To think it’s inappropriate for labouring women to be in a bay with antenatal women and postnatal women?

[LadyofLaundry88]

Interested to hear from any midwives/HCPs re whether this is common practice/normal?

I have been admitted for weeks pre due date for various reasons that I’d need emergency surgery pronto if I go into labour. So I’m on a bay which currently has x2 labouring (very distressed screamy) women, one like this overnight, x1 new mother & baby & male partner (allowed to stay overnight), and x2 unwell pregnant women. Lights on and off all night, HCPs banging in and out talking really loudly to patients etc. I am going to lose my mind.

AIBU to think this is pretty barbaric? I’m quite shocked that this is ok?

Sorry, my message a moment ago was in response to this one.

My brother only survived a few hours after birth, they put my mum on the postnatal ward with mums and their newborns. Horrific. 😞

In contrast to most of this thread, I had excellent experiences with my first child, and reasonable ones with my second - admittedly having (asymptomatic) COVID and therefore getting a private room helped with the second!

However, in my local hospital, antenatal and pediatrics share an outpatient clinic, including waiting room. It's never been an issue for me, but it does seem insensitive that pregnant women who might be losing their babies are in with babies and children in the waiting room.

Some conditions there wouldn't be time before mother and baby were dead. I had placenta praevia and even living 10 mins drive from the hospital was deemed too big a risk. Actually I eventually couldn't take any more after a few weeks and was in the process of signing myself out when I did indeed haemorrhage and baby had to be brought out pretty much immediately.

My memory has been jogged though - @LadyofLaundry88 if you're in for more than a day or two keep asking if a single side room is available. I got this and it was marginally better. Still lots of noise and light from corridors but at least there was some privacy.

Realised this is a bit unclear - when I say, "Might be losing their babies," there wouldn't be actually miscarrying women in that waiting room. But it's where you'd be if you, for instance, were having a difficult pregnancy and had just had very worrying scan results that you need to see a consultant about.

It’s terrible isn’t it? Your friend must have had a very stressful time on the lung ward. My dad was moved to a ward of young mobile men waiting for surgery when he needed palliative care. At least it was quiet, but that meant the poor men heard everything.

I’ve also been on wards with awful smells, there really isn’t much dignity in being in hospital. I know services are all over stretched but it’s horrible to think this just is how it is. The nicest wards I’ve been on are actually dementia wards which you’d think would be the loudest and smelliest, it doesn’t make much sense

I bet it's hideous for the labouring women too. I came in early during active labour to be monitored for low movement, my waters had broken and I was having contractions 7/8 minutes apart and I was put in a normal waiting room. I was so upset I went and sat in the loo, it was really humiliating tbh.

I couldn't agree with you more.

When I was having endometriosis treatment, I was in a reception area where the lady one side of me waters broke & before that she was talking to her partner about finally having a girl after 3 boys.

The couple the other side of me were worried about a suspected miscarriage as the baby had stopped kicking.

I was reading the surgery disclaimer and signing that it would be OK to remove my womb and ovaries if necessary.

It was a form of torture for 2 of us but not the lady in labour's fault, why shouldn't she be happy?

I know space is at a premium but it's just wrong on so many levels.

25 years ago I suffered a miscarriage. I had to have a scan (internal as it was early). They sat me in a waiting room with lots of very pregnant women waiting for their 20 week scans. ☹️

I remember a poor lady being put on the ward with with and all the other women who had had our babies. She just kept wailing. It was horrific. They left her there 36 hours before they moved her.

Someone gave birth on the antenatal ward last year when I was in labour

OMG! That it awful. I’m so sorry you had to go through that ❤️

It's horrific. The attitude of the midwives and HCPs was awful during both of my births (not during labour, just post natally). They just didn't want to be there. Post natal wards were horrific and I learned intimate medical histories of everyone else there.

I had a haemorrhage after a medically managed MMC and was left in the 'major incidents' bay of A&E for hours to soak through my trousers whilst I waited for the gynae to see me. This was in front of people with all kinds of different injuries, including many men. Nobody knew where to look.

I didnt have this, i had my own room until baby was born BUT i could imagine them having to do this if no rooms available

I was put on a ward like this before - after and during labour. It was everything you describe and more. I felt like I was in a 3rd world country. Not in a London borough. Barbaric really is the word and I’m sure it hinders labour for many women.

I found the over night male guests more loud and horrendous than the women. By the time I got the go ahead to leave I RAN.

Utter shit show.

♥️

I spend more time than you can imagine apologizing for not being able to provide the care women deserve, being shouted at by angry fathers. Of course I show care and compassion to the women I look after. But we are not super human. When you are burnt out working under impossible and sometimes dangerous conditions, you can only do your best. And sometimes it isn’t good enough. I actually love my job. I’ve been qualified only 3 years, and I truly love what I do. But I can see how you get compassion fatigue. It breaks you.

I went to hospital in labour and was put on a ward and then swiftly moved off because my screaming was upsetting the other women who’d been in there being induced for days, well no shit - who thinks a shared ward is appropriate for women in labour?!

This reminds me of my first miscarriage. The walls were so thin that when we were put in the bereavement suite we could hear the next lady being scanned in the adjoining room and could hear her baby’s heartbeat

Normal from my experience…all mixed together. I have been in both sides, before my ELCS (very nervous after two losses) I was opposite a couple cooing over their new baby. After the baby was here, I was cooing over my new baby but in the next bed was a lady having pregnancy complications and she started bleeding and was whisked away. Opposite was a lady whose baby had gone to NICU - goodness knows how she felt about me there with my new baby…it shouldn’t be that way but assuming to do with bed availability etc?

That is absolutely awful! I'm so sorry you went through this. I hope that never happens to anyone again. It sounds traumatic.

. I have heard of women whose babies are in NICU and they are back in the bay / ward set up with women with their babies.

This was me. My daughter was whisked away before I'd even set eyes on. Apparently she was blue, and certainly hadn't made a sound.

I was convinced she had died, and if I hadn't had my husband able to go with her to NICU, wouldn't have known any different. Noone told me, they just put me on the ward with mums and newborns. They wouldn't let dh in to tell me what was going on because visiting hours were over, nor would they ring to find out for me. I only knew she was still alive at all because dh rang me from the hospital car park. I had to have a spinal due to retained placenta so couldn't take myself to NICU and had to keep asking and being made to feel a problem. My first sight of dd was hooked up to a ventilator 13 hours after she was born.

On the plus side, it totally threw the Bounty photographer who was all ready to push newborn photos when she swept back the curtains to find no newborn!

After I had my daughter we had a 5 day hospital stay. She was delivered by EMCS after a 3 day labour and resuscitated at birth. The first night she couldn't be with me (special care baby unit) and they thought it appropriate to put me on a ward with 5 new mums who had their babies with them. Second night she joined me and they moved us to a ward with labouring women. By day 5 of no sleep I was beginning to hallucinate and I asked for help from the mental health team. It was nothing short of torture.

Gosh I thought anyone in active labour was supposed to have their own room 🙁

And that’s why I don’t think other people’s men should be allowed overnight in shared maternity wards.

When I had my first 2, the maternity ward (pre/birth) had women on there in early labour, premature labour, losing babies, high risk pregnancies etc…. The two bays at the bottom were for women having terminations!!! I was mortified being in there!!! They’ve rearranged the whole hospital now and has a seperate early pregnancy unit, termination place and labour/delivery/postnatal wards (with specialised “rainbow rooms”. Much better. I’ve never not had a private room after delivery though…