Queen Mary Hospital- after delivery

[JennyB]

I have just been told there is an inaccuracy in my post... Matilda apparently do allow babies to room in, even in the non-private rooms shared with other people. Not relevant to this thread but don't want to defame Matilda unfairly!

 

[geiboyi]

With QMH you need to insist that they tell you what they are doing, and preferably ask first. I was outraged when I was having an internal exam after hours of labour and there was some pain and I asked what she was doing - 'oh, I'm breaking your waters' or something - I mean, really they ought to ask if they are doing something like that. But then I saw dozens of doctors during my labour and all except the last one (who finally managed to haul the baby out) were really bloody rude to me. This time I am going in prepared for this, and will not be taking bad attitude from anyone, or I will be out having this baby in the corridor. Or the cafeteria. Or the car park...

 

[JennyB]

Yeah, I had on my birth plan "Please try not to touch me, or perform any medical intervention, without asking me first." I also put "Please try not to talk to me when I am experiencing a contraction"! They were pretty good at respecting those.

I have found that staying calm and showing respect for the way they do things (even if you disagree with them) is the best way to approach issues of disagreement. I also got my husband to do almost all the talking with staff, while I had headphones playing relaxing music - helps to avoid stress which is the enemy of a smooth labour.