5 * Babies Inside The Portland Hospital BBC 2 9pm (wed)

[seasidesally]

Really looking forward to this,anybody else ??

Y, it was very calm and peaceful at the Portland. It sort of felt purposeful and well ordered. I think I said up thread, your buzzer was answered very quickly. The whole atmosphere was very attentive - on the medical front (lots of people popping in to check things with me and the baby), on the support front and on the logistics front - people were always cleaning things and it was extremely clean. I remember on about day 2 or 3 my blood pressure was a bit low, I felt a bit weepy (milk coming in?) but there was nothing specifically/medically wrong and they were super kind and quite strict - said, right, no visitors for you other than yr DH today, quiet day in bed, snuggle up with your baby, you can listen to the radio but the two of you need a very quiet day. It was lovely, like a small oasis of peace and quiet with a tiny baby, being completely looked after.

My other really nice memory is that one of the very experienced midwives said to me "Right, missy, I want to see you back here in exactly 2 years, no more and no less". And when I turned up 2 years less one week later she came to find me and said "Good girl (I was 40 by then!). I've been expecting you"

That sound lovely Fernet.

I wasn't keen on the programme didn't think the Portland came across very well.

I had my ds at the Portland last year and they were very Attentive and supportive, I had a vaginal birth and Breast feed. Ds stayed with me and dh the whole time.
It was nice to be somewhere for a few days after birth where I felt safe, dh was able to stay with me, had support if We needed it, it was amazingly clean, the food was very lovely.
i will also be having my dd there in the summer.

And ds loves his panda from the gift bag

I watched this on the iplayer today.

It just seemed so... Scornful. And, like OBEM, everyone was on their fecking backs.

That poor poor woman who saw suppressing her breast milk as the best for keeping her baby healthy. How sad.

I wonder how many families Pat turns down going home with a year? She had the "I'll be bringing my husband, my children and my great grandchildren with me too" answer on the tip of her tongue.

Where I live in Asia, these types of private maternity 'hotels' are extremely common for postnatal care. I was a bit sniffy about them at first but they give you the choice to be able to send your baby away for a few hours so you can really rest and recover. Not for everyone of course, but extremely helpful for some.

Regarding Hui, the lady from Hong Kong, my personal theory about her and her living arrangements is that the father of her baby is not actually her husband but that she is his mistress, did anyone else get that vibe? I felt sorry for her, she was obviously completely clueless and scared to death of the reality of her baby.

I just caught up on this on iplayer last night. I felt sorry for Hui, all the money in the world, yet she seemed desperately lonely. I hope she find the super rich mummy equivalent of Surestart or church hall toddler group. It hadn't occurred to me that she was the baby's father's mistress but that makes sense.

And worrying about her baby tummy a couple of days after giving birth, and worrying her ' husband' would leave her for it

Her bill was £40k

I agree, I got the impression that she needed a few friends with small babies of their own, a nanny is fine but you can't share and compare and complain with one.

Did anyone else wonder what the hell Pat was smoking saying those weird comments about the baby wanting to keep her clothes on and lose weight? She looks as if she's very good with the babies, but good grief, what odd things to say....

Bloody hell Lilli, that sounds so grim - you poor thing!
These tales of lovely Portland experiences remind me of my DM's birth stories. For two births at least, she was in an old-style maternity hospital, where you 'laid in' for at least a week, with the baby being brought to you for a feed every four hours, no exceptions. She has admitted it probably wasn't fair on the babies, but she was very well looked after and got to rest even had her stitches swabbed clean every day. This was in the sixties.

Part two tonight BBC2 9pm if anybody is interested

Bumping for part 2 on BBC2 9pm

Bump

How many parts are there?

I hope it's better than the last one

i think this is the last

i never understood VIP's that change the decor in hotels and now hospitals

I keep thinking Saudi royals for booking whole floors and bringing furniture

I want that nursery

yes they often do that in hotels,madness

"We've got a photo of you in our house" How reassuring!

£3000 for a Moses basket

missed last 5 mins the cat bought a tiny mouse in,been chasing it round the kitchen

i caught him and freed him,so all good

So does the US tax payer pay for that embassy couple to have all that?

bit stingy on the sandwiches

I guess so. They've got "about 6 bedrooms" in their house. How do you not know how many bedrooms you have?!