Right, I'm sure some of you will have seen the recent threads about giving birth alone and no gas and air. Frankly, this is just becoming ridiculous. We don't know who anyone is behind a computer screen or their motives, but the fact that different trusts seem to be doing different things - some allowing 2 people at scans, some not allowing any, some posting regular updates in social media, some cancelling home births - is causing a LOT of stress.
I'm not interested in making this thread into a bun fight of what my midwife said or what this trust has told me - that's not going to help. But what MIGHT help is if we start to ask for national guidelines for hospitals to stick to, then we'll at least all know where we stand.
I've put this up on my fb and tagged RCOG, RCM and Birthrights, please feel free to copy and paste or do something similar on Twitter, Instagram
Hi, can I PLEASE make a plea to any midwives or obstetricians on here to consider setting national guidelines for birth during this time. I'm constantly seeing things come up on online forums that are worrying women MASSIVELY about giving birth. And from what I can see, most of it is hearsay. However, the fact that different trusts are doing different things...some reassuring people on social media platforms, some being incredibly silent is not helping and is causing massive anxiety. In less than a week I've heard and seen people say they've been told that elective C sections will be cancelled, that they will have to give birth alone, that they will not be allowed gas and air. It's getting crazier by the day. PLEASE put a stop to all these rumours and address them using national guidelines so women know where they stand.
And just to say, I'm not supportive of the wonderful work the NHS and frontline staff are doing at this time. I KNOW this is an unprecedented situation that they've never faced before, I know the staff on the ground are doing their best, but there needs to be more consistent clear info coming out from the organisations to stem these rumours.