When were you allowed to tour your local mat unit?

[ohidoliketobe23]

I'm 25 weeks pregnant and hoping to have a VBAC. Bc of a complicated previous pregnancy, I've been advised I'll be in the labour ward rather than the MLU. I've asked to have a tour of the labour ward to see what I'm dealing with, and been told I can't even book one until I'm 36 weeks. Is this the norm?!

I’m surprised it’s even still a thing!

@MrsPeannut tbh it wouldn't have crossed my mind had my a VBAC midwife I had an appointment with a few weeks ago suggested it and I thought it sounded like a good idea. Less of a good idea at 36 weeks...

They don’t exist in my local hospital post Covid, unless it’s likely your baby will need to go to SCBU or there’s a reason eg mental health why it would be particularly helpful to you in which case it’s arranged individually. There’s a virtual tour on the website.

No virtual tour on the website and yes, mental health reasons behind why this would be helpful after a traumatic birth first time round @MizzMarple

Maybe I'm overthinking it! Just thought it was mad that it was only available at 36 weeks

Honestly never heard of this!

My hospital doesn't offer them at all

I don't think our hospital does them anymore since COVID but they do have online ones. I did get one with DC1 pre-covid and it was right at the end of pregnancy, I was about 36 or 37 weeks, possibly even a bit later than that tbh. In hindsight it actually just made me even more anxious and didn't help at all which I was not anticipating!

I had my face-to-face tour 2 weeks ago at 32 weeks. No complications with baby but I am under the mental health team and the consultant or mental health nurse arranged it for me. I found it helpful to visualise and prepare where I would be during labour and on the ward after.

SW England xx

We didn’t have this. We did get a tour of scbu the day before we had ds though, at 35 weeks. With the idea being that at least we knew where ds was going once he was born. That helped a lot.

Our hospital didn't do them even before Covid never mind now. I'd be shocked if any busy maternity units would offer a tour tbh.

You haven’t been able to do them in our local hospital since before Covid. It really doesn’t make any difference tbh.

I had my first baby during Covid so it wasn’t a thing and wasn’t offered anything like that with my second. I wasn’t actually offered any form of antenatal classes or anything with either just my normsl midwife appt. Emergency c section with first and planned with 2nd !

Same.

Wasn’t even a thing pre-Covid where I am.