and get dressed every day . Will you be confined to bed ? Bring laptop if necessary to watch shows. Pen and paper to write notes to DP to bring items . It is a long time but you will get used to the routine and won't be alone . Good luck for the birth 💐

@circumventM they said that they will allow me to leave the ward but won’t be able to go on walks. At least he can come and visit me outside!

@defnotadomesticgoddess wow that must have been tough, especially the twins being in NICU for 6 weeks. Hopefully once I develop a routine the time will go by quite nicely. During my previous admissions I said no to visitors as I didn’t want to trouble anyone (as the hospital is around 45 mins from friends and family) but this time I’ll be taking all the visitors I can get!

I was in hospital in January for a week while before my gallbladder was removed. I was in significant pain.

Kindle, iPad and phone all with downloaded with programmes, audio, books, podcasts, etc. The guest wi-fi was awful and no 4G signal in my ward. Chargers obviously. Noise cancelling headphones.

I found I couldn't focus on a book so read some new children's books rather than fiction.

I couldn't focus enough to do crosswords so did word searches from a book of them.

I went for walks and had visitors which help break up the day.

I couldn't really eat but, if I could, it would've brightened my day to have wee treats. Fresh fruit is great but you'll need small portions as it goes off quickly in the heat.

Comfy clothes, flip flops for the shower, shoes for walking in the grounds.

Hospital towels aren't great so bring one. PJs of course. Extra long charging cables. A bag to stick it all in so you can clear your table quickly for meals. Squash if you don't want water all the time.

I had this, full placenta previa and on injectable blood thinners so was in for a month before delivery at 37 weeks. The hardest thing was leaving my 2 year old, I was reluctant to go in until my consultant said either you come in and he misses you for a few weeks, or you risk him growing up without you and missing you for life. I hadn’t really appreciated the seriousness of the risk and I found that made the hospital stay easier then; I knew I just had to suck it up for a few weeks. Books, chargers, puzzles, subscriptions to Netflix, Disney + etc, and take earplugs and an eye mask for the nights, I had a soft headband with speakers in it so I could listen to music or podcasts if I couldn’t sleep to block out what was going on around me. I did get the team to agree to me leaving for a waddle round at lunchtime to get a sandwich as long as I kept my cannulas in and hospital band on - it made a little treat in my day, and everyone was so kind visiting me. Just remember it’s a medical necessity and it’s only for a few weeks - good luck!

I spent 10 weeks on the antenatal ward for the same reason. Went in at 23 weeks because I was bleeding, managed to keep him inside me till 33 weeks (they were aiming for 34 at that point).
I had a 2yo and a 5yo at home, and I missed them so much, but at the same time, being able to rest, and having someone else cook my meals for me - it was wonderful. Not gonna lie, there have been times when I've wished I was back there.

Tips? Watch tv all day, learn to crochet, read books, chat with the other mums (they'll be bored too). Trust me, you will look back on this and wish you'd made the most of the chance to be lazy.

Also, be tidy. Don't spread your stuff everywhere about your bay. If they need to take you off to the operating theatre in a hurry, they'll just wheel you there on your bed.

I was in for 3 weeks before my delivery at 32 weeks; I (re-)taught myself to knit, read mumsnet 😁 watched daytime telly and had many visitors. I studied my hypnobirthing materials.

Your DP will need to take your clothes home to wash and bring you fresh ones. If you can sort out your clothes and anything else you may need at home so it is super easy for him to know what you want. Otherwise you may get unsuitable things. Also make sure you have sorted baby’s things if you’d like to do that yourself.

Take snacks and think about fresh fruit and veg. Hospital food isn’t generally crunchy and you will really crave things like apples and carrot sticks. Also there’s a really long gap between tea at 5 and breakfast so think about what you might like for supper. Prioritise fibre! Make sure your visitors know what to bring you.

Not so much a long hospital stay thing, but I'd sort all the clothes you might want over the next month into one place so you can tell your dh to bring the 'black trousers from the pile' and get maternity trousers, not your best slinky ones from pre preg. And don't forget at least one non maternity outfit in a bag. I had my ds 5 weeks early and took nothing in with me so next day dh brought me in some clothes. Non maternity ones. Not even loose and comfy trousers. But bless him he did have to go and buy nursing bras and just about everything else in one emergency trip, so no shame on him

The thing that helped me with spending 6 weeks in bed AT HOME was having a project that was baby focused. I knit and watched tv and movies. Knitting for the baby really helped.

I was in for 2 months with praevia and placenta percreta before having DS.

Snacks was a big thing because dinner time in hospital was very early and I got hungry in the night as I got woken a lot on the ward by women in labour or crying babies.

Things to do, books, phone charger, craft activities etc...

Comfortable clothing that is light as it is hot on the ward.

Eye mask and ear plugs to help with sleep.

Sliders or crocs for walking around especially to the shower.

Nice smellies and creams, nail varnish, face masks etc to pamper yourself with (you won't get much time once baby comes so might as well enjoy it).

More changes of underwear than you think and some pads just in case of bleeding or sneeze and trickle type accidents as you get further along.

I was in for weeks while pregnant and I managed to get a bed next to a window which was nice and formed my own routine with a shower each morning and getting dressed in comfies, a walk where ever I was allowed after lunch. Ask people to visit as much as possible and chat to other people on the ward; you’ll find you get quite friendly with the staff when there a while and people watching is a good past time on a ward.
Ask if there’s a patient kitchen where you can make your own drinks so you’re not reliant on the tea round.
Also ask for reduced parking costs for your DH if they can.

I'd take my own pillow
Download some box sets
Some really nice moisturiser/face mask
Eye mask -(as in one to block out light)
Get DH to bring you food in sometimes too as hospital food is very bland.
Good luck

Thanks so much for your advice! It’s really helpful.

For those of you saying make sure DP knows which clothes to bring, I’ll give you a laugh. I didn’t have an emergency bag packed last time so he packed me some things and to my horror I found a THONG in the bag 😂. God knows what the poor buggar was thinking.

Luckily there is a day room with a fridge, freezer and microwave so I will make good use of them. Does anyone have any tips for what snacks to bring?

you won’t build up an appetite as you would do if still working, moving around, walking, socialising etc.

So you may find that snacks are not really needed

i was commuting on the tube, looking after a toddler, housework, shopping and
swimming in third trimester…. i mainlined snacks !

but if i was literally doing nothing all day, i doubt i would have had that need for snacks

I was from 32 weeks too then NICU for few weeks.

I ordered deliveroo and just eat to the hospital 😂😂
Brought in my laptop to watch netflix.
Also as i was in so long i got a side room, so goodness how many showers i had to relax 😂

I was in for a month when pregnant but 18 years or so ago. And my husband was away contracting.

Sounds like you have most things covered, I did get dressed everyday, I felt it made a difference. The MWs commented on it one day as they thought it was a good thing too. Hopefully you can get out and about to the cafe etc if they have one. Could spend a fortune though! When I was in it cost approx £5 a day for the rubbish TV they used to have.

I'm 27 weeks and basically sit on my arse all day besides the school run. I'm starving 24/7.

oh come on… you have school aged children. No cooking? housework, getting them off to bed?

I think you’d be surprised with what you actually do every single day whereas will be very different if literally can’t leave the confines of one building

My mum was kept in hospital 200 miles from home for the third trimester (maybe more) when having me. (Long time ago now - I'm old.) She wrote a book.

I have one extremely self sufficient school aged child. The school is 5 minutes' walk away and DH does dinner and bedtime 90% of the time at the moment. I do the bare minimum of housework. It's been a terrible pregnancy. I honestly rest most of the day and I can't go an hour without eating.