Postnatal Ward - Do you take your baby with you to the toilet?

[BFPDec21]

Just that really...

Especially in the night when they're asleep soundly. No electronic tag that I know of though.

I asked the midwife and said to leave in cubical/room. I was there for 5 nights after she was born. When I was on the ward the toilet was the other side of the wall of my cubicle so felt safe. When I got moved to the private room I kept my curtains closed so no one could see if I was there or not. I also had to leave her to sterilise bottles and make up forumula etc. So had no choice tbh. I felt she was safer there than in a toilet full of germ sor with me when dealing with boiling water.

No electronic tags but locked double doors so they could check if baby leaving with the right person.

I left longer things like shower and washing my hair to visiting hours so my husband could watch her

I just asked when I arrived on the ward. They said it was fine for me to take her or leave her, whatever u wanted to do

Took mine with me where ever I went. I couldn’t leave them unattended.

I took my baby with me when I had raging diarrhoea after birth and got told off (‘we don’t allow babies in bathrooms for safety reasons’) but I pointed out I didn’t feel safe leaving him unattended in my bay as everyone else had visitors (I don’t know who any of them were!!!)
I asked could I leave him next to the desk/nurses station and got told ‘no. We have Work to do’ I said right I’m taking him on with me then and got told no and she tried to block me. I explained that if she didn’t move I was about to have an accident and it would be her fault and it was my baby and he was going In with me. She moved but was hateful and tried to keep me in an extra day as said I was ‘displaying worrying signs ‘

DD just stayed in cot in cubicle. I didn't see anyone taking their baby into the toilet! There was no room for cot so you'd have to lift them out.

If you are going to be in there a while then just buzz midwife and ask them to watch over your baby.

Postnatal wards should be secure and any visitors have to be buzzed in.

I think it's best just to ask when you arrive on postnatal ward as different hospitals have different rules.

In ours, you were fine to leave them if you were just going for a wee but there was room in the shower rooms to wheel in the cot if you were having a longer shower if you wanted. I just waited for DH to arrive for all showers (mostly for wees as well to be fair).

A midwife told me the reason you aren't allowed to carry the babies around is so that if they have to press the crash buzzer (not sure if ive called that right but basically if someone is very very ill?), you don't get knocked over if lots of HCPs have to go rushing into someones room / ward.

First baby I had to either leave baby or wait til partner came in so I could shower/go to toilet. Midwives told me to "be quick" - not that they were watching him.

Second baby I had an en suite bathroom. Was so much better and really helped my recovery. I really think this should become standard in all postnatal wards.

(There was still a lounge for socialising)

I never did !
The toilets were pretty grim so I wouldn't want my baby in there.

In my experience different post natal wards have different rules. With dc1 baby had to be wheeled in the plastic crib everywhere I went, shower/toilet/meal room. With dc2 had to wheel baby to midwife Station. With dc 3&4 had to leave in cot next to bed.

There was no room in the loo for a crib on wheels. I was sore and wouldn’t have wanted to carry my hours old baby and try to go for a wee the night I gave birth. Was wobbly on my legs and had sticthes. Was very nervous about the wee hurting.
After some deliberation I left baby by the side of my bed and went for the quickest wee ever. That was with my first baby but with 2 and 3 I would have felt more confident to leave them for a few mins to go to the loo. Showers would have waited.

Ours said you couldn’t carry them in case you fainted, which wasn’t unheard of given the amount of blood loss a lot of the women had had.

Seemed a bit ridiculous when I was D5 post-partum (prem baby and we had to stay in for blood sugar monitoring), and I’d have been carrying him around from D2 if they’d sent me home.

I gave birth during early peak covid. No visitors on the ward and I was in for 5 days. I started off wheeling him in with me but after 2 days I just asked my neighbor to keep an eye!

Yes, I wheeled the cot with me.

I didn't for either baby but I know one of the women on the ward called for a nurse to say she was going to the loo and would the baby be ok. The nurse said yes as they were in and out of the ward so would pop in if baby was crying.
My always seemed to be fast asleep when I needed to go, or DH was there to keep an eye. Just check with a nurse or midwife

In the night I wheeled the bassinet thing into the bathroom - pretty sure that was what we were meant to do as the bathrooms were very spacious. I waited until DH was there to shower, mainly because I wanted to shower in peace

After my c section i had trouble peeing. So ended up wheeling baby in the little crib to the bathroom with me where I sat for 45 minutes praying I would manage one because I was desperate! But for quick bathroom trips and a shower when he was sleeping I left him by the bed and he was fine

My son is 18. It never occurred to me NOT to leave him when I went to the loo. The culture must be different now, but do people really think a stranger is going to walk in off the street and take their baby?? The new mums in the 4 bed bay with me would have noticed if anything happened! Or is it the other mums that people don't trust?

Or is it more to do with the baby being sick or something?

Would you not trust the other Mum's to keep an eye on him/her? Maybe I am too trusting?!

Security is taken very seriously in maternity wards, as in neonatal units and children's wards, after incidents where babies were taken a few decades ago.

Yes with my DC2 I scooted his little fish tank cot with me to the loo in the middle of the night and was told off too, told I couldn't take him into the bathroom/toilet because it was dirty.

I told the staff as they were often not around (obviously busy with other patients), and as my shared bay (3 other women I'd never met before - obviously) was out of sight of course I was going to take him with me, since he wouldn't be rolling around on the floor I didn't see the problem.

Seems it's mixed! I asked (two different staff - day and night) and they said either take the baby with, leave them with a midwife or if it's a quick toilet break then leave baby there as it's a secure ward.

Funnily enough, although my bay ended up being cleared out, I felt better taking him with you the toilet and waiting for DH to visit to have a shower.