Postnatal Ward Hell

[MoneyM]

AIBU in suggesting that postnatal wards are literally hell on earth? Baby born today - stuck in a room with snorers, loud texters, newborn babies being left to cry it out...not to mention the incessant succession of beeps and buzzers. And the intense heat!!

It is horrible. Congratulations on your baby, I hope you can both go home soon.

We got out last night and I agree. Also husbands staying overnight in chairs and chatting all night plus peering into cubicle as they pass (MW left mine open because I kept drifting off with baby at breast) and fluorescent lighting.

Hope you’re out soon.

Congratulations on your baby. YANBU, I will never forget how much the postnatal ward sucked when DD was born. I couldn't get home fast enough.

Pure hell. Although my baby cried all night and certainly wasn't being left to cry it out. Breastfed him and held him all night, but he just screamed blue murder. I hated it!

Hope the night passes quickly for you!

Been there. Poor you. Congratulations tho. Hope you get home tomorrow 🌷

Yanbu. Congratulations on your new arrival. I had a catheter and had to have that out and go to the loo before I could go home. Well as soon as it hit 4am I got that thing out (earliest they could do it apparently) and I drank about two jugs of water. Every midwife I saw I told her I wanted out. Was the first to leave that day. I was ecstatic to get out of there!

I was five days on the ward after an emergency c section. Worst week of my life (in some ways, obviously not in others)

yup

Yep. They’re a hotbox of misery. Had DD1 during a heatwave. DH brought me in a fan on day 2 and the midwife told me off saying I was making it too cold in our curtained-off cubicle. She also told me off for taking off DDs hat. When I pointed out that 16hr old DD was sweating she said “babies need to be warm”.... yeah, warm, not lightly grilled.

Congratulations. Hope you get out soon!

Congratulations on your baby! I was on the postnatal ward a week ago with new DD, worst night ever, didn't sleep a wink all night, every time she eventually drifted off one of the other babies would start screaming, plus the constant talking and checks. Hope you get to go home soon!

Congratulations on your new arrival! Yes, my DD is now 2 weeks old and I thankfully managed to get a private amenity room with ensuite rather than being on the main postnatal ward in a bay at a cost but it was worth every penny. Quieter and far more privacy and space which meant I felt more able to rest and relax as much as you can with a newborn and in hospital. I also felt I wasn't disturbing anyone when DD cried etc.

YANBU.

This is bringing back a memory of leaving such a ward after my second baby who was born so quickly late at night. I felt shell-shocked. We were brusquely discharged from the manic ward the next day - weeping mum in next bed, filthy surfaces and constant loud noises, which made both the baby and I jump.

My lovely mum in law had come over and when we got home, she put me to bed with my new baby (who I had hardly really looked at in the chaos of the ward). She opened the windows - it was summer - and the fresh air filled the room. She took my toddler off to play, after making sure I have a drink and a snack to hand.

The next two hours were amongst the nicest of my life - falling in love with this little boy in our peaceful, safe haven.

I do hope you get home soon and that home is your haven.

They are horrible OP

I had a home birth with DD2 I hated my hospital experience so badly with DD1.

Congratulations on baby! You'll be out soon and at home resting

I only lasted an hour before requesting a private room. We ended up in for a week but it was the best £200 a night I've ever spent. Second time round I had a home birth, driven by the determination to not have to enter that awful post natal ward!

Congratulations! I hope you're released soon!

Ditto to easy, I had a homebirth with dc2 after hating the postnatal experience with dc1

There's nothing like horrible staff on a postnatal ward to make you feel you are just a number and it doesn't matter that you've just had a baby.

I very much doubt any newborn is left to cry it out, they may just be crying and poor mum is not able to settle her. If they were being left to cry it out the staff would monitor that.

What are you all talking about? I LOVED being on the postnatal ward... said nobody ever.

Yep, it is torturous and not conducive to rest and recovery. Lots of people don't seem to realise that a blue curtain around their bed is not soundproof and that conversations about their neighbour/pet/dinner options for the following day etc could wait until morning!

I had foreceps with ds and c-section with dd, both late in the evening and was on the high care ward with the beds you can operate with the remote control. Both times was woken at 5am because they needed the bed. First time I spent a day in an exam room with no window and only a flickering flourescent light and the second time was put in an antenatal ward because they had no other bed

They closed the curtains and as I didn't have one of the handles to pull myself up, I got stuck on my back, unable to move or reach the call button. The women on the ward were all being induced so had family with them and it was so loud that nobody heard me calling for help for ages.

Had dc3 in Austria and it was a total revelation that birth and the hospital stay didn't have to be torture.

Goodness, you poor thing. Hope you get out soon. I must admit, this is one of the reasons I think I want a home birth. My SIL had a terrible time in the postnatal ward too.

Agreed. I got released at 11pm after insisting on being discharged. The only thing wrong with either of us was that my blood pressure was "a bit high". No shit Sherlock

Postnatal wards are shocking.

When I had my twins by emcs I was taken to the transitional care unit as it was the only bed they had - my babies were in nicu so being surrounded by mums and babies was brutal.

Then last year I had to go into the general PN Ward for work and I was shocked by how much worse it was. No space at all, no peace, no privacy.

A new maternity hospital is being built here - there’ll be one 4 bed bay for when it’s needed but the rest are private rooms. Thank goodness.

Totally agree. It’s horrendous. Hot, noisy, no sunlight if you don’t get a window booth. Neighbours who chat constantly or make loud video calls! For my second baby we paid for a private room and it was bliss. None available when I had my third dc three weeks ago so we were back on the dreadful ward.

If you’re not already aware there is normally a checklist of stuff that needs to happen before you can get out, even if you’re healthy, and it’s good to keep pushing each step along if you want to get home quickly.

I agree - hell on earth and treated like an animal. The ward bin was next to my bed and I was so sleep deprived due to lights and noise and every time I came close to drifting off someone would throw a nappy in the bin and the lid would clang shut about two feet from my head waking me up again. I'd just had a c section and was stranded in bed and couldn't get to any food or drink or pick up my crying baby as they were short staffed so my husband had to bring in food from home after work. I discharged myself early. Worst week ever (apart from gaining a beautiful daughter).

Absolutely. I was there for 3 days; couldn't wait to get home. Although same experience as @busface999, my baby was one of two constantly crying babies in our section who couldn't be settled and were keeping everybody else up.