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Childbirth

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

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Original poster

Private room v. ward

58 replies

Murtette · 20/10/2009 10:33

Hello

This is my first pregnancy and I am being induced tomorrow (will be 40 + 13). We've just found out that there are some private rooms available at the hospital we're now going to (the maternity unit at the original hospital closed on Sunday - bad timing!) and was hoping for some advice as to whether it was worth asking for one or not. I've read some of the other posts on here about this topic and am trying to work out whether I'd prefer to endure the noise on the general post-natal ward or the risk of feeling abandoned if I'm in a room by myself. What was more important to you? From what I know, the general post-natal ward has 20+ beds in it divided into "bays" of 4 or 6 beds (so could be very noisy) and visiting hours (inc for DP) are only 11am - 7pm (hence the concern about feeling lonely/abandoned).
Thanks!

OP posts:

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Trikken · 20/10/2009 11:37

didnt get a choice, had a private room for bath and dressing after ds's birth, but them got moved immediately into a ward with three other mum's and babies. didnt mind being with them, just hated the fact that dh had to leave and ds turned out to be 'the screaming baby'.

IMoveTheStarsForNoOne · 20/10/2009 11:39

Private room, every time. At least you can sleep when the baby does, which in a ward is bloody difficult.

I managed 3 hours on the ward after having DS, and DH BEGGED them for a private room for me, which I thankfully got.

I felt very anxious and vulnerable after the birth and didn't trust anyone and the ward felt very open and exposed to me.

pleasechange · 20/10/2009 11:40

but they tend to come round every 5 mins doing obs etc etc giving out tablets anyway

upahill · 20/10/2009 11:41

Private room anytime!!! As soon as I found out in my ante natal class that you could pay to have a private room I was saving!!!
I loved it but there again I am happy with my own company.
Also I had been in hospital a couple of months before DS was born and it was a dreadful expierence for reasons whomovedmychocolate gave.

It was lovely to have my baby next to me. I could fall asleep and watch t.v. in peace. I could order the newspapers so I didn't miss the trolley run. It was en suite as well.

I did it both times. First time I was in for 5 days second time I was in for 3 days and I don't regret the expense for one minute. Do it!!!!!

CMOTdibbler · 20/10/2009 11:42

I'd have loved a private room. DS was in SCBU, and the others in my bay just stared at me. No one talked, and people kept coming through the curtains when I was miserably hand expressing breastmilk.

Midwives couldn't have given a toss about me whereever I was

AtheneNoctua · 20/10/2009 11:53

If you are not a VERY deep sleeper and the price of the private room is not prohibitive I'd say go to the private room.

I never met another mum in the maternity ward I actually wanted to talk to. And I am a very chatty social person.

ThingumyandBob · 20/10/2009 17:14

Allnew and wmmchocolate?..bloody midwifes! How naïve was I???? if my homebirth plans don?t work out I?m going to be one bolshie, I mean, assertive patient...

whomovedmychocolate · 20/10/2009 17:36

Regarding getting midwives attention - yeah good luck with that - I was in the high risk unit next to the midwife station and it still took 10 minutes each time I called

To walk five feet

eastendmummy · 20/10/2009 19:23

Private room! I had ds by emcs in Feb 08 and after a few hours was bundled onto a ward with 3 other mums at 5 am and told to go to sleep. Impossible with screaming babies all around. So after a 40 hour labour, I had no sleep after giving birth, had to walk down a corridor to the toilet (which was bloody filthy) and after a c-s that's not easy. Also none of the other mums spoke english so no chatting at all between 8pm and 8am!

To top it off, on the second morning at about 5am, a lady was brought up who from delivery and from what I could tell, was on at least third child. She asked for some formula but was told by the MW that they do not give formula and, I quote, 'if she didn't breastfeed the baby it would die!!!' I had been struggling to get my very tiny ds to latch on all night and was in bits by this point. Needless to say I discharged myself later that day and as soon as we got home and I was able to have a shower (not allowed in the hospital - WTF), relax a bit, ds fed like a dream!

Sorry to hijack - I feel very strongly about having a private room this time around!!

mrswill · 20/10/2009 19:45

Private room! Private room!

My labour was induced and lasted over 40 odd hours, ending up with c section. Got plonked in the 'difficult delivery and section' ward which was packed and told to get some sleep. Snort. In hindsight i should have made a fuss and demanded a private room, in order to get some sleep, and to concentrate on dd. There were also a lot of rather loud mothers there, with their loud families (whisper - chavs), which made it hard to get any peace. Its the luck of the draw with wards - you may end up with other lovely mothers who its nice to chat to afterhours. When i was in for hyperemesis for the 1st trimester i was in a ward with 3 great women, and we're still friends. I would still go for private room every time though! good luck!

pregnantpeppa · 20/10/2009 20:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BonjourIvresse · 20/10/2009 20:20

Private Room! My DH had to make a fuss to get me one, but my god it was worth it. I was on the ward for an afternoon, and the woman in the bed next to me was having a conversation with her vistor about coming off methadone, and whether she'd be able to get a restraining order on her ex-partner!

( I had PE/HELLP and a GAEMCS, so i did have a clinical need as well...)

