Births @ Birthcare
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Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19372
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Topic: Births @ Birthcare
Posted By: kriss
Subject: Births @ Birthcare
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 1:39pm
hi all,
i am looking into giving birth at birthcare in parnell as i understand husbands can stay overnight with you, among other reasons.
is anyone willing to share their positives and negatives on their birth at birthcare? is it quite 'hospital like' or more 'hotel like'? i have had mixed views so far from friends.
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Replies:
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 1:47pm
I haven't birthed at birthcare BUT I did stay there after giving birth at Auck Hospital.
Whilst I can't comment on the actual birth part, my Aunty has birthed there with all three children ...as has my cousin and other family members and they can't recommend the place highly enough. I am led to believe it's more hotel like ...maybe a mix of hospital/hotel. And it's so close to Auck hospital that if anything was to go wrong during the birth/labour you can quickly be rushed to Auck hosp.
I absolutely LOVED staying there after Lucas was born, the midwives there were wonderful and we were having a lot of trouble with getting him to latch/breastfeed and they offered to give us another night free to help try and establish breastfeeding. They have several services and specialists to offer, lactation consultants, physio etc and the food was devine! NOTHING like hospital food.
I can't speak for everyone, but I know that If I have another child I will DEFINITELY be going there again!
------------- Single Mum to a darling wee boy of 3 years :)
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Posted By: caraMel
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 1:56pm
I laboured there and had planned to waterbirth there but my daughter turned posterior and I had to transfer to hospital for an epidural after labour went on too long.
I loved the labour rooms there, they are large and have all sorts of comforts like swiss ball, bean bag, big shower comfy chairs for the support people, adjustable lighting...
And the birthing pools are really big and comfy too.
My hubby stayed with me in the private room afterwards for $50 a night. They provided a trundle bed for him.
It was great having him there with us 24/7 and it was where he wanted to be, he would have been really sad to have to leave us every night.
ETA: The $50 didn't include food for hubby. The labour rooms are more hospital-y as the have all the equipment in there but definitely nicer than most hospitals. The rooms where you stay after are more hotel-y. Basic and not large but very comfortable.
------------- Mel, Mummy to E: 6, B: 4 and:
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 1:58pm
I haven't birthed there either coz I have a history of PPH, but the labour/birth rooms there are great!
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
 The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 5:15pm
I birthed there and stayed there after and it was awesome. The rooms are nice and big, and I was in a pool for part of my labour, on a birthing stool and then on the bed.
I think many (especially first time) mothers are too scared to birth there, but we found it great. And I did have a slight issue after my boy was born (tearing), but that would have happened whether I was at birthcare or the hospital.
It was touch and go as to whether my midwife was happy for me to deliver there, cos I was measuring so big (she was worried he would be too big and would get stuck). My boy was born on the Tuesday, we were going to go for another growth scan the following Thursday, so he came just in time! The actual labour was really good, there is gas there but I didn't use it --- DH did acupressure which I'm sure helped in making it a drug-free birth. If you think you'll want an epidural, you'd have to be at the hospital for that. Birthcare only has gas or pethidine.
After my boy was born, I had to be transferred to Auck Hospital cos I tore badly. It wasn't rushed, they just lifted me onto the stretcher etc, and DH and bubs came in the ambulance with me. It was really well managed, and I had surgery once I got to the hospital. Because I had to have a spinal block because of the surgery, I stayed at Auck hospital that first night and went to Birthcare the following morning. So I had 1 night at the hospital and then 3 nights at Birthcare.
