OK......I get the 'infection' part of it.........

[QueenOfQuotes]

but does anyone else think that this is just a little OTT??

So you won't be rushing to the UK to have babies then eh?
However, the NHS is free and very safe!

only had 4 beds in the two hospitals I've had babies in

Oh, I guess I should clarify an earlier post. Most mothers who use the nursery only do so at night, unless there are other complications. So, in the daytime the babies are in the rooms with the mother.

at aloha. I guess you've hit that one right on!

Off the point, but how did you all take a shower when you needed one in the hospital? I had to wait until my dp decided to show his face.

Did anyone take the baby with them?

Oh, that is one of the times I sent ds to the nursery in the daytime. Funny how things get all muddled in your memory after a while. He would go down while I napped as well.

Took turns with mums in next beds to keep an eye on each other's babies.

crikey Jabberwocky, that sounds like heaven! I was so sleep deprived by the time I left the hospital, I was hallucinating!

bet they'd still have sent my DS1 back

I'll bet! That's one thing that a lot of people told me about rooming in vs. using the nursery is that you're going to be so sleep deprived you'd better take advantage of it while it's there. I actually decided that was a benefit of a c-section - I got to stay in an extra day!

wow..that sounds like heaven, having a good night's sleep in hospital! dd was waking every half hour my first night after the section and when one of the midwives heard me sobbing she did offer to take dd for a while! the "nursery" was a small room behind the desk. if it wasnt dd waking me up, it was other babies waking dd up to wake me up...ahhhh. didnt think it was so cute at the time though.

i loved people cooing over the baby, i felt like i should show her off to everyone!

Colditz

Was sent to shower immediately after DS was born. DP held DS while i did this (they didnt feel like giving me a wash down - they were busy). Would have been nice if they had given me a towel to dry myself with though.

Other than that, had to wait for DP to come up to shower because DS cried most of the time i was in over the 3 days and didnt feel i could offload him on anyone else.

The mum of the girl in the bed opposite watched out for me once or twice though. Girl was only 16 - she was a brill 1st time mum though.

I have to say, I have a whole new appreciation for what you ladies go through post-partum. It's like running two marathons in a row with no break in between, yes?

It was a bit of a shock first time round. After a long traumatic labour and stitches etc I had this strange idea that I would get a chance for a nice rest. Instead dd and I were dumped in the ward in the middle of the night and expected to just get on with it!

i was totally unprepared for the second child really. i just assumed that you got a private room when you had a c section. when i had my first (ds) i had a section and got a private room, this was at another hospital though and i was glad of that room as ds was in scbu so i didnt want to see the other mums with their babies. thinking back, i was so out of it after that first section i dont think i could have looked after him anyway.

I think it's a great idea. Why shouldn't people be afforded a similar level of privacy in hospital as at home, whenever possible?

I was totally neurotic with DD1, very overprotective and I didn't have the strength to let people know when I didn't want them all over her, which I found doubly upsetting at the time. It added to my angst.

I paid for a private room for this very reason. Babies aren't objects, and I completely agree with the steps this hospital have taken to protect that basic (often overlooked) right.

But is this not related to SCBU? I thought the woman (who did sound a bit OTT) from the hospital was head of SCBU. It made me wonder if they had an access issue with that unit...Dd's was like Fort Knox and not even a recovering c-section mum was allowed in to coo
I can imagine it must be really horrible to have strangers goggling at your baby's cot/incubator when you yourself are not sure if they'll make it...
But FGS get proper locks on the Unit doors then! and give the tiny patients and their parents more privacy.

It is strange isnt it that giving birth is the most natural thing in the world but is done (certainly in the uk) in the most unnatural environment imaginable.

Unless you are lucky enough to have a birth unit close by or get a private room when you go in its generally pretty dreadful environment IMHO. Nothing like the family experience it should be.

Especially so, since the general consensus amongst consultants and gps is that you should give birth in hospital and not at home. They really ought to make it a more homely, family orientated private environment. Shame there isnt enough money in hospitals (apparently) to allow us all that.

and of cousre with the "family experience" you get all of them (outlaws included ) coo=ing at them

Hey I started another thread on this here !

I was going to pay for a private room but was told I would probably get out later that day but DD wasn't feeding so had to stay in overnight and most of the next day. Was in a 4 bed room with DD next to me constantly didn't sleep a wink )nothing to do with DD as she was asleep for the first 2 days of her life) but with other babies crying/staff chatting etc. During the day countless numbers of staff would appear round the curtains and people wanting to take pics of us etc drove me mad. Hospital was very unfriendly don't think I actually spoke to another mum whilst I was there, food was inedible and had to leave DD in her cot to make frequent trips to the communal loos to try and clean myself up. All in all it was a horrendous experience the main reason I want a homebirth this time.

ahh but tortoise - I started this one yesterday

bother. looked at time not date

My DD got transferred to Calderdale SCBU and I went and stayed there for 10 days with her.

When I read this story today I really couldn't understand where they were coming from.
The unit is secure ( you have to buzzed in ) and you are only allowed two visitors at a time, there are only two visiting sessions a day of ( If I remember correctly) 1.5 hours a day and no kids are allowed in at all unless siblings.

Interesting comparison with the US/UK isn't it Jabberwocky.
I had a terrible time in hospital with DS ... first night there were just two of us in the ward but on night 2 there were 9 of us crammed into a 6 bed ward due to another maternity ward in another hospital being closed for some reason. It was hell. All 9 of us had had caesars ... We had to wheel our babies with us if we wanted a shower ... no one was allowed to carry a baby around the ward ... not even your own.
In NZ when I had DD I had an automatic private room because I had a c/s (on the health service) ... but on day 2 I transferred to a private maternity unit where I had my own room, own bathroom, fridge, wine with my dinner ... it was pure heaven ...
But I still had DD in with me ... which was lovely too.