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!!

I would willingly riot in the streets if it would make postnatal wards better.

I was in a week or so after dd was born, including coming out and going back again. I felt like I was being taken back to prison. It was horrendous.

Vulnerable groups like the elderly and new mothers get this kind of crap in hospital because we're too knackered/preoccupied to kick up a stink. It's an underfunded machine, I imagine staff get desensitised after a while.

I'd be interested to know if PND correlated with long stays on mat ward.

They are torture awful awful places. I was traumatised after my experience.

My postnatal experience was the main reason I had a fantastic home birth with my second. No way I was repeating that inhumane ordeal.

I think targets culture probably has a lot to do with it.

Maternal misery is hard to put a target on so funding gets allocated to things with more tangible results.

I definitely don't support privatising the nhs but there's no doubt that postnatal wards would be masses better if women were customers making a choice.

1st baby: 2 of us on ward, she had quite severe learning difficulties and had no clue about anything and baby screamed constantly. Boyfriend and mother arrived, LOUD talking, baby still screaming. Went on for hours. They left baby still screaming in cot, never picked up. Nurses too busy to be there all the time but tried. Hell on earth.

2and baby: different hospital, midwife unit, 1 person on ward who lived up the road but had stayed for a few days to have a rest. Saw me and insisted she went home so she didnt disturb me and I could rest. Bless her. So I had a aard to myself was bored and slightly spooked. Lol

Why is it that maternity wards are so much cleaner, calmer and more efficient in Europe? Do people pay higher rates of tax and more money goes toward maternity care?

They are awful, when I was on the ward 6 months ago the woman next to me as well as her husband had full on flu but they wouldn't move her and another mother was crying constantly and she was told to get over it, I put a complaint in about infection risk and patient treatment but I doubt anything came of it, they also turfed me out the next morning after have an emergency c section, the ride home was agony.

Just adding my voice to the litany of negative experiences here. I've had 2 c sections, and both times the stay in the post natal ward was just awful. I was desperate to leave. My second DS was born around 1am, so I couldn't be discharged the following day. I had almost no sleep that first night (as was in recovery with baby) and pretty much none the next night because of the noise, heat, constant babies waking, adults talking/rowing, just noise noise noise. I was so upset, I was in so much pain having to constantly get up to get me baby who kept waking because of the noise. The following morning I insisted repeatedly to every nurse who came near that I WOULD be leaving, and to make sure my baby's tongue tie was dealt with so we could go that day. All individual staff members were lovely, but the experience itself was awful. It is atrocious that women are so disrespected after exhausting labours and/or abdominal surgery to not even be able to sleep for 48 hours. I felt a bit mad by the time I got out.

I was in the midwifery led unit with my first two, it was bliss, peaceful, relaxed, 4 to a ward, I would have stayed longer!

By contrast the post natal ward in the hospital was absolute hell. As well as the general noise and eat, which I would have been able to put up with, it was the constant noise from visitors who were bringing in their take-aways which smelt awful and their visitors refused to leave at 8. They were allowed far too many visitors on the ward and they were all encroaching into my space.

I was in for 5 days, I thought I was going mad, I cried when I came out I was so relieved.

I think postnatal is shocking and indicative of the fact women are ignored with their health.

I wish something could be done about it. The PND it must cause would surely be worth investing extra money to make it fit for purpose. I challenge a politician to stay under these conditions and then see if it’s acceptable

@Peaceanddove My experience was so horrible I am sure it directly contributed to my post natal anxiety afterwards.
This x 1000! I was in for 5 days and didn’t sleep the whole time. When I got home I couldn’t close my eyes properly.

What an awful start to motherhood.
On a more positive note, congratulations OP! 👶🏼

wondering7777 Sat 29-Feb-20 06:24:52
This sounds utterly terrifying - I have a fear of hospitals and wish I could have a home birth but am too nervous as it’s my first!

Is it possible to just discharge yourself as soon as possible after the birth, even if they haven’t filled in the paperwork yet? I think I would rather walk out than stay in hospital in these conditions.
........
Yes you can discharge yourself and your baby, wondering. Your maternity unit may be a good one, can you check on it before you go in, do you know any others who have had babies there?

There's no reason why a healthy young woman with no pregnancy related problems cannot have a home delivery.

Think about it.

Lynda07 didn’t mean to scare you If you have a straightforward birth you’ll be out the same day or next day. They don’t keep people in unnecessarily because there’s a shortage of beds (at least in my area). I had to stay in for 5 days because DD was group B strep and on antibiotics. Plus I was struggling with breastfeeding —and very tempted to give up just to get out—

@BananaSplitX Mine isn't quite the same as yours but I have lost 4 Babies. I would do anything to be on that postnatal ward cradling my newborn baby. Not the alternative which was alone and terrified at home. Scared to go to sleep in case I bled excessively. My Partner a Truck driver was away at the time too which tore him to pieces because he couldn't be with me

It would improve if every woman who complains on a forum was also to formally complain to the hospital, copied to their MP. It has happened due to the culture of gratefulness in relation to the NHS.

People should complain. Don’t know how it would stop the selfishness of other patients though.

I described it as like a field hospital. Women shell shocked, women staggering down corridors, women bleeding, just two toilets.

Mine was the crying baby. Trying to Ebf. Surrounded by sleeping babies milk drunk on the free ready mixed single use formula bottles that were available. I was the fool. I should just have joined them raiding the cupboards that were full of it despite the advice that none would be supplied and to be bring your own if you wanted it.

No food or drinks brought after c section including when I was still bed bound with a catheter. No explanation of how or where you were meant to access food and drink - the general vibe was that having had a baby, he was the most important thing and I was being a bit precious and princessy expecting fluids and food.

The final straw was when my baby had finally stopped crying for ten minutes after a solid three or four hours of it and a matron popped up and said that I should take him to the breast feeding room as he had been disturbing other mums.

When did they get rid of matrons? My Mum's best friend was a matron back in the day. When she visited me in hospital she was disgusted by the levels of noise, mess and large family groups all over the place.

I had a good experience. Sort of. At Kings, in South London. When I arrived they were full, so I got put in a post labour ward whilst I was in labour. (Back to back). Every contraction I would scream. Inbetween contractions I called out an apology to the new mothers in the surrounding beds and through the curtain a kind voice replied "No worries, we were the same a few hours ago."
After I had my baby I was in the post natal ward for 3 days. The occupants of the surrounding beds all behaved reasonably. I must have been lucky!

It would improve if every woman who complains on a forum was also to formally complain to the hospital, copied to their MP. It has happened due to the culture of gratefulness in relation to the NHS.

This.

Ideal PN ward for me would be individual rooms with ensuites for all- door opening into a communal mothers lounge where the nurses station also was. Partners allowed to stay over in the rooms only and only allowed to use the ensuites- no other bathrooms. Visitors allowed in rooms only, during visiting hours only. Partners and visitors Not allowed in mothers lounge at all.

I'd actually like to keep wards.

But I'd like reduced visiting hours (like for only three hours a day, including fathers).

That way we could open the curtains and talk to each other. I felt incredible lonely in that cubicle for five days. Only people I spoke to were the HCAs who brought food until discharge-for five days. My DS was born my emergency section under GA. Only found out he had been resuscitated in passing.

No idea at all why I was in for all that time. Think they forgot about me!

Yes I think if all visitors were restricted to just a few hours then wards could be kept. I know from lots of previous threads though that many women do want their partner to be able to stay 24/7 which for me should only be allowed if in private rooms.

Wouldn't need them 24/7 if we had enough staff!

YY^

They built a new super hospital in Glasgow, all single rooms..... all except the maternity unit.