Royal Sussex County Maternity Unit - Argus Stories

[Man of Harveys]

Many congrats on the new arrival LI, all the best.

 

[ROSM]

many congrats Steve.



Will be trying out the RSCH maternity facilities for ourselves soon so pleasing to read what you have written. Luckily we have family who live very close to the county so parking should be a bit easier

 

[Lush]

Congrats LI.

BTW why did you go to A and E? Don't the ante-natal classes these days show you round the hospital and tell you where the maternity ward is? Or did you not find out in advance? There's usually some emergency parking near a maternity ward for obvious reasons but I don't know RSCH that well, my two having been born in Croydon Mayday Hospital.

As an aside, I went to visit my sister at RSCH and she was on whatever stupidly high floor. Don't know if this has happened to anyone else but I was holding the new-born in my arms, the window was ajar and I thought - ooh look what I could do!

Was horrified by thought and put him down sharpish....

I must be some kind of psycho, although this is apparently quite a common feeling generally (not just at RSCH!)

Anyway big congrats again, particularly to the one who did all the hard work.

 

[ROSM]

Congrats LI.

BTW why did you go to A and E? Don't the ante-natal classes these days show you round the hospital and tell you where the maternity ward is? Or did you not find out in advance? There's usually some emergency parking near a maternity ward for obvious reasons but I don't know RSCH that well, my two having been born in Croydon Mayday Hospital.

As an aside, I went to visit my sister at RSCH and she was on whatever stupidly high floor. Don't know if this has happened to anyone else but I was holding the new-born in my arms, the window was ajar and I thought - ooh look what I could do!

Was horrified by thought and put him down sharpish....

I must be some kind of psycho, although this is apparently quite a common feeling generally (not just at RSCH!)

Anyway big congrats again, particularly to the one who did all the hard work.

ante natal classes are a bit of a lottery. Some are great and some are awful.

The ones we are going to have been 'mixed'. We had a breast feeding classes with woollen knitted breasts and teddy bears (luckily my wife took her Tiny Tears doll 25+ years old!). The childbirth class had no squeamish videos, birth demonstrated by a doll (fabric) still attached to a fabric placenta via a fabric umbillical cord being born out of a woollen uterus. there was no breathing sessions but lots of leaflets.

All in all we will be fine as long as the wife gives birth to a telly tubby or Bob the Builder.

Those who went to the other session that day said it was much better as they breathing techniques, a proper model pelvis etc.

 

[Lush]

Congratulations!

But that is sad if every medical professional in Brighton forces induction at 40wk +10

I'm with Mrs Coach. Homebirth is the way forward, we didn't even have the midwife here when Romilly burst into the world.

Talk to any paediatrician and they'll tell you about a home birth where things have gone unexpectedly and tragically wrong during the birth and if they'd been at the hospital they would have had access to the full range of life saving equipment.

You have to fight quite hard to get a home birth with your first baby, as no-one knows how well or safely your body can "do birth." I would never risk my baby's life by having the first at home.

My second daughter was born using what's called the Domino Delivery, where the midwife comes out to you when you're in labour, you go to the hospital for the actual birth, then you come straight home again. The midwife examined me at midnight, I went in at 2 with really strong labour pains, had my daughter at 4, showered and came home exhausted but ecstatic at 6. This seemed to me to be a good compromise.

I guess you weigh up the risks and make a decision but personally, instead of my comfy bed I would give birth on a concrete floor if it was the only way to be sure that I had all the medical resources seconds away if something went wrong. Although please forgive me Starry you're the absolute last person who I want to make comments to about children and life and death, truly. It's just my thoughts.

 

[London Irish]

Congrats LI.

BTW why did you go to A and E? Don't the ante-natal classes these days show you round the hospital and tell you where the maternity ward is? Or did you not find out in advance? There's usually some emergency parking near a maternity ward for obvious reasons but I don't know RSCH that well, my two having been born in Croydon Mayday Hospital.

