To think it is very insensitive to site the gynae unit in plain view of the antenatal clinic?

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

I'm here for fairly straightforward reasons, but for someone with with serious problems which could affect their fertility, or who have to have a hysterectomy at a young age, like the woman who I was sitting next to on my last visit, it must be torture to sit in a waiting room full of happy expectant mothers.

On a slightly lighter note I remeber beign really pissed off that when I went to the family planning clinic at uni it was filled with new mothers there for checkups, breastfeeding help etc and wondering how many men had to put up with SCREAMING babies (and rest of brood) as they waited for a vasectomy appointments.

Now I think they should!

When I was in hospital having a total hysterectomy there were babies on the same corridor and you could hear them crying and their mums walking them up and down the corridor. I did tell myself that when I left the hosptial everytime I went to the supermarket or got on a bus there would probably be babies gurgling and crying so I would have to get used to it, but I still found it insensitive.

YANBU. We attended our local hospital for fertility tests, and either had to sit in gynae reception or in the corridor outside the consultant's room. Near the labour ward where lots of mums to be walked in with bumps, and new mums walking out with babies.

So for all the people on here who have lost babies and had such insensitive treatment. My DSis had an MC and had to wait with pregnant mums for her scan.

When I had my ERPC I was in the bed next to someone who was having a termination.

Very common I'm afraid.

At our local (fairly newly built) hospital, the assisted conception unit is right beside the maternity unit. The EPU is right next to the main mat unit reception too.

It must be due to the proximity of staff/shared equipment. It's extremely upsetting and I've seen women in tears on more than one occasion when they've lost or expecting to lose a baby.

I had a private room for a week on post natal ward whilst my twins were in NICU, although I quite liked seeing the new babies on the unit. What was much harder were all the posters and videos on how important skin to skin was straight after the birth - I didn't get to hold my son for EIGHT days, they made me

Sorry for all the posters who have been through so much.

I was a bit at the "art" they had on the wall at the assisted conception unit at our hospital - a giant wooden egg with a sperm tail sticking out. Apparently it did the trick for DH and me though!

The hospital I'm at isn't too bad - fertility department is separate, and the gynae wards on the floor underneath the maternity hospital. It's fairly new so I guess they must have thought about not mixing gynae and maternity patients. During my last ectopic the staff were excellent at finding a room for us to sit in and then taking us a back route down to gynae, away from all the pregnant people.

The only thing is, the EPU used to have its own waiting area but now just has seats out in the corridor that's accessible to everyone. I was in for an antenatal class and there was a woman walking up and down with a tiny, screaming baby right where the EPU waiting area is. I wish people would think - there are loads of general areas/waiting areas for pg people where no-one would have minded much, but she picked one of the very few bits where it could have upset people!

Obviously someone having fertility treatment may be having a tough time, but I can see the need to share resources.

Even if it was sighted as far as possible from the maternity ward, women having fertility problems can't be sheilded from seeing children, they will see dozens of kids in their day to day life.

It's not about being 'shielded' from children, ComposHat. It's about not having to sit next to a woman excitedly sharing her scan pics (and why wouldn't she?) while you're waiting for yet another dildo-cam and a serious chat.

I'm sure it's efficient to share resources, but it's pretty heartless.

I'm not sure it is about sharing resources, at least at my hospital. As I mentioned in my earlier post. The subfertility clinic has its own reception on a different floor from the main women's health centre. Unfortunately, you are required to go to women's health first to register before you go there! I don't really see why there is a need for two different receptions to be informed of my arrival anyway (how inefficient).

Composhat, it's not about being shielded from children, but it is about having your face rubbed in the fact that you won't be getting and babies. The poor lady I sat next to the other day, was facing a hysterectomy at 33. She was discussing with her husband as they waited, about how unfair it is, to have the choice to have a family removed from you at such a young age, and all the while she was surrounded by happy, smiling pregnant people.
Even for me, who was there for something minor, it felt like I was in the broken corner!

