OMG - my hospital don't let dads stay o/n!!

[Highlander]

are we back in the 18thC or soemthing? I've just found out that dads are 'not allowed' to stay for the first night on the postnatal ward. I'm horrified, especially after hearing all the stories about midwives not helping when you buzz. Maybe they're all too busy making up bottles. When I had DS, no-one was bottle feeding on our unit. DH is trying to calm me by saying we'll get a solo room and he will stay (he's a docotor himself).

I'm really panicing. I had such a good time with DS.

when dd1 was in hospital i stayed with her the whole time, but i was surprised to see i was in the minority. the childrens ward had lots of playleader type women, who walked around with armfuls of toys, they were very lovely and even offered to play with dd1 while i went for a cuppae or a shower or whatever. i chatted with one for a while and she said she didnt get paid, it was voluntary, she just wanted to help because her 3 children were all grown up and they had all spent time there

anway, my point is, there was nothing like this at night, they should have mummy-type ladies who just sit and give cuddles in the dark long nighttimes

when I was a kid, I had to stay in hospital twice for minor ops (late 1970's). parents weren't encouraged to stay, and when it was time for my op the porter appeared and told me to say bye to mum, who cheerfully left They tied me down for the anaesthetic. Next day (no buzzers then) I shouted for a nurse as I felt sick from the anaesthetic. No-one came so I puked all over the bed and consequently got a rollicking from a nurse. Mum was made to wait outside until I ate some vile pink blamange.

The wierd thing is, as a child I thought it was perfectly normal - not nice, but not the end of the world either. Funny how things change

Haven't read the entire thread, Highlander, but I would opt for a private room if that is an option. I didn't even realize for quite a while that that was not the norm in the UK (I am in the US). Here we have labor and delivery suites and the husband (or someone) is expected to stay overnight, even if you are using the nursery at night for the baby.

but the US is completely different

But didn't Highlander say that her dh could opt to stay with her in a solo room?

Yes, jabber, things are much different in the US/N. America. Don't even get me started on vaccines .

But being American, I realise it is the norm in the US.

B/c both my children were born here, however, I have no experience of the differences.

My poor sister was shocked when she found out I provided my own nappies, sanitary products, etc. when I gave birth to each girl.

that's interesting
I have read a bit about differing practices in the US - and I know they are not always ideal
but presumably they must have got over the barriers that stop this happening in the UK somehow?

But health care in the US is widely paid for by private insurance contributions, is it not? What is maternity care like in the free welfare hospitals?

how do they get around the security issues?

Healthcare in this country isn't "free". Everyone who pays tax/national insurance pays for it. I get fed up of the attitude that the public should be grateful for substandard and inadequate services.

even the private hospitals in the us have "welfare" patients though don't they?

No indeed healthcare is not free! But I imagined that Americans spent more per head than we do, on average. But could well be wrong.

the private hospitals in this country have nhs patients

i imagined the opposite blu! but then i was guessing

exactly np, and vice versa. there are private patients in nhs hospitals
and it's not ust about the money - even being in a private room won't help it seems from this thread

I worked in a 'free', county hospital in the US, Blu. They still try to charge the patient for the cost of their care, although some are covered by healthcare programmes for the indigent and in some states - well, the state I lived in - the state provided vastly subsidised healthcare for children under 16, on a sliding scale w/wages for low income families.

There are on the whole more amenities available, even at that level, b/c of contributions from drgu companies.

Staffing levels also tend to be higher, even at that level.

Also, b/c it is a more litigous society, staff are held more accountable, so the I buzzed and no one came phenomenon appears to happen somewhat less.

Partners were allowed to stay over at county IF the woman had had a traumatic birth experience.

Single rooms were rare at county, and mostly for ladies who might be an infection risk - HIV or HepC +, for example, or who were coming to us from the prison system.

County did have a number of active police officers on patrol as well.

yes ive heard that too expat, because of accountability, staff, (INCLUDING DOCTORS ) re terrified of being sued so everything revolves around that

well maybe that is wrongly worded but you know what i mean i hope

It is a serious issue, np, and it does affect the level of care a person receives.

'defensive medicine'. The permium costs from medical insurance for doctors is shy high in the states, and naturaly the cost ispassed on to the patien.

are you a nurse expat? we are always aware of accountability but i have to say it never affected my patient care, i just did what was protocol and that was it, iyswim?

nope, np, i was a medical secretary. i also worked as a legal secretary. fun, fun! got to work w/my two fav types of professions: lawyers and doctors .

A bumper sticker I once saw in the States
'Support your local Lawyer
Put your child though medical school'

in the US system, you also find more healthcare 'paraprofessionals' who also participate in some pretty high levels of care normally covered by a consultant here.

a nurse practitioner, for example, is a registered nurse who holds both a bachelors' degree and a postgrad degree in nurse practitioning. an NP can prescribe certain drugs, for example. i have a good friend who is an NP specialising in perimenopausal women, she does colposcopies and biopsies, assists the gynae w/loop and cone procedures, etc.

when you phone your GP office for an appointment, you commonly see the NP for care. personally, i always had excellent care from NPs and preferred to see them rather than a doctor.

there's also a physicians' assistant or PA. this person also holds a bachelors degree and a postgrad degree as a PA. PAs can do more complex procedures, such as stitching a patient, closing a patient after some surgical procedures, prescribing some meds, etc.

again, most GP and specialists surgeries have both NPs and PAs on staff available for appointments.

thats the kind of thing the govt here are trying to introduce with the new health bills.

my dh is a theatre nurse and when he started at out local 'state of the art' (far from it actually) brand-new hospital he saw that each theatre had a camera and asked if this was for training purposes which he thought was a good idea. he was told that was half the reason they were there - other reason was for evidence in medical negligence cases !