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

I posted before but didn't mention the name of the hospital. Whipps Cross University hospital in east London. Awful postnatal care, average antenatal care, lovely community midwives.

I had a terrible time at Lewisham hospital 2 years ago. Was the best and worst week of my life!
Very similar story to the the ones above. MWs and nurses so overworked. Night staff were awful - wouldn't ever come when I rang the buzzer & then would shout at me when my dd was crying.
Truly awful experience, I find it too upsetting to go into details. My dh was so traumitised too.
I did seriously think about complaining but decided I was just grateful to have got a beautiful, healthy baby at the end of it!

I'm no expert, and obviously some of these stories are horrific. But many people keep mentioning the heat in the PN wards, I thought they had to be warm for the babies?

Crap apart from the amazing bfing lady.
Overworked and over brisk midwives being unsympathetic and shouting at the poor Polish lady over the way who didn't understand much English. Left in my own blood and fluid for the 36 hours I was there.
I can't remember being given ANY food actually.
I am however very used to hospitals (unfortunately) so sorted out my own meds and equipment (taking off of) and discharged myself in a brisk manner equal to that of the midwives.

After the obstetric staff had tried their damnedest to kill me and maim my baby ( prevented only by a fantastic midwife) the postnatal care was pretty good. Ward was spotless, mw were nice but busy, food was good.

I did have support to bf but lots of advice was contradictory but given my baby is still awkward now I don't blame them for trying everything they could think of.

The woman in the bed next to me was so irritating and her kids were so badly behaved that the midwives spent most of their time trying to get them to behave!

The community midwives were exceptional though. One came every day for the first week for 2 hours minimum to help me feed. She got a big bunch of flowers

Mine was fine. DS (c-section) I had an postnatal room with attached bathroom to myself, DD1 (straightforward VBAC) I was discharged straight from the delivery room, DD2 (meconium in waters so had to stay in) I was in a 2-bed postnatal room with attached bathroom. Staff were very helpful and polite except for one annoying woman the first time. The food wasn't very nice, but it was edible.

It was bad enough with the heat and the claustrophobic feeling with 8 adults and 9 babies in the room. If there had been 16 adults, 9 babies and staff in the room it definitely would have been impossible for anyone to sleep. I don't even suffer from claustrophobia. By the time you fitted the cribs in the space was so tight you had to half climb to go to the toilet, neither dignified or easy after days of labour and an EMCS. I just don't see how it could have been physically possible for partners to stay.

On top of that outside visiting time they had me stripped to the waist and my dressings off as I was so 'stupid' with breast feeding (their words not mine). I would not have liked 7 strange men in the room with me during that .

I agree it takes the same time to shout and be abusive to patients as it does to be polite.

I am seriously considering an irregular discharge this time as soon as I can hobble. It feels safer.

My venflon tissued and I asked for it to be removed as it was so painful and the insisted I keep it in in case I needed another drip. I never got an answer as to what use a tissued venflon would be for delivering anything. If I could have done it one handed I would have removed it myself.

Not 43 C bubbles. Someone had brought a thermometer into our room and we checked.

Forgot to mention, the hospital I was in was St. Mary's, Manchester.
TBH, while I would have changed a few things about DS's birth if I could, I can't fault their care, ante- or post-natally.

This could be because it's a obs/gyne hospital, so maternity care is a huge part of what they do.
Also went there when I had a MC and they were just brilliant and couldn't have done enough for me.

Hopefully they will be just as good when DC2 is born.

I'll name and shame the royal free. Had a dreadful experience 4 years ago as the post natal ward didn't have enough staff and had all the issues others mentioned post c section. I complained and never got a response.
But have only praise for the post natal ward at the great western hospital in swindon. Helpful staff and I even stayed an extra day.

awful both times. Was stuck in bed after a em cs and no-one came near to give the baby for BF or to check his nappy. My bag was overflowing as again no-one would check. They were supposed to come get me on my feet within about 12 hours. Again no-one came near and had to get up take myself off which was stupid of me as I nearly collapsed in the loo on my own. Day 3 they were suggesting it was time to go, several times.

That was just the first time.

I was hugely grateful to the auxilary who stayed up with me for hours cuddling the baby that first night when he was unsettled and I was knackered and couldn't see to him.

Dd1 Wexham Park Hospital, Slough

Awful, awful, awful. Had had a 3 day labour, with hours of pushing ending in ventouse and 3rd degree tear. Was moved onto pn ward around 2am, immobile from spinal. Buzzer didn't work, dd1 crying, couldn't get her from crib, woman opposite shouted at me to shut up, and buzzed for MW, MW came, put her in bed with me and shoved her head on my boob, an hour later after dd1 had fallen asleep, another MW came round and told me off for having dd1 in bed with me. Had an hours sleep. Woke up to soaking bed as catheter had leaked.Given a bed bath. Cried. No-one had told me where toilets were, how to get food, what the rules were. The family in the bed next to mine had small children who ran around the ward screaming, and at one point when i came back from the toilet one of the boys was going through my suitcase, when I complained the MW asked if I had a problem because they were Indian!

Really struggled with b'feeding, but never once saw someone who seemed to know what they were doing, the b'feeding 'expert' didn't notice dd's tongue tie, and seemed more interested in talking to her colleague.

On the 3rd day there, I couldn't get into the toilet because the father from the bed next to mine was using his mobile in there (the MWs were really strict on mobile use) and couldn't hold on, due to the tearing. It was awful I was covered, I couldn't stop crying. Later on i heard a MW laughing about it with another MW at the desk. I discharged myself, and complained.

I felt bruised and bullied by the whole experience.

A year later I had dd2 there and it was a lot better, although I said I would not stay any longer than one night, and asked to bottlefeed because I didn't want to be kept in any longer than I had to.