My partner did do a class there but on the night she was doubled up in pain on the passenger seat and not readily available as a source for calm advice

We were in state of blind panic to be honest and not thinking straight, thought baby was going to come while we were in the car! We drove up to the front of the hospital and it was the security guy who told us to go to A&E. Wrongly. That was my only small criticism, when we arrived at night, there were staff there who were not really on the ball with help to get us to maternity, it was the same at A&E.

In hindsight, we should have tried for one of the 2 or so parking bays outside the maternity tower block, it was dead of night and they might have been free.

But as I explained earlier with the terrible parking situation, this is just not possible during the day, you park anywhere near there and you risk jamming up access to the car park for hundreds of cars, the internal hospital roads are very narrow.

Thanks for your best wishes and everyone else too

As an aside, I went to visit my sister at RSCH and she was on whatever stupidly high floor.

For me, this is one of the best things about the place. Having an amazing view over Brighton as your baby comes into the world is very inspiring.

 

[London Irish]

ante natal classes are a bit of a lottery. Some are great and some are awful.

The ones we are going to have been 'mixed'. We had a breast feeding classes with woollen knitted breasts and teddy bears (luckily my wife took her Tiny Tears doll 25+ years old!). The childbirth class had no squeamish videos, birth demonstrated by a doll (fabric) still attached to a fabric placenta via a fabric umbillical cord being born out of a woollen uterus. there was no breathing sessions but lots of leaflets.

All in all we will be fine as long as the wife gives birth to a telly tubby or Bob the Builder.

Those who went to the other session that day said it was much better as they breathing techniques, a proper model pelvis etc.

Are they with the National Childbirth Trust? The single bit of advice I would give any prospective parent is, join these classes. Not simply because of the advice, but on so many occasions you bond very closely with the 4 other couples having births at the same time as you, and you end up having a great mutual support mechanism.

For example, one of the people who we were with in a NCT class 4 years ago came over at night-time and took care of our eldest while we dashed to the hospital this time round.

 

[Starry]

Talk to any paediatrician and they'll tell you about a home birth where things have gone unexpectedly and tragically wrong during the birth and if they'd been at the hospital they would have had access to the full range of life saving equipment.

You have to fight quite hard to get a home birth with your first baby, as no-one knows how well or safely your body can "do birth." I would never risk my baby's life by having the first at home.

My second daughter was born using what's called the Domino Delivery, where the midwife comes out to you when you're in labour, you go to the hospital for the actual birth, then you come straight home again. The midwife examined me at midnight, I went in at 2 with really strong labour pains, had my daughter at 4, showered and came home exhausted but ecstatic at 6. This seemed to me to be a good compromise.

I guess you weigh up the risks and make a decision but personally, instead of my comfy bed I would give birth on a concrete floor if it was the only way to be sure that I had all the medical resources seconds away if something went wrong. Although please forgive me Starry you're the absolute last person who I want to make comments to about children and life and death, truly. It's just my thoughts.

It's OK. I had my first child in a hospital and it was a truly awful experience and I spent a lot of time dealing with the issues and devastation from it, still do now to some extent. I had a 'vision' of how my birth was going to be (and the actual birth was fairly straightforward) - me, my husband, in a room in a hospital, doctor there if need be but assisted by a midwife. Callum's birth was anything but that, it makes me so sad now that I was not educated enough then to know my choices and options, to speak up louder and to have done things my way. I can't ever get that experience of giving birth for the first time back and thanks to the hospital it was a horrid experience.

I have had three babies since then all as far away from the hospital as I could get and will never birth again in a hospital unless there is a medical necessity. My youngest was born without even a midwife present.

Whatever works for the individual though. A hospital birth is not for me, just as a home birth is not for everyone. I just wish I had known then what I know now and could have avoided the way Callum's birth went.

Congratulations LI! I hope the breastfeeding works out and you are all having a happy babymoon.

 

[Yorkie]

I was exactly the opposite and wanted the safety of a hospital birth. Both of mine were complicated probably due to the fact that I have a mis-shapen pelvic bone (only very recently discovered due to back problms)

My daughter got involved with the NCT. They impressed me with the information that was available and the campaigning for various birth methods. Nowadays there is so muchknowledge available that mothers can make an informed choice.