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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Private healthcare means a room. Bad?

25 replies

ColleenEatsVeg · 19/04/2011 08:39

I know this will be somewhat case by case seeing all hospitals are different. My work insurance offers hospital coverage (not childbirth) like a private room instead of a ward and extra scans. I have never used my private insurance and have questions about the private room part. I mean can it be a bad thing? Will the midwives visit less than if I was in a ward? And will it not matter if I am having a waterbirth or is the whole private room thing about aftercare?

I am looking at L&D, Lister and Watford hospital (the ones closest to me)

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Cattleprod · 19/04/2011 08:42

Personally I liked being on a ward - the first few days with a baby can be quite boring and scary, and it was nice to chat to the other new mums.

nunnie · 19/04/2011 08:50

I think it would be more aftercare than delivery so shouldn't affect the waterbirth. It's not something I know anything about though sorry. I am the same as cattleprod, I quite liked the company of the other mums, and we were on the high dependancy ward so had alot of midwife reassurance and visits.
But I have never been into hospital and had a private room so I can't really compare it, it may well be lovely and relaxed.

Cattleprod · 19/04/2011 08:58

I don't think any uk hospital would expect you to give birth on a ward!!! The private room would be for your postnatal care.

Most hospitals only have 1 or 2 waterbirth pools, so if you want one it's best to let them know when you first go into labour so they can reserve it for you.

Zimbah · 19/04/2011 08:59

I don't know about the difference between private and NHS, but I had a private room following my C-section - just lucky that my hospital have some and tend to give them to cs mums. It was great, I had some real horror stories from friends about it being impossible to sleep with all the noise of several other mums, babies and midwives all night long. In the private room I coudlnt' really hear other babies, only mine, plus it was about 3 times the size of the space you get in a ward, so I could have whatever stuff I wanted without being cramped, and there was room for my visitors to spread out rather than sitting jammed up against the bed. I woudl definitely recommend it. With DD2 I'll probably pay for a private room (£100/night - different hospital this time) if it looks like I'll be staying more than one night.

Having said that, either my mum or DH were with me all day so I wasn't on my own - if I had been it would have been rather lonely so I might have preferred a ward.

chrisonabike · 19/04/2011 09:07

There are pros and cons to a room. I got one for free as the ward was full. It was good to have the privacy and space to scatter my stuff, but I felt isolated and a bit 'forgotten about'.

I was a first timer and felt that I would have benefited from seeing other mums with their babies; I had no idea what to do with mine and felt a bit helpless without anyone to 'learn' from.

It was at least peaceful and I could scratch my arse without onlookers

iskra · 19/04/2011 09:07

You always give birth in a private room. Afterwards you are transferred to a postnatal ward (in most cases). So that's the bit where your insurance could get you a private room.

RoseParade · 19/04/2011 09:23

I had my baby at Watford 4 months ago and paid for a room on the Knutsford Suite as I was having an ELCS so knew I would have to stay in for a couple of nights.
The whole stay was lovely, someone always came as soon as I buzzed and just having my own bathroom was easily worth every penny (so if your insurance will pay I would absolutely say go for it:))

WidowWadman · 19/04/2011 11:03

I've now had a single room twice as an inpatient on the antenatal ward (on the NHS, I think mostly because a) room happened to be free and b) I looked quite poorly so they thought I needed the rest)

Once I felt a bit better I found it quite lonely and probably would have preferred a shared room.

moondog · 19/04/2011 11:06

I paid for a single room both times. The thought of camping out with a load of strangers and their families horrified me.

WowOoo · 19/04/2011 11:09

I very much liked having my own room. More privacy and peace and quiet to rest.
Feel like I'm anti-social compared to what others have said but I did not want to talk to other mums, just wanted to be with my new baby.
Felt i had enough attention also.

Original poster

ColleenEatsVeg · 19/04/2011 11:10

Thanks!! I read up on Watford and the private post-naut suite (which I am covered for) great to get some personal feedback.

OP posts:

Panzee · 19/04/2011 11:11

I liked having my own room. I spent one night on a ward and hated it.

Original poster

ColleenEatsVeg · 19/04/2011 11:13

It's okay Wow I am antisocial too plus I know I will have my crazy family with me and I am sure it's a blessing to the other woman in the ward that I keep them locked in a room ;)

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severalyearsdowntheline · 19/04/2011 11:57

If you have The Knutsford Suite at Watford as an option TAKE IT. The rooms are gorgeous and the care is second to none. Someone came as soon as I buzzed and a MW came in every 2 hours throughout the night to help me to BF.They also supply all the nappies, sanitary towels, blankets,towels and changing mats for you and the baby. The food is also very good which really does help after you've been through a delivery. The only thing that they are not particularly flexible on is visiting hours, they do enforce the same visiting hours as they have on the NHS ward but on the plus side it does mean that you get some time alone with the baby without a constant stream of visitors.

