Help me out here... c-section in Surrey

[MrsCDNinUK]

Hi. I'm new to Mumsnet and so glad I've found this resource in the UK. My family is moving to the Surrey area from Canada in a few months and I will be 7 months pregnant. It's obviously a huge move and we already have an almost 3-year-old and an 18-month-old. I will need to have a repeat c-section.

Although we don't know exactly where we'll be moving yet, we're looking at Woking, Walton-On-Thames, Cobham, Reigate. We won't find our new home until we arrive.

I'm looking to hear what the repeat c-section is like. From my research to date, it seems to be quite different from in Canada, which makes me nervous. My past two c-sections had me in recovery and then in a private room where the baby stays the entire time and husbands/partners are expected to stay 24 hours a day. It's a pretty good experience in terms of recovery and privacy. The NHS system seems to be quite different and it seems that private insurance doesn't cover maternity coverage unless you've been subscribed for 10 months.

What are the wards like? How many people? Do the babies stay with the mums or in a nursery?

I'm not bashing the NHS system at all. It just sounds so different from what we're used to and a little less desirable in terms of c-section recovery from what I've learned to date.

Thanks in advance for any advice or experience. Any recommendations on hospitals, consultants etc would be much appreciated as well!

Not had a c-section so can't comment on that.

Baby's always stay with the mum there's no nursery.

Most of the time it would be 4-6beds in each room although they may not all be full. Some hospitals have a small number of private rooms that you can ask for for a small charge. St. Peter's in chertsey has this.

HTH

Each hospital will have a slightly different way of doing things so once you've moved you can get more specific advice. Generally you'll move from recovery into a bay of 4 -6 beds. Husbands won't be allowed to stay. You'll be discharged 48-72 hours after surgery. Baby will be with you at all times. You can often pay for a private room.

I live near the places you mention and I'll be having a csection at Kingston hospital. It is massively oversubscribed though and gets very booked up months in advance. Alternatively there is St Peters hospital and the Royal Surrey

At kingston you are very likely to get a private room. They have very few shared bays and they are for problem cases normally, excessive blood loss, unwell babies etc. they also have special chairs for husbands to sleep in so they can stay. May not get at such short notice though, especially if you live out of their catchment area, all of the areas you mentioned are. Also you won't be entitled to NHS treatment, so factor that in to your budget for moving.

Thank you for the info. Staying in a ward just seems so strange with so many others and I can't imagine it is possible to rest with visitors, babies crying etc. Hopefully I can find one with a private room.

HarderToKidnap, luckily I will be entitled to NHS treatment from the date of my arrival with my visa. My husband and children will be entitled as they are British citizens.

I've just had my second c section at Kingston. First time I was in high dependency for 6 hours (this happens for all c section patients) and then had a private room for 2 nights. This time it was high dependency for 6 hours then one night in a ward with about 8 beds all separated by curtains then one night in a 2 bed room sharing with another patient. My dd was born during one of the busiest weeks of the year though when all the babies conceived on New Years Eve were due! I was kept in the 8 bed ward because I had excessive blood loss in surgery and needed to stay near the labour and delivery suite. If all goes to plan they move you to the post natal ward that is mainly private rooms.

Dads can stay overnight now but they have to sleep in the chair next to you as Hardertokidnap says.

I had my CS (emergency, under general anaesthetic) at East Surrey Hospital, which is near Reigate. After a couple of hours in a recovery ward I was moved to a postnatal ward, which was about five beds, all separated by curtains. DD1 was kept with me, although help was available whenever I needed it to lift/change/feed her, particularly in the first day.

There were visitors during the day, and the odd crying baby, yes, but strict "rest" hours, and quiet time in the evening to sleep. I loved the camaraderie, to be honest, I would have been bored on my own! It was a happy time.

I think there were private rooms for those who needed them, or possibly you could pay for one.

The emphasis is on getting you up and about and self-sufficient as quickly as possible, and I think I came home on the third day.

It isn't normal for husbands to stay, and anyway, DH had DS to look after.

I love the NHS!

I've had one cs at Epsom Hospital and the care was great. DH couldn't stay overnight but wards were only with 4 beds and never full. Stayed in three nights as was seen as standard. Private rooms were available at around £200 a night but really felt like this was not needed.

Thanks so much for the info. I'm so glad to hear that your experiences were good. :-) I promise I wasn't knocking NHS, just a different experience than what I'm used to.

For my two kids, the private room was great as DH stayed overnight (in a chair that folded down, so not very comfortable) and helped when I needed it, especially the first night. It was such nice bonding time for the two of us with the new baby and didn't worry about disturbing anyone else with the baby crying etc. I definitely don't remember being bored at all. My mum will probably come over from Canada to watch the toddlers at that time and to help out for a few weeks. The emphasis was definitely on getting up and around during recovery and women are generally released 48-72 hours post-c-section.

Thanks again! :) Have a great weekend!

I had a c section at the Royal Surrey 3 years ago then a VBAC there this year. After the c section I stayed in the delivery room overnight because it was a traumatic birth which finished late at night. Then I moved to the ward in the morning. The postnatal wards have 6 or 8 beds. They give you more care at first after a c section - I was encouraged to push a button to call a midwife to help me lift my baby for the first night and day. This may be because I reopened my stitches overnight trying to sit up because baby was crying - doh! After about 24 hours I was encouraged to do everything I could myself, but the midwives were there if I needed them (with wildly varying levels of sympathy!) I found it very difficult to sleep on the ward - I couldn't tell which baby was crying, and they all took turns kicking off! There is a feeding room you can go to if your baby is especially unsettled, but by that point everyone on the ward is awake! So the second time round we paid for a private room. You pay £150 per night for your own room with ensuite shower room. It's stupidly expensive but I would pay it again (though probably not for the first night - you have so many hormones that first night you're not going to sleep well anyway!)

MoreTeaPenguin. Thank you so much! £150 is pretty reasonable and sounds like a good option so hopefully it will be available. As it will be my 3rd (and final!) c-section, I'm pretty used to it by now. I usually find the first night pretty good as (at least here), there would be pain killers injected along with the spinal but they tend to wear off by night 2 and it's usually the most uncomfortable I am post-delivery, albeit more mobile than night 1. I know with my first, he cried all night the first night and barely slept. I would feel so badly keeping others awake as it takes a few days for my milk to come in post-c-section. My daughter was much calmer from day 1 and slept well.