It's a similar situation at the Birmingham Women's Hospital, though they do their best and most things are, at least, on separate floors. The EPU and scanners are on the same floor but separate areas. It is heartbreaking, I was there for my first miscarriage and IVF treatment, and I had to walk through women taking home their new babies at the entrance.

It did hurt but it also gave me hope that one day I would be one of those women, and one day I was.

YANBU

Birmingham Women's is pretty good. The ACU staff are fabulous actually - especially when things don't go well.

I was still gobsmacked to realise the postnatal wards are opposite the ACU though - I guess we were so wrapped up in ourselves I never noticed.

The pregnant women who smoke outside the entrance - now that does my head in.

Obstetrics and gynaecology is one medical speciality so I suspect that is why it is sensible for the staff no to have to walk long distances between areas, especially if emergencies arise on the gynae ward or labour ward as the same on call doctors will probably be covering both. When you are talking about miscarriages and births it is all obstetrics which is the same area. If you have an early pregnancy assessment unit some pregnancies will be fine and others won't. If you have an obstetrics ultrasound unit it will be scanning women wanting terminations and heavily pregnant women. Usually the 2 clinics are kept apart but with the increased demand for scanning women with bleeding in early pregnany as soon as possible it is inevitable that some of these women will be fitted into ultrasound slots in antenatal clinics rather than keep them waiting.

We were "lucky" in that we had private medical treatment in a specialised clinic next to the hospital. So we didn't have to use a unit next to a labour ward or antenatal clinic. It was next to the hospital's nursery instead.

Nursery for the children of the staff at the hospital, that is. Loads of excited little children running around outside laughing and playing. Happy days. :(

"May be having a tough time" was a bit of an understatement for us.

There's a difference between "being shielded from seeing children" and going to the gynae clinic for a problem that means you'll never have children and having to wait in a room with people excited over their scan pics, looking at posters of newborn babies all over the walls and watch the baby tv advertising screen show you prams and carseats that you'll never be able to buy.
Share resources by all means but is it really necessary to share the waiting room?

We have a women's hospital - so everything is all together. It's actually now a hospital wing to the main hospital, although a separate building as the actual women's hospital closed several years ago.

TBH when going for fertility appointments, although I did have to walk past the maternity entrance, it was okay. Not ideal, but for me I found it not too bad.

What I did find very hard though was when I went for a scan after a miscarry - I was still in the middle of that and it was still very raw - I had to sit in the very same waiting room as every other woman there for scans, so alongside women who were there for scans of their babies. The EPU at that time was not a separate place. That was hard.

Completely agree waiting rooms should be separate.

When having amnio, I was told that if the news was bad, and I opted for a termination, that the procedure would take place in a delivery room on the labour ward. Insensitive or what?

It's awful, I'm so sorry for everyone who has suffered in this situation.

Even in situations where they are unable to split these areas easily, there should be much more attention to what's on the wall and the general atmosphere which is cultivated. DH and I always felt that it was very inappropriate to be laughing and joking in any such waiting room, because so many people are either receiving devastating news or are terrified that they are about to (we have had some nerve wracking situations, but are fortunate that they had happy outcomes). It's not the place for sharing scan pictures and so on. More attention to the posters would certainly be sensible. And also not having a big pile of sodding Bounty packs by the door, that is handed to you when you leave after the 12 week scan, like some kind of party bag .

On the hospital I went to women admitted with serious problems were on the ward where the women in labour were brought before the delivery suite. Having spent 4 months there unable to move out of bed hooked up to every machine known to man, knowing my baby s chances were less than 30% was a special type of hell. I appreciated they had to keep us all close for monitoring but it was hell the unit has since been moved and now has a separate ward area. I got my miracle by the way

I haven't read all the replies. IMO YAB a bit U.
It is the overstretched, under resourced but still free at the point of delivery NHS.