Hospital should feed breastfeeding mums?

[NurseRosie]

AIBU to think that if your baby is in hospital and Mum is staying as fully breastfeeding, the ward should feed Mum? The NHS is not spending money feeding the baby as mummy us making the milk. Baby feeding sometimes 2 hourly and very clingy as unwell. Ward have only given tea and biscuits. Restaurant expensive and open funny times, for example baby upset over lunch yesterday so didn't get down until 2 and they'd stopped serving hopt food for the day. Do you think they should offer mum a meal?

owl. Read what I said. DS has had 3 operations and several awful hospital stays in his short life. He has severe physical disabilities so I do know what it's bloody well like.

my point about breastfeeding is that nutrition is important, I wasn't trying to dismiss other mums BTW.

my point about breastfeeding is that nutrition is important, I wasn't trying to dismiss other mums BTW.

Would it be impractical for the ward to provide you with a meal Rosie ? What did they say when you asked?

Op Other mothers manage it. I did. There are plenty of HCAs on a children's ward who could have watched over your baby in that time.

And if it's such a large hospital (as ours is) don't they have Costa? Vending machines? We have several food outlets.

I'm so glad that most trusts these days have a policy of feeding nursing mothers.

Next time don't ask the nurses, ask the ward staff, they are the ones with the food not harassed nurses trying to look after sick children

Mum/journo, instead of fucking about on MN, go get yourself some food.

p.s., food doesn't have to be hot to provide sustenance, either. If the canteen is no longer serving hot food, grab a sandwich.

I thought I should have contributed to my own meals as an inpatient, even if it was a £5 a day or something.

Most trusts don't have any such policies Daisy it's entirely discretionary

Not in my experience Henry

Nutrition is still pretty important for all parents though. I don't think that trying to create a them v us situation is going to help anything or anyone.

OP I wouldn't want to leave my child for a second if they were poorly and distressed. I thought BF were fed. They really should be! Fill your boot with the biscuits. Hope your dc is better soon and you're out of there quickly

4 years ago when DD was in neonatal unit all parents breastfeeding or not got a £2 food voucher daily.

The nurses (who I'm sure were angels) unofficially brought me toast and tea when DD had a rough few days and I didn't want to leave her incubator.

Our local children's ward had a parents kitchen with microwave etc.

She's not a journo, stop troll hunting a woman with a sick new born.

'my point about breastfeeding is that nutrition is important, I wasn't trying to dismiss other mums BTW.'

It's important for any parent caring in hospital for their child.

When ds is in I often live on toast. If I am really lucky the hca doing breakfasts will have time to chuck me a couple of slices in and bring it with his breakfast. otherwise I wait until ds is asleep. Now he is older that is much harder as he doesn't sleep as much even when ill!

'She's not a journo, stop troll hunting a woman with a sick new born.'

The time she's taking to post on this thread, she could have gone to a vending machine and bought a sandwich or some cheese and crackers.

Yes, but if your body is directly involved in feeding your very young baby that is a special case.

I agree that a them and us situation is unhelpful. All parents who have children in hospital need a bit of kindness and emotional support as well as food. It's really hard and often overwhelming.
I hope your baby is better soon op and you get something to eat

I'm typing one handed while feeding my baby. Maybe OP is too.

Also when ds was on the mend and off oxygen I would put him in his buggy and take him for a walk down to the canteen with me while I got something to eat (with staff permission of course!)

Have you noticed that the NHS is in a bit of a bind?

Although you probably get hungry more easily, you're hardly in danger of your milk supply being compromised if you don't eat at your regular times for a few days. It's not really any more a problem for you than it is any other parent having a child in the hospital. Pack some food from home.

They do where I live (Surrey/London)

My great niece was in PICU for several weeks after her birth and her mum was with her constantly (although discharged from hospital herself). She was expressing her milk for her DD. I made soup, sandwiches, snacks and would ring her to say I was outside and she would nip out to collect food for the day. It was much easier for her to do this and less pressure on asking staff to get her a sandwich.

And a friend who was down here on holiday whose DS ended up in intensive care, I was taking food in for her and then sitting with her DS while she ate her meal.

On the other hand I spent 48 hours in hospital with DD1 who had gastroenteritis when she was 16m's and I actually don't remember eating anything at all apart a kitkat from the vending machine and got hot drinks from the parents room. I literally was on my own for the entire time, my DD's dad had no interest in her being in hospital and I was miles away from my family. So I just coped on what I could grab from the machine.
I didn't expect them to feed me, I wasn't the patient.

The NHS is struggling. Please read the thread from last night where the Op's dad had had a fall and was still waiting for an ambulance more than four hours later.