I was really impressed with "Hotel Birthcare"... the midwives were really lovely. One or two of them were a bit pushy, but really I just did what I wanted. DH stayed over every night and that was sooooo good. Cos I was quite sore, it was hard to get in and out of bed, and so he could bring the boy to me so I could feed him. I felt much more comfortable with this - when I stayed the night at the hospital, he couldn't stay, and I felt like such a pain in the butt having to ring the buzzer to get the nurses to help me everytime I wanted my baby. I found on the 2nd and 3rd nights I was reeeaaallly exhausted, and Harry just wanted to keep feeding all night when I just needed to sleep - so DH took him for a few hours so I could sleep. I REALLY appreciated having him there to look after me and our baby. Honestly it was the thing that made the most difference to me in those first few days.
As for 'hospital' or 'hotel' like, it's like a hospital in that everything is clean and hygenic, and they have all the equipment in the labour room. It's like a hotel cos the food is good and it's decorated in a more hotel like way, and it doesn't smell like a hospital.
One thing I would say about the food - your DH can buy their meals but to be honest it's totally not worth it. I think it was something like $20 for lunch, and it wasn't worth $20. In the private rooms there's a fridge, DH just got a whole heap of microwave meals, snacks etc, and heated them up somewhere by the midwives station. I could also have hot/cold milos whenever I wanted and I think toasted sandwiches too (I never needed them though cos the meals filled me up).
------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 5:16pm
Eek sorry about the novel
------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: MummyFreckle
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 7:07pm
We delivered at Auckland, but transferred out to Birthcare as soon as the epidural had worn off enough for me to move! It was about 11.30pm when we got there, and we had booked a private room with the thought that DH would prob stay the first night, but when we ended up in a private room with a double bed, he stayed with me the whole time. It was fantastic, as I had real problems with b/f and having him there helped me keep the emotions under control!
I have to say that the "hotel" type services (room, ensuite, food, supplies etc) were fantastic....but we found the m/w's a bit hit n miss. Some were lovely, but then they would change shifts and you would end up with a complete flake or someone really pushy and old school. We had one m/w at 3am (after Oli had been crying for hours...) tell us that we should start co-sleeping with him, which isnt something that we wanted to do. Also because of my problems with b/f....we were made to feel quite uncomfortable about asking for formula, even though the pediatrician had recommended it as Oli was dehydrated. They made it difficult for us - like they wouldnt give us a bottle, only a medicine cup....just made it even harder for us. I never got an offer of a lactation consultant until a week after we had left and that was from my own m/w. I still think that its an awesome place though!
------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 7:25pm
SimSam wrote:
We had one m/w at 3am (after Oli had been crying for hours...) tell us that we should start co-sleeping with him, which isnt something that we wanted to do.
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We must have had that same mw Sam! Unfortunately (for her) she tried telling me this on night 2 when I was absolutely exhausted and quite stubborn and rude lol. DH had gone home to get some stuff, my mum and sis were there and the mw kept saying she would tuck him in next to me for the night cos he *would* want to feed all night. I was like "no, you will not do that, my husband is coming back then he is going to wrap him up and tight and put him in his basinette and we are all going to sleep" lol and he did!
------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 7:51pm
I found the m/w hit and miss too, the first night when we arrived I got a bit feisty with the one that was looking after me coz she was really bossy, but she ended up being on the first three nights and was actually OK. She even brought me a whole heap of breast pad samples on the second night when my milk was gushing everywhere even tho I had brought my own. But the last night when Chiara was under the bili lights the m/w I had was awful, Chiara was really unsettled coz she wasn't swaddled and the eye cover kept coming off her eyes and I spent 4 hours feeding her non stop and when I asked for some help she was like "all you can do is feed her" even tho by that stage she had a sore belly from overfeeding and wind. Then at 6am she came and yanked her out from under the lights coz she decided she didn't *need* them anymore even tho the paed had ordered it, and he wasn't happy when he came back later that day and found out she'd been taken out of them coz her bili levels didn't drop like they should have.
