"Change of plans"

I had planned to give birth at the RAH's midwife led maternity unit but was admitted 4 days after my due date with concerns about increasing blood pressure and oligohydramnios. After discussing with the consultant to bring the induction that had been planned for later that week forward, the team decided to carry out an unplanned C-section due to concerns about fetal vital signs following further monitoring. Throughout this process, I felt like communication with the team was really good and I would like to express my sincere thanks to the staff of the day care, antenatal and labour wards for ensuring an overall calm atmosphere during these hours of uncertainty. Merely when being transferred from the antenatal to the labour ward, I felt like the reasons for doing so could have been explained more clearly at the time. However, the midwife on the labour ward filled in the blanks when I asked her. Although I hadn't been keen on a C-section initially, I understand why an induction of labour was not advisable in my situation, and am very grateful having given birth to a healthy baby. Overall, I felt very supported throughout a situation which could have otherwise been very upsetting and stressful.

Unfortunately, my positive experience to this point was affected quite negatively by my subsequent stay on the postnatal ward where I had to stay for the following two nights. I was put into a room which eventually had four patients in it, even though neighbouring rooms were much quieter with no or just single occupancy. Whilst I didn't mind this alone, the very liberal policies of the ward with regards to the number of visitors allowed, coupled with the many observations taken over the course of the day meant that ca. 80-100 people must have circulated through the room over the course of my first day there. Two patients in particular received a large number of visitors who crowded the room and corridor, making it impossible for the other patients to catch any rest. By the time I finally left the following afternoon, I had only managed to sleep for 3h and was emotionally and physically exhausted, begging the team to finally be discharged in order to rest up at home. The many visitors also made it rather uncomfortable to leave my allocated "berth" which didn't receive any natural light, further adding to the negative experience. Additionally, the stress and exhaustion of the experience also negatively impacted my ability to bond with my baby in these early hours and establish breastfeeding - not what I'd expect of a baby friendly hospital. Luckily, all of these issues were later sorted out with the help of the community midwifes and breastfeeding support worker in the peace and quiet of my home, but it took significant time and effort to address retrospectively. 

Last but not least, I'd question whether it is sensible to allow such a large number of visitors into rooms with several newborns and women recovering from birth/surgery as it surely increases the infection risk. 

I think it would be preferable to allow women to receive these visitors in a dedicated visiting space away from their allocated room. 

I appreciate that it'll be hard to make everyone happy in these situations and with very stretched resources. However, I'm hopeful that sharing my experience can help the team work towards a more sensible compromise with regards to visiting policies and improve the situation for future patients.