C-section recovery & Kings labour wards

[Keef]

tbh it was 100 times better than friends have had at chelsea and westminster, which is a filthy dump as far as I have seen and to my surprise.

I'm quite surprised to hear this, as I thought it was rather nice when I had to stay a night there, and I was seen by the most beautiful doctor I'd ever seen!!! That said, I had just fractured my skull, and had blood running down my face, so I may not have been seeing things clearly!

And it was about 12 years ago to be fair.

[edanna]

Don't hold out for a single room though. There are only two and you have to be v lucky to get one. I did and it was great but I clogged it up for five nights. So a lot of women came and went in that time without any hope of getting a single room.

[R&A]

bring your own hand soap (plus all sterilsation wipes/gel etc)

I told a midwife that the soap dispenser was empty in our shared bathroom (as was the one by the sink outside our shared bathroom) for nearly two days and she just replied,

"it's not my job to fill 'em"

That kinda sums up my experience on the post natal ward at Kings

[Clarey999]

I was on the post natal ward for four days. It was fine. The breakfasts are good, the rest not so much! It was kept pretty clean and the staff were mostly good. There was one nurse or something that really annoyed me with an insensitive remark about breastfeeding (I was struggling at the time) but I actually complained at the nurses station and they apologised.

It is noisy. So bring earplugs. I found the mornings were the nicest cos the afternoons can get a bit much with all the visitors. ANd get plenty of magazines etc.

One tip is try opening your curtains. With your cubicle curtains closed it can get a bit claustrophobic and you don't get to meet the other people on your ward. THey are mums as well and can be alot more sympathetic to talk to then the staff who are all very busy.

[Belle]

must say my pre-eclampsia experience was mixed bumpkin - took them a while to notice that things like flashing lights, crippling headaches, v swollen ankles and feeling too weak to lift my head off the pillow were probably signs of pre-eclampsia kicking in a bit rather than the aircon etc. I'd no idea it could carry on for a bit after the birth so stupidly didn't connect these things to having pre eclampsia (was also diagnosed late on). they did once bleep an obstetrician for me but he didn't see me for another 36 hrs! So i woudl say push push push and yes even if it's someone not directly connected eg a paediatrician, enlist their help - we did this too and he saved us. We were also moved to a privcate room for the last two nights partly I think because I was on the verge of discharging myself. it meant my hubbie could stay and help which was good as my baby did not sleep at all at night for the first few weeks.

[The Nappy Lady]

Re earplugs, get the wax ones that mould to your ear not the foam ones which tend to fall out. Imagine an iPod with soothing music would be good to do a similar job during waking hours.

Very good advice as always from the brilliant ladies on here, and would always go for cheap 'big cotton pants' post birth to be chucked afterwards rather than those horrible disposable paper pants you can get - yuk!!

[Countjc]

Thanks again everyone for the great advice and I have managed to get hold of the breast feeding coordinator so all good that end. I have to say that I have found the care at Kings incredible so far and couldn't ask for more and now with a bit of knowledge about the labour wards I feel much more confident.

I just had one last question, did any of you ladies have to inject clexane, a blood thinner after the c-section? I am on it at the moment due to lack of mobility with the SPD and so at risk of clots and the dr. said I may need to take it for a further 6 weeks after birth. I am hoping to get mobile asap to avoid this as had heard it can affect breastfeeding.

thanks again

Jenny

[prm]

I told my husband about the advice & comments here about the Kings post labour ward and he said: "But who is going to pick up the babies when they cry if you are all wearing earplugs and eye masks?" I thought it was quite funny...not the nurses by the sounds of it..

[candj]

Hi Jenny, I had two c-sections and didn't have to use any blood thinners. After my second I had these inflatable boot things on my legs that would inflate and deflate so as to massage my legs as the hospital were trying them out on their patients. My consultant told me they were a load of crap and that the best thing to do to avoid blood clots was to be mobile as soon as possible. My recovery second time around was much faster for some reason as I didn't feel so precious in the hospital and had a 2 1/2 year old Tasmanian devil to deal with. I also breastfed both times without problems.

Very best of luck to you and your delivery.

[fearnpw1]

I didn't have a c-section but did stay in hospital for 5 days. I don't remember much about it to be honest other than I was really hungry all the time so as others suggest - get your other half to bring food in. What I would like to contradict is the negative comments about breastfeeding support. This was the one good thing about staying in the ward - there was a midwife called Sue who taught me how to breastfeed before I left hospital - she was amazing! In the early hours of the morning when I didn't have a clue what was going on or how to sort my baby out who was screaming, she would sit me in a chair, take my baby's head, take my breast and show me how to get her to latch on properly. She then sat with me to make sure i was doing it properly - the best start to breast feeding I could ever have hoped for and, as I say, one of the few positive things I can say about having to stay in hospital after the birth!