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
 The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: MummyFreckle
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 8:12pm
Its funny what you will tolerate (or not) when you are sleep deprived and in shock from giving birth! DH actually banned one of the midwives from our room....when she came on her shift she knew we were having probs feeding so she said we should feed and express every 2 hours, even through the night. I was in tears at the thought of this....and when she came in at midnight and demanded I wake him to feed him, that was fine...but then she told me to wake myself up every 2 hours to feed him and express....I just lost it.. she was being really pushy and agressive and not at all responsive to my needs..DH told her to leave and if she wanted to come back in she had to wait to be invited!!!!! She really improved after that! But strangley enough, she did choose to take Oli for his heel prick test at midnight....seeing as he was awake!! DH gave her a bit of grief, but in the end he went with her to do it whilst I slept. I suspect that the m/w's are a bit of a law unto themselves...and its not like a hospital where you have a charge midwife in charge of the ward.
------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 8:25pm
Definitely! One of the things in my MMH plan was that if baby was unsettled and I was stressed/tired they would take her away so I could rest coz that was a big trigger with the gremlins, they screamed the whole time we were at Birthcare but no one would give me a break and I went home shattered. But when we arrived after I had Chiara the m/w was like "we don't have a nursery so we can't take baby." I got a bit stroppy and pretty much said "if I tell you to take her you'll bloody take her!" In the end she was really good and settled so it wasn't an issue but there was no need for her to be so pushy about it when I'd only just arrived.
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
 The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 8:47pm
That's so bad. Quite often DH said he'd be chatting with one of the mws out there late at night - he'd be holding our boy, and she'd be sitting there writing up notes with a newborn bubs over her arm. They so don't need a nursery to help an exhausted, stressed out mum who needs a rest.
I think it's like anywhere really - you get some great ones, and you get some not so great ones.
------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 9:23pm
When I was there with Maya they took her for an hour or so when she wouldn't settle. I think they've just gone a bit anal on the whole rooming in thing.
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
 The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 22 July 2008 at 10:26pm
Lucas was very unsettled and we had problems b/feeding. He basically screamed/cried non-stop for a whole night and this older mw, I think she may be the same one you guys are talking about (she was a total hardass, came across like a right bitch but by the 3rd day I ended up learning the most from her and really warmed to her) well she took Lucas away over her arm for a couple hours so I could rest.
I can't believe I actually let someone take my baby away from me, but at the time I couldn't have cared less. I was shattered after nearly 5 days with no sleep whatsoever.
------------- Single Mum to a darling wee boy of 3 years :)
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 23 July 2008 at 8:12am
I wish they had taken the gremlins away for an hour (or six!). They were so unsettled and I'd just get one down and the other would start screaming and they wouldn't feed so I was expressing colostrum onto a syringe. *shudder* it was awful!
The respite carer I had last night said she sometimes gets rostered on to Akl Hospital to the postnatal wards to take unsettled babies so their mum's can rest, I think that is such a good idea. I mean, no mother wants their baby taken away from them, but when you get soooo tired a bit of a break can make all the difference to your coping.
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
 The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: MummyFreckle
Date Posted: 23 July 2008 at 9:23am
I was thinking about this last night, as I lay awake in bed...grrr....but I was thinking, that perhaps I didnt get as much "attention" because DH was staying with me fulltime. Almost as if...well he was there, so he could look after us.
In terms of the b/f - every m/w had a different method, and I just ended up being really confused. My milk didnt come in for 3 days, and trying to get colostrum out by hand was a nightmare - I would get like 2 drops onto a teaspoon, and only after my poor nipples had been twisted and pulled something chronic....sorry winge over!!
------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: corbytas
Date Posted: 26 July 2008 at 1:57pm
Hi
To be honest - I didn't like my stay at Birthcare. The rooms are nice, the food was good, but some of the mws leave a lot to be desired. The day we arrived, they were extremely busy. Had to wait in reception for 30mins until a private room was free. I was OK with that. But they also had a number of mw's at a course that day and they were under staffed. I had complete strangers walking into my room grabbing my breast without even introducing themselves and putting the baby onto feed.
