To Ask for your experiences of post natal wards

[RozziPringle]

Mine was Noisy and hot with incredibly overworked midwives. The most memorable incident was around 12 hours after a c-section i was made to get out of bed to walk along 5 corridors to shower, doubled over in agony. When i told the widwife i wasnt going to make it and i felt faint she tutted and muttered about me been lazy under her breath.
There were some fantastic midwives Don't get me wrong but they seemed few and far between.
Im due to give birth in 3 weeks and im dreading going through all this again

Utterly shit following my EMCS. I might come back with more detail but even 5 years on it still upsets me.

Following my planned cs I was a mardy cow and took no shit from the midwives. And what a suprise my recovery and bf was a doddle.

I wouldn't like a home birth personally, but stories like this are among several reasons I'd want to go private.

My pre-natal care was amazing, my post-natal care was so terrible my DD will remain an only child.

My DH made a similar comment to mycatoscar DH, he couldn't understand how I was so over-the-moon-happy with DD, but was pleading with him not to leave me alone on the ward.

I felt like I was inconveniencing everyone for having a baby, I got 5 different people advising me on BF over a 12 hour period, including one who wouldn't let my family visit during the one hour permitted spot as she chose that point to deliver the expressing machine that she promised me 5 hours earlier.

Wow, I just continued with an essay about all the crap that went on, but deleted it as I don't want to bore everyone!

Absolute hell, it is the post natal ward I am dreading.

Very hot, 8 mothers and 9 babies in one room, very noisy. I really struggled with bf so the MW got in my face when I asked for help and screamed at me 'you do know you are supposed to feed your baby don't you'. In front of all the other mothers, I found it so humiliating.

Ours werent overworked. They sat at the desk (I was opposite) bitching about the mums on ward.

Blimey, some of you have had terrible experiences

I have had 3 c-sections in two different hospitals and always been treated kindly.

My complaints wouldn't go further than: not enough food (for a healthy new mum, portions were fine if you were a sick old lady) and not having a clue who was who on the ward, not being able to tell the difference between the ward sister and an auxiliary

(That's not just post-natal though, when DS1 was in hospital once I had a long, sympathetic and informative conversation with a staff member which was very reassuring. I later noticed her mopping the floors! Still, I expect a cleaner with a keen interest picks up all sorts of useful information, and to this day I remain grateful for the helpful chat.)

I had 3 babies at hospital and my last at home. HATED post natal ward. With my 3rd I had a great birth and was taken upstairs to post natal ward. I was breastfeeding and there wasn't a pillow on my bed, so had to use my coat rolled up as support for my back. I asked for paracetamol because the after pains were horrible and was told that I had missed them handing out tablets and they would be offering again in 4 hrs!

There were women with 6+ visitors around their bed despite there being a 2 visitor rule. There were people using mobile phones despite a no mobile rule.

I was told to get into bed and I said I wasn't staying long so I was getting my things together. (6 hr discharge) I washed my face at the sink and put on moisturiser and was putting concealer under my eyes for the inevitable photos when I arrived home! The nurse said to my mother "If she carries on like that she will be back here in 9 months having another one!"

I discharged myself 4 hrs after the birth. Suddenly the 'unavailable' paediatrician became available to check baby over before we left.

I waited 2 yrs before having another one (not 9 months despite my sexy concealed under eye shadows!) and booked a home birth, which was everything I hoped it would be.

Mostly awful, for all the same reasons

I think it's nuts to make women who have just had sections and can't even walk yet be solely responsible for their babies, especially as partners are not allowed to stay either.

I was really glad I brought my own food and medicine.

No support when my milk never came in although I was constantly berated to breastfeed.

The worst was the poor lady next to me, who was sobbing in frustration after a horrific labour and trying to tandem feed twins. The midwife told her to stop crying or her milk would dry up

Me and the other ladies on my ward ended up taking care of each other much more than the midwives did.

I think it's a national shame, frankly. I'd like to see an MN campaign for better postnatal care.

could i ask if any of you made complaints about your postnatal care and what if any was the outcome?

It is the least-funded and most complained about bit of the maternity services and just gets more and more worse off. Constant staffing cuts mean less and less midwives and resources are allocated to post-natal care as staff and supplies are funneled into labour and delivery units. Also post-natal community midwifery care is under threat - less and less visits to women at home. There is talk in this area of discharging women at day 5. It's no wonder you all complain about the crap care and overworked midwives.

