CS aftercare at the Royal London

[negrilbaby]

Had DS 2 years ago by emcs at the RLH and the aftercare was pretty much DIY. Expecting DD at the end of June and was just wondering if anyone has any more recent experience.

I had DD2 at RLH in March, although not a CS. I thought the aftercare was good, better this time than 2 years ago. There seemed to be no end of HCAs popping in and I even had my bed changed twice in 3 days! However, I was very mobile and had visitors to help. The noise at night and the heat of the ward hadn't changed, but hey, I think that's standard for most mat units HTH

I had DD by emcs at the Royal London in January 09 (having planned a homebirth). DIY is a good way of putting it!

I could not fault the midwifery or surgical team who got DD out, but, with the exception of a couple of good midwives the aftercare was dire (and I don't say that lightly, I work in the NHS and know how hard it can be).

I had an independent midwife who visited me, but if I had not had one, there would have been no way I would have established breastfeeding. The other 3 ladies in my room had all given their babies bottles by the end of their first day. And they were desperately keen to give me morphine, even though I was not in that much pain, I guess just to keep me quiet. I also did not get a follow up appointment with obstetrician because they were running three hours late and I had to get home to feed my tiny daughter.

In retrospect, I think that the experience upset me more than I realised at the time, but I've just tried to put it behind me and be thankful that I'll have a different (modern, provincial) hospital next time.

Congratulations on your impending arrival and sorry about my rant. You could try messaging on the Tower Hamlets NCT Yahoo group, as there is bound to be someone there with more recent (and hopefully more positive) experiences.

Many thanks.
I hope that ILoveGreenBeans' experience means that things have improved in the last year! Fingers crossed