Ds I had in Swindon GWH, elcs , I was in for 3 nights for me, and 8 days for ds (he was in SCBU) Everything about his birth was very traumatic, and ds and i were really ill afterwards, but I can't fault the care I had. I had a private room, and a MW checked on me every hour, or was with me straight away if I buzzed. They were lovely if I cried about ds, and helped me with pumping for teeny amounts of bm for his tube feeds. I wrote afterwards to say how wonderful the care was. It could not have been further from my experience at Wexham.

I feel so lucky compared to most of you.

DC1 (Queen Mums Glasgow): stayed 10 days due to blood complications. Baby in SCBU for 3 days. Had a spinal but got lots of assistance lifting baby / going to loo etc. V quiet so had private room. Wonderful care. Lovely staff ( I must have met every midwife in the damn place after 10 days). Excellent assistance with BF - couldn't have done it without the help of one particular lady who helped me all night.

DC2 (Queen Mums Glasgow): stayed 7 days due to blood complications. Baby in SCBU for 2 days. Noisy 4 bed ward for 2 nights then private room for 5. Again great care & lovely staff.

DC3 (Southern Gen Glasgow): stayed 1 night. Noisy 4 bed ward. Very busy. Midwives were nice enough but hardly came near us unless when buzzed. Couldn't wait to get home!

All in all good experiences. But the food was truly shocking.

Llanarth thats good advice. If I can't have a home birth I will get it written into my birth plan that I will leave after birth unless there are medical reasons. If that fails I will take the route michelleseashell did :)

smallpotatoes I agree that having partner on a PN ward would be difficult for others on there so I would be adding a private room to my list of demands requests. I don't think they will like me much :(

I was put in a ward with three formula feeding mothers whose babies all slept well at night whilst mine (bf) screamed all night, I could hear the tuts and sighs and ocmplaints through the curtains. The midwives took DD away and brought her back 3 hours later having bathed her and given her formula.

I was woken up by someone rolling me over, pulling my pants aside and sticking a syringe full of Anti-D in my bottom.

I had no privacy at all, the midwives wouldnt let me keep the curtains closed for longer than 30 minutes even though I was trying to establish bf and my bed was next to a main corridor window.

No one told me where the toilets were, or how I got food. I was in for 3 days and got one meal -the tea and toast after birth. DH brought food in thankfully.

I had a succession of midwives squeezing and manhandling my boobs and DD, to the point where even lying her on her side made her scream hysterically and my breasts were visibly bruised.

Ward and toilets were filthy, my blood covered bed wasnt changed for 12 hours.

I just felt like a complete nuisance, another woman on a production line. Ended up with PND, PTSD, struggled to bond with DD and took 3.5 years to even contemplate birth again-had several panic attacks when I had to attend a (different) hospital for scans.

Second time around I had a homebirth and it was much better-although I did get an awful hospital midwife (community midwives were all busy) who didnt approve of homebirths and stitched me up without anaesthetic.

Gosh there are so many awful stories here. I had such a terrific post natal experience; own room, double bed, DH with me at all times, en suite, 1 to 1 breastfeeding support whenever I wanted it, help with how to care for baby (and second time around, DC1 was also allowed to stay). I'd never have left there given the option. But sadly the insurance would only pay for 3 nights...

I recognise that I was incredibly lucky and that the NHS can't afford the level of care I got privately. But surely, surely there has to be some middle ground?

I posted before about my utterly terrible and traumatic experience with DS1 at King Georges Hospital, Goodmayes, E. London. They have the same midwife team as the imfamous Queens at Romford.

infamous even

I actually am thinking that we should start a real campaign. How do you start a pressure group?
I just think that it is so disgusting that so many of us had traumatic and dangerous experiences on the day(s) that should have been the best in our lives.
Also, there must be a lot of midwives reading this? Why so quiet (apart from atyourcervix)?
Please tell me WHY women are treated as though they are a massive imposition/stupid/lazy

I remember being shouted at too when ds fell asleep on the breast. I was so knackered I hadn't noticed.
Also got told to go and have a shower (I had had so many stiches and walking was really painful) and when I did I came back to ds screaming in his cot. Not one of them had picked him up while I was gone.
Evil bitches the lot of them.

Having named The Whittington, I must say that the OB who did finally come when I was in labour and ds was stuck (she had been in theater with another patient and there just wasn't another doctor) was magnificent, looked me right in the eye the whole time, got my baby out, and was really kind to me.
But on the whole, a shocking and nasty start to motherhood for me.

I had a really great experience (Princess Royal, Farnborough). Midwife with me the whole time (epidural though), great team when things went a bit awry for a while, and great post-natal support (had own room as were some available and had to beg to leave after 2 days). Clearly I was lucky compared to some posters, but I honestly thought all the staff were terrific.

You are right northern, I mean manners cost nothing. Unfortunately I have no idea either.

I just thought I should post on a positive note, all the community MW I have met, quite a few now have been lovely.

I remember waking up 12 hours post section and hearing DS1 crying but couldn't see him...I limped up to the nurses station (wheeling catheter and drip) to find an exhausted auxilary nurse looking after 5 babies. DS1 had thrown bloody mucus up (again) all over himself and was crying. As I got there, the bored night midwife who was just standing at the nurses station looked me up and down (I was covered in blood for some reason) and sneered at me "are you wearing a pad". The auxilary nurse was at her wits end looking after poorly section babies and the night midwives on duty couldn't have cared less-they didn't see it as their job. She later urged me to make a complaint as she had real concerns about a core of midwives there and she genuinely was amazed the death rate wasn't higher. Redbridge and Barking Trust has the highest mortality rate in London. I'm sure they have some amazing and hard working ladies there but sadly I didn't come across them in the 5 days I was in hospital.