So.......What are we going to do about it?

rozzi just be really stroppy and refuse to move if they expect you to get up and do lots, especially if you have a catheter or drip in. You're never going to see them again so who cares if they think you're being a madam. I grew a thick skin with my DC2.

The midwifes during labour were fab, don't know what happens in the way down to post natal though!

I do think they need to do something about making sure woman have eaten properly.

I got 20 mins sleep through the whole night.

Mws were that bad but the other women, oh my god, unbelieveable. One even asked a mw to change the babies nappy as she had visitors.

Best thing was the lovely mw who at 4am helped me pimp some milk as dd hadn't fed since a very quick go at 11:30 am after being born, and the choc brownie I ate at 2am

atyourcervix I didnt . Its too late really.Wont have any more children either.

ahem did mention it a few weeks ago.

Mine was fine- yes noisy and busy but it was clean, the midwives were friendly and helpful. 6 women to a ward but the others were nice enough and it was good having someone to chat to. Watford, if anyone is going there.

Just don't, under any circumstances, have your baby at the Whittington Hospital, London.
My baby got stuck during birth and just was not a doctor available.
They said we needed a doc urgently and that there would be one with me in ten minutes.
I waited 2 and a half hours, with my baby stuck and potentially getting brain damaged.
The ward was basically a corridor stuffed with beds. They let anyone visit at all times of night and there was never any peace at all.
A woman in the bed next to me was distraught because she couldnt BF, her baby was crying and crying, and the midwives would not give her any formula for it. They were a bunch of nasty bitches.
They left my catheter in ages, and forgot to change it so I got an infection.
When they discharged us they said my baby had no jaundice, even though he was orange.
Luckily the visiting midwife spotted it right away when she came to see us at home and sorted it.
The visiting midwives were good, but the HV was an idiot. She told me I shouldn't feed the baby while I was lying down as it would be bad for his digestion...

Anywhere would be better than the Whittington, including a womens' correctional facility.

Did any of you say anything when you were spoken to like utter shit :( ?

Ive not had a baby so cant appreciate the exhaustion you must have felt but when i am tired/sick/utterly exhausted the last thing anyone should do is patronise (sp?) me as i am possibly even more sharp toungued than usual. If someone got in my face and shouted at me i dread to think how i would respond if i was feeling awful.
Did any of you complain ?

what happens down in post-natal LoveBegins - is that instead of 1:1 midwifery you have 2 midwives to 20+ women, 20+ babies and a turnover that sees women in and out like a production line.

Well this has made my mind up for me. Either I am having a home birth or I am going to the delivery suite and then straight home. Wild horses won't get me on a post natal ward. I was worried before and these stories have confirmed it.

You are in quite a vulnerable state at the time oiwheresthecoffee. I also had lost a lot of blood so was buggered and anxious.

Awful, truly horrible but that was mainly down to the MW's/staff rather than the actual hospital. My lovely dh organised a private room in the end as he made a fuss about me finding it hard not having ds with me ( he was in SCUBU) so didn't have to deal with the toilets more than one day - but what I saw of them they were vile.

Based on some of these i would have a private birth even if i had to sell the house i dont have yet !

Congrats ladies - I'm 7+4 with DC1 and you've found something for me to worry about more than the actual labour and birth itself!

Are there any HCPs on here who can justify/defend/give some good news stories?

I'm absolutely shocked! (and have emailed DH with a link to the thread saying that unless I'm going to die, we will leave after the birth!!!)

I can't find anywhere near me that does private births. I have been googling and it seems like only London

Oh God, I wish I had complained. Still really angry about it. And I am sure it contributed to my ds being a very cry-y baby, and to me having a bit of PND.

One of the worst experiences of my life was the post natal care after the birth of my son (first child). The midwives were nothing short of bullies. DS was delivered by Ventouse (under epidural) and I was really really shaky on my feet the next day. I was ORDERED to get up and learn how to bath the baby although I could literally hardly stand. Even the consultant who came round later was horrified at this! I was also told off for being a reluctant breast feeder (they really were the Breastapo) and for asking for my son to go into the nursery so I could sleep for a few hours. Did I complain. No, too shell shocked, too worn out by the badly managed labour (the ante natal care was only marginally better)

Now, i am an intelligent woman but I was reduced to a gibbering wreck, and all this in one of London's largest teaching hospitals.

COmpletely different with DD in a different hospital - I of course had grown in confidence as a Mother then which helps. Plus the whole atmosphere on teh post-natal wards was different. Plus the stay was shorter!