Couple
of weeks ago I have booked our maternity unit tour and last Saturday
was THE day. We were greeted by a lovely midwife who I met before
when I had high blood pressure problems. She explained at the
beginning that it will be around 40 minutes tour and that we will be
able to ask our questions at the end (I had 2 pages of questions).
Midwife
started the tour from explaining how to get to Delivery Suite from the
main entrance and from A&E side after hours. She also mentioned
that our partners can drop us off closer to the entrance and then to
park their cars on the hospital territory, which is by the way very
expensive (we won't be parking there anyway as we found a spot by
residential area).
We
followed our midwife to Delivery Suite itself (we can use stairs or
the lift) and that's where it is more blurry, please don't blame baby
brain (I do have it from time to time though), the reason is we heard someone giving birth, it was very loud and distracting
for us all and possibly very painful for her (I had tears in my eyes
that's how real and scary that was).
While
we were walking to the Suite we were "greeted" by Winnie-
the- Pooh cartoon characters on walls which I thought was very cute.
To get in to the Delivery Suite we needed (and will need to use in
the future) to use intercom mounted on the wall, as all entrances to
and exists from the Suite are locked for the safety of mums and
babies.
Midwife showed us waiting room and toilets for visitors,
which are right by the entrance/exit door, we are allowed to have 1-2
people with us in labour with visiting hours 10 am- 10pm. Birth
partners can stay over night with a mum-to-be as long as it is agreed
beforehand but they say on a first comes first served basis as they
can't really find space for every partner. There is one more "luxury"
for our partners- kitchen with fridge, water cooler or they can use
cafe and vending machines outside of the Suite.
Delivery
Rooms: during our stay we will be in one room
all the time, there are 6 delivery rooms with shared bathroom
facilities and 2 birthing pool rooms with en-suite which can be used
on a first comes first served basis (I would love to be in one of
these rooms and will definitely mention this in my birth plan). Every
room has a bed, gas and air (I didn't know it makes a "Darth
Vader" noise), baby resuscitaire, cot, a chair for a partner,
monitors including wireless monitors, entertainment unit with USB
port plus each birthing pool rooms have a birthing ball and some
other weird equipment a mum-to-be can hold on to. We had a quick look
at a Maternity Theatre room but we didn't go inside, I think it
scared a little most of us.
During
and after labour & birth: I was happy to know that hospital
will have a whole set of midwives (work 12 hours shifts from 8 am to
8pm), consultants, pediatricians, obstetricians available if there
are any complications to mum or baby, hospital now has a new policy
and they delay cord clamping, allow lots of bonding, skin to skin
time and do monitoring only when necessary in case of any problems.
After
birth mum and baby are transferred to the Ward or baby can be
transferred to newborn intensive care unit (NICU) in case of any
complications. All postnatal rooms are shared, midwives can do
exceptions with rooms if mum wants to be alone, but they do not
recommend it (I think it's because they want less hassle for
themselves) and again those rooms are on a first comes first served
basis. They provide menu for mums but we are allowed to bring our own
food ( I need to write down a list of junk food I want to eat).
We
were also told that we will have lots of leaflets and information
about breastfeeding , that there always will be someone who can show
us and direct how to do it, and we also will be showed how to express
milk by hands. With regards to discharging minimum is 6 hours, but
they recommend to stay over night, for those who had c- section it is
2-3 nights stay and if we want our friends and family to see us they
can come 3pm- 4pm or 7pm- 8pm, but it can be more flexible.
I
almost forgot to write about emotional bit of this story, when
midwife showed us the Ward she also took us to see a mum holding a
newborn in her arms. That was so sweet and magical it made me cry, I
just couldn't stop, I was thinking how cute this little girl is, how
I want to see my little one, that soon enough our little creation
will be in my arms as well, it was so overwhelming I just couldn't
stop crying, I guess I was the only emotionally not stable out of all
couples as no one else cried. Some midwives passing by tried to
cheer me up, which was very nice of them.
At
the end of the tour I was the only one (again) left to ask questions and as midwives saw me before I think after “the
interview” with one of them they have a picture of who I am and
what I'm going to be like during labour, my husband made a joke about
it, said that midwives possibly have a nickname for me “Victoria-
the worrier”.
Now to my questions, these are the questions I have used to "interview" my midwife and you can use them for yourself if you are planning to have Maternity Unit Tour.
Admission
- Do
you have a list of what we need to bring with us?
- Where
is the entry after hours?
- Where's
the nearest place to the entrance I can be dropped? Does my DH/birth
partner have to pay normal parking rates while I'm giving birth or
are there special parking spaces/a permit scheme for him while I'm in
labour? Is it the same out of hours?
- Where
is the waiting area for other family and friends? How many people can
be with me?
- Do
we need to complete any paperwork upon our arrival or during the
stay?
- What
is their "routine" on admission in labour- straight into
delivery suite or are we put into a waiting room until labour is more
established where will I initially be examined?
Rooms
& Logistics
- Will
I be in one room during my entire stay, or will I be moved to a
separate room after birth? Can DH stay in this room with me? Private
room hire for after birth? Bathroom? How to secure a room? Can DH
stay in a private room with me? Birthing Pool rooms?
- Can
DH stay overnight with me before and after birth? When is “kicking
out” time? Visiting hours?
- Are
mobile phones permitted in the room?
Food
- Do
you have a kitchen where DH can make himself a cup of tea, make
himself some toast or put some food in the fridge if needs be.
- Would
hospital provide me with the food or I have to bring my own for
before and after? Can I eat during labour?
During
Labor & Birth
- What
birthing equipment do you provide e.g. birth ball etc
- What
doctors, specialist will be available if there will be any
complications with me or baby? Are there any doctors available on
call?
- What
sort of monitoring, etc do you have? When and how they do monitoring?What
is their standard?
- Do
I need to bring my birth plan with me?
- Am
I allowed to move around freely and go to shower during labour?
After
Birth
- Will
they allow immediate skin-to-skin contact (postponing the initial
check up)? Can we delay all procedure/exams for baby until after some
bonding time?
- Do
you let the cord finish pulsing before cutting? What’s the policy
on delayed cord clamping?
- Will
they bath baby straight after delivery? Can DH or birth partner
accompany the baby at all times while it's being bathed, etc.?
- What
sort of breastfeeding support is offered? How does it work?
- Is
there a newborn intensive care unit (NICU)?
- Are
there any situations where my baby would need to be transferred to
another facility? Will I be notified about it?
- Where
are the toilets and showers ? Do I have to take the baby with you
each time (or will they look after him/her for you), if so can I
manoeuvre the cot on wheels in there?
- What
time of day does discharge generally occur? How long do you expect
me to stay in?
