To ask about amenity rooms on labour wards?

[TheGentleMoose]

Ideally, I'd like to give birth early in the morning and be home in my own bed that evening - however, apparently I can't arrange this with 100% guarantee that it will happen.

I have epilepsy (and PTSD) and was wondering whether it would be OK to request an amenity room when I give birth, if I have to stay in overnight? I don't want to come across as an entitled mama. I really struggle to sleep in noisy areas due to PTSD and sleep deprivation is a major trigger for my epilepsy. These are both documented on previous hospital admissions at the hospital I plan to give birth in, and I am usually, where available, offered a side room without requesting one.

I don't know what an amenity room is, but a lot of hospitals have private rooms that you can pay extra for which are allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

Unfortunately, you may find yourself in a communal postnatal ward. I'd prepare for that (as the worst case scenario) unless you can go private.

Other people with experience of MH issues may be able to correct me on this though.

What's an amenity room?

Our local maternity unit only has individual rooms and no wards. A nurses station looks after a group of rooms rather than a ward as they think it's easier for new mothers to breast feed and get fanjo checks with more privacy.

It's a pay-bed in a private room.

Hospitals sometimes sell them if they have one spare, but I'm not sure how many a ward would have (and how often they are occupied by those with medical need - eg infection control)

If you have medical reasons for needing particular facilities during labour, discuss them with your midwife and see what the hospital offers anyhow. The answer here might be early transfer to a delivery room.

Ask for a referral to the midwife responsible for disabled patients then itwill be arrange pre labour.

My hospital had these, I think they were about £100 a night.

Ours was £200 if available, entitled on not I would pay more. Even with our own room after birth it was dreadful.

Sorry, in our local hospital it's a private room that can be requested if there's a medical need, or if there's no medical need you can pay for it privately (I think 180 pounds per night).

I'd only want one after the birth - I don't see the need for one beforehand as I doubt I will be getting much sleep through labour.

LaPharisienne Do you mean because of mental health issues I will be placed onto a communal ward? I did wonder if this would be the policy. Also, I suspect that if I have a seizure during labour I will be in the bed closest to the nurses station.

Both times I gave birth I requested a private room and agreed to pay whatever the going rate was, both times I got a room with no charge. Obviously it does depend on who else has asked / has need of one at the same time you do & unfortunately there's no way of planning it.

No, I meant that perhaps you would get preferential treatment because of your MH issues? I don't have any experience so can't comment, but from the earlier comment about talking to the midwife in charge of disabled patients looks like you might?

My consultant requested for me to have a private room on mental health grounds and I ended up on the ward, I also offered to pay for one and didn't get one as they were all taken, there was also a waiting list for them. In the end I got one for my last night as I'd been in for 5 nights and had about 10 hours sleep in total and was an absolute mess, I was incoherent, hallucination and unsafe to look after a baby so I got a private room so my husband could stay.

Basically request one, see if you can get it put in your notes beforehand, but don't get your hopes up!

It's best to request this antenatally rather than after birth.

It also depends on how many amenity/ private rooms the trust you'll be going to has. They're often given to mothers who need to be secluded from the communal areas, for example; mothers whose babies are in NNU/ SCBU or the woman has sepsis, D&V, MRSA etc and of course requests from women too.

However, there are only so many and they'll be prioritised depending on the ward level and reason.

Request it. Pay it.

Post-natal wards are like train stations with visitors there all day and some all night too. Awful places.

I discharged myself straight after the delivery suite second time around and went home. Was a much more relaxed experience.

Sadly in this day and age - there is very little possibility of one being available due to bed shortages, but by all means ask

£180 wow , our are £30 and partner gets a sofa bed and breakfast.
Free for medical need including disability.

In our hospital if you have a mental health condition you have to stay on a ward. It makes things worse but they think the company helps

I totally understand that I may not get one even if it's requested. I just wasn't sure if it was something I could request beforehand or that I had to wait and be offered - it does say on the website you can ask after birth to see if one is available.

I'm also unsure whether they would let someone with epilepsy be alone in a room. I guess the same goes for mental health illnesses as well. I will ask the consultant about it and see what they think. I've been hesitant to ask too much about post birth as I am worried about being told I would actually have to stay in for several days rather than just one night.

There's not a huge point in asking antenatally, as you don't know when you're going to be delivering. All labour rooms are private, so it'd be a private room on the Postnatal ward that you'd want. Availability will depend so much on how busy the ward is and that's not something you can judge antenatally.

On our ward the private rooms (we have I think 7, and 24 beds in bays, although there's some jiggling around at the mo, so things change!) are allocated firstly to mums who are long-stayers, or have poorly babies over in SCBU. We would certainly consider MH issues a good reason to offer a private room, IF the woman was medically stable and if she was not likely to self-harm.

Private rooms are harder to get into in an emergency situation - locking doors, bathroom, doorways quite small, so tricky to get beds out quickly, so we need to know that women who use them are low risk.

You could flag it with your community midwife when you have your regular antenatal appointments, but she probably won't be in the hospital very much if at all, so can't be of much help. Definitely mention it to your MW when you're in labour, as they'll be able to speak to Postnatal and see what can be done.

I have a relation with epilepsy who wasn't allowed a private room because of the epilepsy. They did look after her baby for most of the night so she could sleep though.

I think it's funny that you would likeep this baby to arrive in the morning and you be home by the evening don't be daft if you want that to happen ask for a c-section as for the whole wanting a private room you might not get one you will have to ask. But I have to wonder why your even having a baby if sleep deprivation is such a major trigger for your epilepsy because that's exactly what happens with babies and I wouldn't think you where safe to be left on your own with the baby incase you had a fit.

@peanutandphoenix why is not wanting an overnight stay in hospital daft?

I'm having a baby because we want to have a baby. Are you honestly saying women with epilepsy who have sleep deprivation as a trigger (which is the majority) should not have children? You have no idea about how safe our home is for me caring for a baby whilst I have epilepsy so perhaps don't jump to assumptions about whether it's safe for me to be left alone with a a baby or not.

I'm not having a caesarean unless it's medically necessary as I personally feel it's not the best option for mother or baby.

@PinguForPresident Thanks, I am actually going to ask specifically about access to private rooms in an emergency as if it was harder, I will actually prefer an open bay bed - dying from a seizure behind a locked door is one of my biggest fears.

@Notso Thank you, I am fully prepared that I may be told this as well, particularly if the private rooms are towards the ends of the corridors and not near the nursing / midwife stations.

lambshank

They're not awful places they're busy places with staff working all hours.

Request a room but be prepared that it might not be available to you.

have you considered an elective section? It might be much safer for you because you could plan it so you would be home for the evening and you would know for sure that you wouldnt be in labour for days.
I was in labour nearly 3 days myself as i had to be induced. I didnt sleep that whole time and had severe mental health problems as a result.
I was unlucky most people arent in labour that long but i do think you should consider what would happen if you were. I think you have very good grounds for being granted an elective section on the NHS if you want one.