I was having major issues with bf and wanted their assistance on how to latch properly and they just weren't interested. I told one of them it was hurting and she said well it will for about 6 weeks and walked off. Never once did they offer the lactation consultant on site. On leaving with blistered, cracked and bleeding nipples, they had given me an A rating on my discharge papers. If my breasts were an A, I would hate to see those with an F.
The other main issue was they wouldn't take the drip needle out of the back of my hand after numerous requests. It was bloody sore and kept getting caught on things. Mws said they needed to leave it there in case I need an injection. Turn out, I did need an injection but the grumpy old mw that gave it to me injected me in the leg anyway. This was after I pointed out I still had a drip needle in the back on my hand and thought that was why it was still there.
Anyway on saying this, number 2 is due in 4 mths time and will be going back to stay for at least 1 night. This time I won't accept the bad service and will be letting them know what is acceptable in my book and what isn't.
One last word - they need to get over the bf vs ff thing. Drives me nuts. If bf is not working, you have very little options left other then tough it out or start ff to give you aching boobs a break...
Cheers
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Posted By: SMoody
Date Posted: 26 July 2008 at 4:18pm
Have been looking at this as we will go to Auckland hospital for cesear and then perhaps afterwards to Birthcare (if I cant get away with coming home afterwards).
What I want to know how are they with visiting hours? And with visitors coming in? Like for example hubby and McKayla?
I had the opposite in SA. They wanted the babies in the nursery and I had to fight them to keep my child with me again. First night this poor nurse came to me and told me as I am still hooked up can she take bubs. I was crying and saying no ect. But she was so great and told me she will just be looking after 2 but that I need some sleep and I wont be able to get up easy if she starts choking ect and although Grant is there that a guy doesnt naturally wake up so I will be more awake and I need some sleep.
She did promise however that she will bring her as soon as she cries and she cant settle her within a minute and no formula ect. She was there from midnight to 4 and Grant actually went to go fetch and and tell them that he will stay up now.
We did have an older nurse that was however horrible. But I told her to F off after the second day. It is quite weird how every nurse can be different from the next and have their own idea of what is right.
------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 26 July 2008 at 5:10pm
If you have a private room Shirena visiting hours are 8m to 8pm altho I had visitors that stayed after 8pm and they never threw them out. In a shared room it's either 11am-8pm or 2pm-8pm, I can't remember which one, but fathers, siblings and grandparents can visit outside those hours.
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
 The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Nic01
Date Posted: 28 July 2008 at 2:49pm
I've birthed at both Birthcare & Auckland Hospital. The actual birthing rooms at Birthcare are fairly similar to the ones at Auckland, but they have birthing pools not just labour pools, so the pools are much bigger & deeper which I found great. Can't have an epi at birthcare. For both births, it was pretty much just me, my midwife & my support people there, so that was the same. After the birth it was so much nicer to just go along the corridor straight to your room instead of having to worry about taking baby outside, getting in car & driving somewhere else. If you birth at birthcare you get a private room for free which was nice. They also gave Bella a cute toy lamb for being born there. Private rooms have a fridge, tv & heated towel rail which the shared rooms don't. Can also have DH stay overnight with you. I found most of the midwives there to be really supportive & didn't have any of the negative experiences there the others did. I reckon in terms of the actual birth - birthcare & Auck hosp birthing rooms are pretty similar, but the rooms afterwards are definitely more hotel like rather than hospital like. Things like carpet on the floor, more comfortable beds than hospital, nicer mealsetc. If I was to have another bubba, I'd personally choose to birh at Birthcare again.
------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: kriss
Date Posted: 28 July 2008 at 6:01pm
thanks a million for all your thoughtful feedback =] its going to be a great help in deciding where to birth.
my new doctor is a midwife also, though we haven't yet discussed whether she will be present during the birth. can she be my midwife, or must i use the ones at birthcare?
also, are there windows in the private rooms?
