Prisoner!

[crazybutkind]

So I had a baby on Tuesday evening and I am still currently in hospital. We are ok baby's temp is just a little low but they have ruled out anything serious.

As you can imagine nobody wants to be in hospital on their own with a newborn at the minute but I have been in the same room now since 7:30pm on Tuesday. I'm not allowed to open the window because they don't want baby getting cold, I'm not allowed the fan on because of the same reason and I'm not allowed to go to leave the ward for some fresh air because of covid.

It's absolutely roasting outside, i am just stewing in my own sweat at the minute. All I want is 5 minutes of fresh air.

It's been 36 hours now and I feel ill.

I just want to go and stand at the entrance for 5 mins AIBU?

*especially the SS threat, even

Can you get food deliveries? I have a dim recollection of being told that you could at the big NHS hospital in my city and that you would have to go down to the front desk to receive it when the driver arrived. Can you ring the main reception and ask?

That is ridiculous.

Surely the incubator is at a controlled temperature?

If not, presumably an extra layer on the baby would counteract the ‘cold’ air coming in?

If you set your oven to 200 degrees celsius and open the window and it's 0 degrees outside, you you think the temp in the oven drops so your chops won't be cooked?

This is lunacy that they're using to be mean to you.

Tell them you're going out for fresh air, end of story.

I think PALS will be closed now, ours would be it’s office hours only. I would ask to speak to the nurse in charge, if you get no where with her ask to speak to the manager on call for the hospital. There is always someone senior around, don’t let them fob you off.
And as a side note you can get takeaways delivered to hospital, we often do.

Sorry I thought your baby wasn't in the incubator anymore. Obviously you can't leave if they are.
I hate this attitude of medical staff thinking they are God. I hope you manage to complain but if it was me I'd insist on leaving tomorrow.
IME mum and baby get on much better when they're at home and there will be community midwives for advice to.

And until you get to go out and buy some cool drinks from the fridge (some open about 7pm - so you should go now while you can), keep the damned windows open to cool down. Fuck the shite they're telling you but ask for a pen and paper and ask for the name of each nurse and write down the time of every piece of shite they tell you.

some open until 7pm not the other way round!

This is awful. Can you tweet the hosptial and tell us the hosptial name and everyone retweet and get some publicity. Absurd behaviour from the midwives I'm sorry .

I've been out a half hour ago and there's a nice little breeze now - please get out for a bit of fresh air and get yourself an icepop or something. Bring up a couple of bottles of refrigerated water too.

The baby cant get cold if she is in an incubator as its at a set temp. Just open the window and ignore them

I have seen a few threads like this with complaints about the temperature in hospitals. Don't you have air conditioning/climate control in your hospitals over there? Even the most backward country town where I am with buildings around 90 to 100 years old and older has air conditioning in the hospitals.

@Timekeeper1

I have seen a few threads like this with complaints about the temperature in hospitals. Don't you have air conditioning/climate control in your hospitals over there? Even the most backward country town where I am with buildings around 90 to 100 years old and older has air conditioning in the hospitals.

We like to boil new born babies on post natal wards.

Then when you bring them home, you get told off if the room is deemed to hot.

I’ve had two babies in two hospitals, no air con, windows that won’t open and the heating on in the summer.

Tell them to go ahead, you need to be discharged.
Call PALs as suggested upthread and inform them of the inhumane treatment you are subject to. Inform them you plan to self discharge and will contact social services and the police.
Ring social services YOURSELF, inform them that you feel you are being held prisoner, they are compounding the issues all new mums face and they have threatened you with SS when you tried to discharge. (SS hate that) then call the non emergency police number and inform them that you are behind held to medical kidnap and wish to discharge yourself and your baby.
You are quite capable of monitoring baby’s temperature at home and if she does drop low, I’m 100% certain you have the wherewithal to visit your GP or return to the hospital.
Try to write down the names of everyone who has compounded your health issues (mental and physical) and for gods sake get yourself cooled down.

