To say postnatal wards are the least conducive environment for a mum/baby recovery

[cheesemumma]

Currently sitting on a ward at 11.30pm. 6th night. No exaggeration I think in total I must have had 4 hours sleep. My physical and mental health is suffering. I'm going to have to talk to the Drs tomorrow and say we're going home whatever, as we're getting more ill staying. Its not just the other selfish fucker couples that decide to talk on phone /watch films/ have conversations with each other but the staff seem to not give 2 shits it's the middle of the night. I realise my tiredness and hormones are a big contributing factor but I can feel a full tantrum /meltdown coming on. It's also 10000000 degrees and the enviable screaming babies plus the fact you get 3 teeny portions of food a day so I'm really hungry as ebf.

Why does one woman’s wish to have her partner with her trump other women’s privacy and dignity? Maternity patients are only in for five minutes, plenty of time for dads to bond at home.

I was lucky to have a side room both times,(first in NICU at 27wks and second was term and they had the space to give me that space and experience I didn’t have with my first. I was so lucky and grateful) I’ve never experienced the ward. I probably would have lost my shit by the sounds of it

Thing is I had an awful postnatal period and really struggled to look after my DD overnight. I still saw that postnatal wards need to be a female space and that having unverified men wandering around at night and in bathrooms was a fucking stupid idea.

Imo having men on the wards to help 'bond' is the nhs way of keeping staff numbers to a minimum.

It also panders to the think of the menz mentality. I mean God forbid childbirth not center men. I also dislike the emotional blackmail of "if I can't be with the baby 24/7 from the start how can anyone expect me to be an involved father later on" that some men seem to imply.