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 19/04/2011 12:07

'I am antisocial too' - That's your answer then. I couldn't stand the thought of having random strangers around me, and their visitors, when I was semi naked and vunerable.

Al0uiseG · 19/04/2011 12:07

Wow, knutsford suite at Watford sounds A1. I paid to have a room, being queen judgey of judgeVille it was best for everyones sanity .

You can sleep when your baby sleeps, other people's visitors won't waft the sour stench of fag smoke over your pfb. You can have a baby on a boob and the pump on the other. I had to share a shower and loo :( which I'm not good at anyway but at least I had my own basin to clean my teeth in and wash my hands.

I loathe wards and have a real fear of being on one :(

going · 19/04/2011 12:13

I had my own room with all three of mine and really appreciated it.

WIth DD2 I was in a room with another woman for the first night and it was awful, she spent hours on her mobile and at about midnight when I finally dropped off she had a visitor who switched on the light (a social worker?)! I asked to move the next day and was given my own room which was much better.

You do tend to get forgotten about in your own room, with dd2 I didn't get up until 11 one day and when I came out of my room the midwife did say she had forgotten I was there because I didn't ask for any help - didn't need any so didn't mind!

Original poster

ColleenEatsVeg · 19/04/2011 16:30

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, feel so much better in considering Watford general aswell

OP posts:

AKMD · 20/04/2011 11:56

If you go for the L&D, definitely take the private room. The bays on ward 32 are quite spacious and there are only 4 of you to a bay but the other postnatal ward is awful - 6 to a bay and I visited a friend on the top floor in bed space like a cupboard!

Next time round I am paying for a private room as DS was tiny and I had to keep waking him up to feed him every couple of hours, while inbetween times I couldn't sleep due to the woman in the cubicle next to me who snored like a tractor

Sierra19 · 22/04/2011 09:19

I was at Lister and they said that the private rooms were not given to people who paid for them, they were used for those that were either young mothers or those that would be staying in for some time. This was what happened in my experience.

Wigeon · 22/04/2011 11:29

Just a different perspective on Watford - I had DD there in the Alexandra Birthing Centre (ABC) (the midwife led centre bit, although in the main hospital building) - my experience went: got there 11am, straight to a clean room with its own bathroom, delivered DD 2:15pm, stayed in the room for the minimum 6 hours, with DH there all the time, had a shower in the clean ensuite bathroom, went straight home at about 8:30pm. I was given the choice of staying overnight but preferred to go home.

So I didn't spend any time at all on a postnatal ward, and essentially had the "private" experience in terms of your own room and bathroom, but completely on the NHS. And although the room and bathroom weren't exactly 5* luxury hotel, they were perfectly clean and pleasant to be in.

Of course you can't guarantee that you'll have a straightforward birth and that you won't need to spend time on the postnatal ward, but if you are medically straightforward and low-risk, then the ABC is a definite option. And you don't always have to stay in hospital afterwards (depending on the birth).

Just to throw a curve ball - have you considered a homebirth? You get one-to-one care all the time from two experienced midwifes (not at all guaranteed in a hospital setting), in the lovely surroundings of your own home, and exclusive use of your own bathroom! All for free!

MollieO · 22/04/2011 11:36

I was in a ward of 6 beds. The midwives kept trying to move me to my own room but I refused. Ds was in NICU and very poorly. The midwives thought I'd be upset at seeing mums with healthy babies but I think I'd have gone mad left in a room by myself dwelling on my thoughts.

It was my first and only experience as a NHS inpatient as I'd always had private healthcare (from a child onwards).

MollieO · 22/04/2011 11:40

The only thing I thought was truly awful (and where private is better) was the food. I came home when ds was 12 days old (left him there) I weighed less than before ds was conceived. It was so bad and I was losing weight so quickly that the midwives allowed me to use the staff
Microwave to heat up M&S ready meals that my mum brought in for me!

Whatevs · 22/04/2011 11:45

I had my own room after I had my first child. Again, this was an NHS hospital - the ward was full, I had an emergency section at night and they needed somewhere to put me!

To be honest, I didn't like it. I am a very private person, and thought it would be great to have my own space, but I was in hospital for 4 days post-birth and I was bored, lonely and really felt that the MWs forgot about me half the time.

After my second baby I was on a ward and it was lovely. I enjoyed having the company when I wanted it and the midwives were in and out so I never had to buzz for them specifically. It all felt more natural and easier, somehow.

I guess it really is different strokes, though...

cardamomginger · 22/04/2011 12:01

with a private room comes a private bathroom. trying to negotiate my way through other peoples' blood and urine in the shared bathrooms on the post natal ward is something i am still trying to block from my memory.

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