Haven't really got much more advice, do feel sorry for you but at the same time as harsh as is it sounds they are just trying to make sure your baby stays warm (not saying that your not) and obviously with the virus they have to make sure there is minimal risk as newborn babies don't have an immune system yet. x

So.....
I went to the midwife who is "looking after us today" and said "baby has been fed and changed and is now sleeping so I'm going out for some fresh air I have kept the door open" she replied with "I'm going to advise you not to but I can't stop you" so I was instantly annoyed and replied with "would of been nice to hear that 8 hours ago"

Baby had her temp done and is on the heated mattress, midwife said "if she's fine like this for 24 hours we will look at taking her off it" to which I replied "she won't be here in 24 hours"

I already took note of the names of the rude people. I don't want to say they have all been horrid 2 midwives in particular I can't thank enough they have been brill but I haven't seen them today or I would have gone to them.

the worrying thing is the 2 that mentioned SS and safeguarding where both consultant doctors.

I have left a voicemail with PALS

Well done you!
That’s a huge step forward! I know it’s tough, but stick at it. Xx

Don't worry the doctors are trying to scare you. Even if they do contact SS they won't do anything. I'm glad that you got some fresh air and I hope you stick to your guns and get home.

Glad you got outside for a bit.

Hopefully some fresh air has helped.

It’s hard being on your own with no company / end in sight. x

You poor little thing - you shouldn't be needing to fight for a bit of fresh air and being 'that patient'. I'm not backwards about coming forwards as we say in Ireland, but I have notes on my files that I'm 'aggressive' and the likes. It is what it is. You need to fight the fight at the time, as I've tried the other way, fighting through PALS and through the complaints system after the fact and I got nowhere. Once you're not aggressive, though they say I am, I have never been, then you're fine. Just ignore them and don't let them make you miserable.
We're all behind you.

I am so angry for you op! I was treated terribly after I had my first, I had a horrible time and was left to cope by myself on the ward, my baby never stopped screaming and I couldn't get him to bf, every time I asked for help when they did actually give me the time of day they made me feel stupid and useless and a pain. We would be told dinner was here and it was right down the corridor past two other wards and you had to queue and serve yourself, if you were busy, in the shower, on the loo or feeding baby it was tough luck you missed it. Shocking looking back.
I was in for three days and it went so slowly.

Just be nice as pie, praise them, and then do what you feel like. That's what I do.

Long time since I had a baby, but I remember with my second, I had no cigarette for 2 days (gave birth by c-section on Wednesday pm), I was in bed all day Thursday and Friday morning I'd have clawed through every human to get out for a cigarette.
Except the morphine had stopped so I was in a lot of pain, so this bitch of an old nurse gave me pethidine and said 'now stay in that bed'. I didn't know it was a medical instruction, I figured it was her being rude, so when my aunt (also a smoker) came in to visit, I begged her to bring me down for a cigarette. Nurse was like, well she shouldn't really be going out yet and I said - I'M GOING OUT. Off I tootled and promptly fainted mid-cigarette outside the hospital door. Cue a big fuss of getting wheelchair to get me back up to the ward and me not being let out again until a new shift came on lol.

Anyway smokers are every nurses worst nightmare. Though I've been told that we're the first to get on our feet, due to our undying desire for a fag. Lol. Doctors are more sympathetic sometimes when you explain that you are a heavy smoker and asked for patches which you haven't been provided so you need a cigarette before you go into withdrawals. If you're polite enough, they let you away with a lot. If you're a pushover though, they'll keep you in bed.

The key is finding the one nice nurse on each shift and building a rapport with them. That's my tactic anyway. On my last admission, the sister was a smoker, so she had no issues with me tootling out for a cigarette.

I don't smoke though so it's too late to use that excuse the new staff have just come on so I'm going to just act casual and next time baby is fed and changed and asleep I'm just going to tell them what Iv done with baby and that I am nipping outside as if it's the norm