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?

This is fucking barbaric.

These stories are just horrific.

Almost 10 years ago I was in this situation, labouring overnight (induced) to 9cm with a postnatal mum and baby on one side of me, and a pregnant woman with complications opposite me. Yanbu, it was awful for all of us.

Exposing themselves??!!

@SheSaidHummingbird yes. Exposing themselves.

God, I'm so sorry you went through that. Did you report?

It was horrific.

The worst was I was near the desk. I kept asking them to please call NICU, please let me know if my baby was alive and being mocked for it and told to be quiet.

They weren’t busy - they were talking about holidays and I can still recount the entire conversation about one of their boyfriends buying a new car. they were just being bitches for the sake of it, some nasty power trip.

It was 12 hours before they shoved a wheelchair at me, said “stand up and get in” (and wouldn’t help me stand up), they still wouldn’t tell me what was happening and said I’d have to see when I got down there. I was fully expecting ds not to have made it. Porter wheeled me to NICU - where they were fantastic. The dr was so angry that I hadn’t been given updates and the midwives has told dh he couldn’t go to NICU to be with ds, he could have done. we were only 22 so didn’t have the balls to question anyone.

Thankfully they found me a parent room off NICU after two days as I was expressing and I discharged myself and went there for two weeks with ds and bought my own painkillers.

I had therapy for PTSD after it all. I can’t tell you how badly the midwives treated me. I made a complaint and got the usual “lessons will be learned” response.

Sadly I am not alone @Lancrelady80 😞

I was put on a ward like this when I was induced. It was just a single day and night but it was awful. I had incredibly painful, intense and constant pains on the pessary I'd been given to induce me. The ward was quite loud until late, but when it went quiet, I felt like I couldn't make any noise despite being in agony. I couldn't lie down but didn't want to walk around because it was the middle of the night and i was very aware of disturbing others. Thankfully after begging repeatedly to be checked they eventually came to check and realised i was quite well dilated, sent me down to the labour ward where I had my own room and could finget and move around as much as I needed.

Sadly I was put back on said ward when I'd had baby after no sleep at all. There were lots of people, it was pretty noisy, I scarpered as early as I could manage asking to be discharged late in the evening just so I could get some sleep at home. That first night thankfully she slept well, so I did get some sleep at home before the onslaught began. If I'd stayed in hospital I'd not have slept at all.

It's pretty much the same across hospitals though. I was in hospital for a week after having a hip operation when I was younger. The ward was mixed, with some quite old ladies. One cried out a lot. One couldn't get out of bed and so wet the bed a lot. Cue middle of the night changes. The nurses station was close by and the noise was incessant all night. I basically didn't sleep at all all week. Again I pushed to get discharged early because I couldn't face being stuck in there for the weekend to wait until the Monday to see a consultant to be discharged. Definitely went home before I was ready but just couldn't face another night.

@SheSaidHummingbird I didn't unfortunately. I was so ill and so worried about what was wrong with me. I wish I had.

A friend of mine, who's baby died shortly after birth, was put on a ward with postnatal women when she had to be readmitted due to post birth complications. She had to go back to the maternity ward where she had lost her baby, and was on a ward with new mums and babies. I have no IDEA how she coped but I can't think of anything more cruel.

My labour and birth experience was so bad that it effects me talking about it 10 yrs later.Didnt have any more dc as I couldn't go through it again.

Yes, I have had similar experiences. I was in hospital for 1 month before the birth of my twins. I was on a ward with mothers going into labour and no space on the labour ward. Once we were asked to leave the ward as the woman next to me was giving birth and they didn’t have time to get her any pain relief 🥲. I am not really sure if I should mention some of the other things I saw but thankfully, I was eventually moved to a side room. I discharged myself in the end as I didn’t feel safe with my babies. It is so sad the state of the NHS, I just pray that a change of government will start to try and repair it.

When I had my first child, I was readmitted with retained placenta but there was no space on a ward that a baby would be allowed so I had to spend a night without my newborn. I actually don’t know which is worse. Thankfully, the following day a space was found on a ward where I could have my newborn with me.

I had this too! Post section, had a temperature, and was being monitored on a cold/bright & noisy corridor outside the delivery room. Heard multiple mothers give birth! Was horrific!

Good grief. This thread is shocking.
My heart goes out to all of you who have been treated so appallingly.
What a dreadful indictment of the current state of maternity services.

Yup. We had the same set up when I gave birth Dec 22. Unfortunately for everyone else in the ward, I was the distressed woman in labour at 3am, with very little help and support from midwives. I felt terrible for the other women I was disturbing. It felt like eternity until I was finally moved.

I was grateful for the care I received but they were so stretched and there was no other way for them to manage.

OP I’m sorry that’s awful.

Sorry if this is too off-topic, but I recently spoke with the family liaison midwife at the hospital where I’m due to give birth to my second in a couple of months time, and she told me they’d merged pre & post natal wards since I’d last been there in 2022. Seems to be the way things are going.

For women reading this that are expecting a baby, this isn’t my experience at all so don’t lose all faith!

I went into labour 6 weeks early with my twins. After an assessment, I was given a private room with an en-suite.

I had my own room on the labour ward too and I was placed in my own room with en-suite after they were born as they were in SCBU so they didn’t think it was fair for me to be around babies!

I kept walking down to SCBU for each feed when the midwife collared me and told me I wouldn’t be doing this much walking if I’d been allowed home and so she insisted on taking me down in a wheelchair (DH didn’t take pat leave).

This was in 2019.

I am really sorry that others didn’t have such a good experience - I’m not sure what the answer is but the NHS is broken.

I was put it a labour ward after I lost my baby all very upsetting x

I had an experience like this when I had my second. I was. My waters broke the evening before my planned c-section so I was admitted to the ward into a 4 bed bay. The first night had someone in labour who had the light on and off all night and someone in for monitoring who’s partner also stayed and snored all night. The second night after I’d had my c-section (my husband went home as we had an older child at home), there was someone else in labour again, the same women and her partner in for monitoring who I could hear complaining about being woken whenever my baby cried in the night and another women who was being monitored. I pushed for discharge the next day to escape it which was too soon and although I spent the next night at home I was in absolute agony so didn’t get any sleep again 🤷‍♀️

This is one reason I opted to have my baby ina. Community hospital. I was the only one there when I went into active labour at 12am.
If I can avoid it i will never wish to go to a consultant led hospital. As someone who is very reserved and shy it is more worst nightmare.

It’s sad. I think it also depends on the trust and the resources they have. The hospital I was at have 2 floors dedicated to pregnancy and childbirth. I remember having a room, however I was in a waiting room for a while on my knees in what was labour but the nurses didn’t believe it was - I felt for anyone that had to witness that.

I know a few friends that gave birth in the same hospital but during really busy periods and instead of a room they were separated by curtains.

I’ve noticed many women are now opting in for home births. This hospital has a home from home birth section too.

Funding and location must also play a role but you would think things would have become better universally over the years.

My autistic 16 year old had to stay in hospital on his own for days following an operation. I was told I couldn't stay. He had his own room but was on an adult ward as he'd turned 16. Surprised they let partners stay overnight on a bay. These story's sound awful. I was in hospital 5 days when I had him but luckily had my own room.

to group patients exactly as they’d like to be grouped

The tone here says it all

That is horrendous, I’m so sorry you went through that, and so angry

What message?