Bleatblurt · 20/10/2009 20:25

I had a private room every time. The third time I was in for 2 weeks and occasionally did fancy a bit of company but not enough to want to spend ALL my time on a ward. There was a tv room at the end of the ward that you could go sit in and find other mums to chat with.

The bonus of a private room is a private bathroom!

scottishmummy · 20/10/2009 20:33

when you say private do you mean single room or fee paying room

some hosp have fee paying rooms "private" rooms

side rooms on wards non fee paying are allocated by staff on needs basis eg need quieter environment,need privacy

they might allocate if not in use.but someone else may need so you could be moved

MrsHappy · 20/10/2009 20:34

Private room any day of the week.
I was in a 4-bedded bay because I'd had a section and so they wanted me in a room with other people. Not that it made any difference; I vomited green stuff all over the place and noone came.

As they wheeled me into the room the 10 (I kid you not) rellies of another patient all stared at me. I felt terribly exposed and had been in labour for 2 days before my section. I wanted everyone to piss off and leave me alone, but of course that wasn't an option. Visiting hours were rarely enforced, so other people's husbands were hanging around until quite late which when you are ill and vulnerable is not that great.

Being on the ward certainly did not mean a better standard of care. If your named midwife is a nasty moo who spends all of her time in the staffroom, only emerging to give you painkillers sporadically (and then she does not write up your notes so you nearly get an OD 2 hours later) it makes no difference what room you are in.

BonjourIvresse · 20/10/2009 20:36

They don't have fee paying rooms at our hospital, its was a standard side room ( with ensuite) but I'm not sure that if my DH hadn't kicked off that I would have got one. DH was also able to stay the night one night as i was in such a state.

wideratthehips · 20/10/2009 20:39

by luck i had a private room with my third baby and it was bliss... and i'm convinced that it helped me crack breastfeeding, third time round.

i lay in peace and quiet listening to the spring birds and dozed on and off between feeds and feel that i recovered really well.

first time round...busy bay and i felt embarassed everytime baby cried..gave him formula and he stopped crying....difficult to continue breastfeeding at home. same second time round.

other babies crying wakes you u and can wake baby up to....don't worry about being abandoned...you'll want the peace and quiet!

Eaglebird · 20/10/2009 20:42

I wish I'd thought to enquire about a single room when I had DS.
The woman in the bed next to me had a stream of visitors who stayed well after the 8pm cut-off (10pm on at least one night if I remember correctly, grrrrrrr). She also ate bags of cheese & onion crisps loudly in the middle of the night; kept coughing up phlegm into a plastic cup; snored like an ox; and slept through when her DS was crying during the night.
I was in hospital for 4 nights, and have never watched so much BBC News 24 in my life (in the day room, in the middle of the night).

pureequeen · 20/10/2009 20:47

sorry i think you have probably got the message now but the 4-bed postnatal ward was the worst experience of my life. I stayed one night after a C-section then discharged myself against their advice. I cannot think of anything positve about a ward; the beds were ever so slightly too far apart to chat and at any rate the other women in my ward were talking loudly on mobiles/listening to Ipods etc etc etc. Please don't expect to get more attention on the ward - I had to hobble to the nurses station carrying my catheter bag to beg for some panadol...(not wanting to upset you, this was a very busy London hospital ... and renember it will all be over quickly and you get to go home with a lovely baby )

cory · 20/10/2009 20:59

I'm going to be the odd one out and say that I actually enjoyed being on the ward. We looked out for each other and it was a good support to have other new mums around.

scottishmummy · 20/10/2009 21:02

just to keep this grounded not all post labour wards are hell

many are
many are not

take plenty big granny pants
nice cleanser and moisturiser
nice soft PJ
mobile phone
iPod
perfume to smell nice

wideratthehips · 20/10/2009 21:11

i'd say take the shower gel of the perfume you like so you feel nice...baby wants to smell YOU not eau de whatever....

scottishmummy · 20/10/2009 21:15

dont think bonding and attachment or baby recognition of mum will disrupt if she has a squirt of perfume.olfactory cues,voice recognition and neonate maternal recognition is bit more complex

moomaa · 20/10/2009 21:20

I want to join Cory and Pinkjenny and say wards are ok. Nice to have company and ask 'silly' questions about nappy changing etc. I found bathrooms to be kept clean and enough staff. Most people are nice.

Other people's visitors are a pain in the bum though. Second time round one mum had her whole extended family there (why?) and they all trooped out every 30mins or so, leaving baby behind on it's own to have a fag and came back stinking. She watched ITV up loud all night and only ate food out of the vending machine. She kept complaining she was hungry and the staff offered sandwiches, jacket potato etc but she didn't like that. She snored loudly too. One night the midwife came in and said 'Jesus, she's loud, can you actually sleep through that', when I said no, she woke her up and said she was checking her because she was a bit loud. It was all sort of entertaining to watch though Less entertaining was the husband of the woman next to me who spoke really loudly in a foreign language for hours and kept complaining about everything.

squiby2004 · 20/10/2009 21:26

I could never, ever, in a million years tolerate any sort of ward unless I was unconscious and so unaware I was in one!

I had a private delivery as I had PE/IUGR and pregnancy induced vertigo as well as HG and needed a CS The idea of 5 days in a hospital at all never mind a ward did nothing to help my already sky high blood pressure.

If they have them available I would have the room!

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