------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
Little Angel, April 10
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Posted By: caraMel
Date Posted: 28 July 2008 at 6:58pm
She can be your midwife and if you decide to stick with her as your LMC, she can deliver your baby at Birthcare, just as long as she is affiliated with them.
The midwives at Birthcare are there to look after you and bubs for the duration of your stay there after the birth. Your midwife will also visit you there in the days afterwards to check on your recovery and bubs' development.
Yup there was a window in my private room.
------------- Mel, Mummy to E: 6, B: 4 and:
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 28 July 2008 at 7:14pm
Mine had a window too
My LMC came to see me twice at Birthcare.
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
 The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Nic01
Date Posted: 29 July 2008 at 2:08pm
My room had a small balcony off it overlooking the domain. And yeah as the others said you can have your own LMC at the birth as long as she has an access agreement with Birthcare.
------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: nicci
Date Posted: 29 July 2008 at 5:54pm
Hi kriss, I see that you are listed as being on the North Shore. Have you considered Helensville Birth Centre? Fabulous!!!! Similar to Birthcare and free to Waitakere, North Shore and Rodney District residents. Wonderful midwives, all private rooms with their own bathrooms. Worth consideration.
------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: kriss
Date Posted: 31 July 2008 at 3:46pm
thanks nicci, had never heard of it.. i will definitely look into it
------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
Little Angel, April 10
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Posted By: kriss
Date Posted: 31 July 2008 at 3:48pm
another question, when at the birthing centre does your baby wear clothing and blankets, nappies etc that you have bought along or are they dressed by the centre? just thinking of what to pack
------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
Little Angel, April 10
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Posted By: MummyFreckle
Date Posted: 31 July 2008 at 4:44pm
At birthcare we took our own clothes for bubs to wear....you have to dress them before you can transfer from Auckl hospital to Birthcare. They provided nappies, cloths (wipes), maternity pads. In terms of blankets they provided a cotton type blanket for the basinett, but we took our own special blanket for him. Most days / nights that we were in there he wore a cotton singlet, a stretch n grown and a cardigan, and a little hat. It is pretty warm in there, but they are so little! In terms of clothes for yourself, I packed singlets and tracky pants / Pj pants....it is so warm that you dont want to be wearing much!
------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 31 July 2008 at 8:08pm
I wore PJs the entire time except for coming home lol! I found at night tho I'd have to strip down to my bra and PJ pants coz it got so warm in there. When Chiara was under the bili lights she had to be naked and even when I got her out for feeds the room was so warm I didn't worry about dressing her.
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
 The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 01 May 2009 at 7:21pm
Bump for Bree
------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: denny25
Date Posted: 01 May 2009 at 7:30pm
I stayed at Birthcare after giving birth at Auckland Hospital and I wish I hadn't stayed at Birthcare!! I hated it!!!
The food was CRAP and the MW's very hit and miss. Ava cried non stop and I had no sleep the whole time I was there. We had problems with breastfeeding and when i asked for help one of the MW's hung up on me!!! Another MW told me that I didnt have enough milk and that I should formula feed. I tried to pump (having no idea how to use the machine and the MW didn't show me) and I didn't realise that the suction thingy wasnt quite on properly and a small amount of the milk was dripping down my top. The MW totally went off at me, saying it was like gold and "What a waste!!".
I hated it. Next time i will be going straight home.
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Posted By: NovemberMum
Date Posted: 01 May 2009 at 11:10pm
wow denny25 doesnt sound like a very nice experience. you would think places like that would be all for breastfeeding?
I had my daughter at waikato but transferred to river ridge and can highly recommend it, the midwives were really helpful when it came to breastfeeding and helped with latching on and different positions due to being rather large
even if I dont get to birth there long as there are no complications will be transferring there for this one.
------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Moochiecat
Date Posted: 02 May 2009 at 2:49pm
My 2 cents - I birthed via emergency C Section at Nat Womens, spend one night there, then transferred to birthcare of 3 nights.
