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 was so lucky to only need one night on postnatal ward, I was only in hospital for about 20 hours in total and only about 12 on the PN ward. This time round I'm hoping to have a home birth and avoid the whole experience all together.

Hell on earth. I paid for a side room second time after the worst time on the ward first time, but it didn't have an en-suite. But it's the staff some lovely some evil. They made me cry, apparently you can't walk around with your baby. Also judged on not having 20 layers on DD you can't put her to sleep like that. And they woke her up after I'd not slept for 36 hours.

I couldn't get out quick enough, my other half saying no stay in another night. First few days are a shock, I private suite would be ace, like you give birth in. Probably more helpful for breastfeeding and bonding.

The real low point for me was the woman in the cubicle opposite me playing her birth video at full volume to her large crowd of visitors.

Yep absolutely horrific. I had an emergency c-section and was meant to stay 2 nights. I discharged myself against doctor advice after 1 night. There was no chance in hell I was spending another night there.

I wonder what post natal wards would be like if men had babies?

There wouldn't be wards at all if men had babies, all en-suite rooms, nice beds, buzzers answered, pain meds on tap, plenty of staff, no having to walk round and queue up to get food and water, share bathrooms, etc.

I discharged myself as soon as I could walk, just said I need to get home for my older child. ( I had a dead leg from my epidural so they wouldn't let me out until it resolved ) but they still have to do all their paperwork and checks before you can leave, this seems to take ages. I'd been in 2 nights and there was no way I staying a third. Got out at 8.30pm.

Oh and my private room was like a cupboard next to the communal bathroom.

YANBU. I did 12 hours on one with DD1 and with DD2 I refused to go and we self discharged at 2am!

Had a c section and managed to swing our own room, it was still the worst 3 days of my life. Terrified about the next one when I doubt I'll be able to get a room again and looking for a scheduled c section. Still, at least it means your in laws can't come and park up.

I had a dc one New Year's Eve. Had to stay in as risk of excessive bleeding. Woken up at 12 to mw shouting Happy New Year! Come visiting the woman opposite had her family arrive. 12 OF THEM pulling a hamper of goodies and bottles of fizz..
I discharged myself and dd and went home for a rest!!
Bonkers!

I still have nightmares about it. Congratulations!! X

It’s like a an actual horror film , and I was that women sitting on the bed sobbing with pain and sleep deprivation trying to breastfeed: In for a week nearly screamed the place down. Never having another baby again gave me ptsd

Congratulations

But yeah youre right they are grim

I was out 26 hours after a c section because the woman next to me snored like a train...trains

God that brings it all back OP! With my first baby I also had a woman who I assume was some kind of drug addict who wouldn’t leave me alone - I was too young to really know what to do and she kept popping up when I was sleeping and wanting to chat! Thankfully she was then moved to a room on her own.

With my subsequent babies I left after the minimum time (think was 6 hrs after giving birth)

I slept three hours in three days. I was so exhausted I was falling asleep with my eyes open, my whole body kept jerking. I had a meltdown at 5am and begged DH to come in, and then sobbed on his shoulder in the middle of the ward when he arrived.

And it wasn't even a bad postnatal ward really. No one's partners stayed overnight and it was fairly quiet. It's just not an environment conducive to rest. Although one woman obviously found it was as she was snoring like mad and kept having to be woken by midwives to feed her baby!

Oh and the curtain randomly being pulled aside multiple times a day when I was trying to pump or feed DD. Awful.

Oh and my cubicle was beside the window, so first thing in the morning they would seize the curtains and pull them back and they'd stay open while people were walking past the window on their way to work, etc. and I was there with my chebs out.

This is why I chose to give birth in a birthing unit after my first! Own room, double bed, microwave, tv. Bliss! I didn’t want to go home congratulations xx

We spent 2 nights on the antenatal ward before baby was born, and then a week on postnatal.. honestly the exhaustion was torture and I was hallucinating by the end of it. Though I genuinely can’t say anything negative about the staff.

As soon as your baby has finally fallen off to sleep, someone else’s has woken and screams for the next 40 minutes, then the lady next door decides to chat to everyone in her contact list on loudspeaker, then another lady is transferred over from labour ward so the lights ping on and the whole ward gets to listen to the poor lady’s handover from the midwives. Aaaaaand repeat.

YANBU

Only there one night and it was awful- had HB for others.

We waited hours for checks and paper work DH said in the end lets just go - as we had friend waiting in car park waiting to give us a lift as we don't drive- and we walked out no one stopped us or questioned us.

Saw community MW who'd done all my pg care later that afternoon as planned.

*I wonder what post natal wards would be like if men had babies?

There wouldn't be wards at all if men had babies, all en-suite rooms, nice beds, buzzers answered, pain meds on tap, plenty of staff, no having to walk round and queue up to get food and water, share bathrooms, etc.*

^^
This!

Judging by Mn, it’s absolutely awful, but there seem to be no plans for a massive overhaul!

In France they appear to have a system of private rooms, babies cared for a night, a menu of nice enough food etc. No reason why that can’t be done here - they are all dropping dead because MWs and all comers can’t peer at them 24/7 and they don’t have a nation of people not bonded to their mothers!

Awful. Same old story.

Some chap wants Viagara? Doc appointment straight away. Dude needs a vasectomy? Private room to himself.

Had DD1 at home after hearing so many of these stories. Couldn’t even begin to face the possibility. Had to have DD2 at hospital as was under consultant care and although I pushed for a home birth they talked me out of it... Luckily however I did have a private room. Even then though other Dads just waltzed in thinking it was the ward, someone even walked into the labour room mid labour! Having babies in hospital sucks. Midwifery led units are good though apparently if they have them. Definitely recommend home birth though, my own shower, my own bed... my birth pool in the living room whilst watching box sets. Perfect!

Dude needs a vasectomy? Private room to himself.

Interested to know if this is true! I thought they went home the same day.

Yes it is hell. I was in for six nights in the end and it was awful. I was in a 4 bed bay stuck in the corner with a big dark cupboard on one side and the beds near the windows had their curtains shut all the time so I couldn’t see outside at all. It was so noisy constantly and because I had a c section I couldn’t lie comfortably as I couldn’t get up again. I was due to go home on the Sunday after DD was born on Thursday but she had lost too much weight. I distinctly remember sitting and crying for three hours that I was a crap Mum who couldn’t even feed their baby and I just wanted to go home. DH rang my Mum because he didn’t know what to do with me!

By the end of the 6th night I was seeing faces in the curtains. We finally escaped on the Wednesday it wasn’t a nice experience at all.

Congratulations.
I hope you are free now-& if not I found telling them I wished to self discharge sped them up and it was done very quickly! Might be worth a try.

My first was awful, DS born at 2.30am, transferred up about 5.30am. Was promised 24 hours after birth we could leave so I agreed to go up, then told not in night, the next am, then lunchtime for paperwork and so on.
At 3pm I lost my shit and said we were leaving and they’d done all the paperwork by 3:15 for us to go after previously telling me it would be 6-7pm.

DS2 was a homebirth. We watched films and chatted, pool in living room, DS born 4.30am, midwives gone by 6am, and my firstborn woke up to a new baby brother. We were out having a family breakfast by 10am.