[Smiler]

Hiya, I had an emergency C-section in 2008. The procedure itself was fine, felt well cared for and that everything was under control, but had a bad experience on the postnatal ward, in particular at night when partners are not allowed to stay and there were hardly any staff around and some of the few that were there were horrible. Couldn't feel my legs or get up to reach the baby (had my C-section at night), was woozy and scared that I would fall asleep and drop her, but they wouldn't help, and she literally screamed for the whole night long. Left hospital less than 48 hours after the birth, probably too soon but there was just no way was staying any longer.

It took a few days for my milk to come in and my little one was constantly screaming day and night for those few days, it was hard. No help whatsoever in hospital - I asked for help and was told that none was available as they were too busy. The Kings community midwives are meant to come and visit as soon as you get home (unless you are with a different practice), but we had to chase them up as they are v.busy. Do chase them, as they were really helpful re. breastfeeding once they did come.

Sorry if this sounds negative and hope that you have a much better experience.

I am on Clexane for another reason, and understand from the leaflet in the pack and pregnancy websites that it can sometimes mean it is not possible to have a C-section spinal / epidural for the birth because of the risk of a spinal bleed. Not sure about what it means for breastfeeding - it might be worth speaking to your GP, who can contact the specialist if needed, for advice in advance of the birth.

Best wishes.

[Fuschia]

Clexane is fine for bf. Some women get put onto warfarin after birth, that's also ok for bf, though not in pg, but involves lots of treks to hospitalfor blood tests, so I'd stay on the Clexane.

Clexane is an issue if you have had it 6 or 12 (think it's 12) hours prior... then spinal anaesthesia isn't possible. In my first pg I was on a high dose as I had a DVT, and got the dose split into two small ones per day, in mym twin pg I was only on prophylaxis each morning and labour started at night so no problem, didn't need an epidural anyway

[Fuschia]

Countjc Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> I just had one last question, did any of you

> ladies have to inject clexane, a blood thinner

> after the c-section? I am on it at the moment due

> to lack of mobility with the SPD and so at risk of

> clots and the dr. said I may need to take it for a

> further 6 weeks after birth. I am hoping to get

> mobile asap to avoid this as had heard it can

> affect breastfeeding.

> thanks again

> Jenny

It's fine. Have been on it for both my pgs, for 10w in the first one (then 3m warfarin) and for a total of 11m for my twin pg. Not a problem for bf

[Fuschia]

fearnpw1 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

What I would like to contradict is

> the negative comments about breastfeeding support.

> This was the one good thing about staying in the

> ward - there was a midwife called Sue who taught

> me how to breastfeed before I left hospital - she

> was amazing! In the early hours of the morning

> when I didn't have a clue what was going on or how

> to sort my baby out who was screaming, she would

> sit me in a chair, take my baby's head, take my

> breast and show me how to get her to latch on

> properly. She then sat with me to make sure i was

> doing it properly - the best start to breast

> feeding I could ever have hoped for and, as I say,

> one of the few positive things I can say about

> having to stay in hospital after the birth!

I suspect it does come down to who is on duty and how busy they are. Naking prior contact with the infant feeding coordinators so you can call them from the postnatal ward seems a sensible precaution just in case..

Also, re leaving hosp, think twice about leaving on s Saturday, as I did. Community midwife didn't come to see me till Monday 430pm. It's a long time not to have anyone come to see you, if bf isn't going well!!! (If you are at home and noone has been, I guess you can call Kings or go back to see the feeding coordinators)

I had independent midwives so they did come every day and make sure the twins got at least one good feed, luckily, eklse twin II would have been rehospitalised for sure.

[Smiler]

Thanks for the advice re. Clexane ladies, I have been trying to get info about this from various doctors to no avail! Am relieved that a small gap is OK, as am daunted by the prospect of VBAC and the option of an epidural is reassurring!

Had also not thought about the community midwives and weekends - this must have been what happened to me, I wrongly presumed that there would be 7-day a week cover.

[Fuschia]

Smiler Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Thanks for the advice re. Clexane ladies, I have

> been trying to get info about this from various

> doctors to no avail! Am relieved that a small gap

> is OK, as am daunted by the prospect of VBAC and

> the option of an epidural is reassurring!

>

> Had also not thought about the community midwives

> and weekends - this must have been what happened

I think they come by the next working day

> to me, I wrongly presumed that there would be

> 7-day a week cover.

[Fuschia]

Clexane:

http://www.sanofi-aventis.com.au/products/aus_pi_clexane.pdf

Says 10-12 hoursn(page 10)

In my case I restart 6h after birth and find it best to have my own syringes with me so U can just do it and not worry about trying to get the hospital to do it

[Countjc]

thanks for the clexane advice, i stop 24 hours before the c sec and then just have to wait and see. good to know its ok to breastfeed, i think i just picked up on an old wives tale.

[Smiler]

Yes, I had heard tales and assumed that it would be hard to breastfeed after a C-section, but the midwife explained that establishing feeding varies after every kind of birth.