Birthcare was wayyyyy better then the hosptial. The MW's at hospital seemed to change every hour! I couldnt keep track. At Birthcare the midwives were changing but not that often, some are old school, some are nice, some are bossy - but truly after the birth you are so overwhelmed that any little thing can set you off - and so I think I was a bit more emotionally sensitive than normal. They were probably doing a good job - you cant like everyone.
They have a 24 phone line - you just push a button and a MW is there within minutes, thats unbelievably helpful and comforting at 3am.
The food was better then hospital food - but nothing over the top great - like Cobb and co. But honestly you dont care about what you are eating. You have heaps of other things on your mind.
One thing though - the hosp and Birthcare are VERY pro-breastfeeding, if your milk doesnt come in and your baby is hungry - they make you wait. We waited 4 days - until my daughter had lost 10% of her body weight! Then they finally said "OK we will try formula" and they had me sign a waive rto say I wouldnt sue them if she developed an allergy!! So take your own formula - it will save you heartbreaking nights of no milk and a screaming starving baby.
Oh - and get your own room. Truly its worth the extra cost, when your up and down to the loo and changing maternity pads and expressing milk every half hour you want to a bit of privacy.
Hope that is helpful.
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Posted By: kmarie
Date Posted: 02 May 2009 at 10:58pm
If you birth there (correct me if I'm wrong) I think you get your own room. I did and it was great! Bethany was born just before midnight and because I transferred to my room after midnight, it didn't count as my first night - so I got three nights after that 99% of the mw's I came across were great, one or two were a bit sharp which is all it takes to send a new mum on an emotional rollercoaster (as you said Moochiecat)! Food was fab, like a cafe for me cuz they catered for my dairy/gluten intolerance. Definitely beat scraping around for meals at home! I second how great it was to have a call button to talk to a mw, 24hrs a day.
Moochiecat that's awful about the 4 days waiting for milk while your DD lost weight!!!
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twins in heaven Oct07
Is 40:11 "He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart."
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Posted By: kriss
Date Posted: 03 May 2009 at 1:26am
Seems like forever ago that I started this thread!
Now that I have had my turn at Birthcare, I can report my experience there (mostly negative i'm afraid).
~ My MW called when I was 6cm dilated to say that I was on my way, they said not to come as they had no room. It was midnight, I was already on my way, I got there and the birthing suites were empty
~ We were left to fill the pool, and went through the whole birth unassisted by them, so it was just me, DH & MW which I was totally happy with and wouldn't have changed but MW thought it was unprofessional of them as there should always be 2 just in case.
~ After the birth at 5am I was starving and they forgot to bring me a snack I was put into a shared room and DH was shooed away until visiting hours at 8am. And they kicked up a fuss when I wanted to hold my baby from the birthing suite up to my room, only a 2 min trip, rather than have the MW's carry her in the bassinette.
~ I didn't get any breakfast, though the woman in the bed next door to me did, they forgot me again and when I enquired I got just one piece of toast - HELLO I just spent hours in labour, pushing etc I was soo starving
~ My baby started bringing up mucus, I freaked out not knowing what was happening and knocked the phone off the base for a MW to come immediately.. or in a minute.. or 5.. or never! I ended up going to the reception desk for help (my room was close) because DD was choking a little bit and I was really scared.
~ When I was discharged my notes were only half filled in, and my baby didn't get an ID bracelet which I am bummed about (would have been a nice keepsake).
Needless to say, as soon as I was physically able (9am) I was out of there!
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Little Angel, April 10
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Posted By: Moochiecat
Date Posted: 03 May 2009 at 7:49pm
My god Kriss - thats appalling. You poor poor woman. Thats the worst experience there yet - and you where the one wanting reports! Now you've got the worst one! Write them a letter, get your money back (if you paid). You certainly deserve it.
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