Panorama

Did anyone watch it tonight??  It made me sick to my stomach!  I delivered Squidge at St Mary's in Manchester and it was one of the hospitals highlighted on the program.  It really put a lot of my experiences into perspective.  I had a lot of 'oooh so that's why they did this or that's why that happened'

Oh damn! I mean to watch it but was having trouble with Ethan not wanting to sleep. Which London hospital did they talk about?

Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital.

I think what I found most disturbing was that it seemed that there was no one in charge of the wards. It didn't seem as if there was someone there in most of those scenes who was ultimately in charge of managing the staff on duty, although perhaps that is just how they edited it. The whole thing was rather depressing...not a good situation for the midwives, support staff or the mothers and babies.

yep.

i saw it & it made me want to avoid maternity wards entirely.

wonder how that's gonna work out if i get preggers.

wonder how that's gonna work out if i get preggers.

Go to America or pay to go privately.

Those are options, and at least one person on the board has gone that way.

yep.

i saw it & it made me want to avoid maternity wards entirely.

wonder how that's gonna work out if i get preggers.

Homebirth.  If I can manage to have a healthy pregnancy and make it through labour at home, I get two midwives all to myself. 

Homebirth.  If I can manage to have a healthy pregnancy and make it through labour at home, I get two midwives all to myself. 

I was thinking (as I watched the show in horror), that a homebirth is really the only way to guarantee you get the attention you deserve. Never in my life had I considered having a baby at home until I watched that last night.

I saw it and it scared me. I'm sure lots of people have good experiences, but knowing my luck....it makes me really scared to have a baby. My husband told me not to watch it (he had read about it in the Guardian) but I just couldn't stay away. They also had a story about Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

If I had another I think I'd go for homebirth simply because I barely made it to hospital last time!

i haven't seen this yet... but i do have it sky plussed so i'll probably watch it tonight or next weekend... especially seeing as midwifery is something i am looking into as a career.  i'm not sure if the program addresses this- but something that really really really irks me when i watch gmtv & the like- they're always going on about midwife shortages.  i wish they would clairify that it's a midwife position shortage.  there are newly qualified midwifes that the NHS has paid to go to school, who now do not have jobs.  craziness.

but as for homebirth- i'm not pregnant- not planning on being pregnant- but i think i'd try my darndest to go that route.  having 1 midwife at all times- 2 when in 2nd stage- ideal.  taking a shower in my own clean(ish) shower afterwards- ideal.  curling up in my own clean(ish) sheets.  lovely.  perhaps i'm naive- but i'd rather have limited pain relief options available to be able to get the time, attention, and sancuary I think i would need.

but as for homebirth- i'm not pregnant- not planning on being pregnant- but i think i'd try my darndest to go that route.  having 1 midwife at all times- 2 when in 2nd stage- ideal.  taking a shower in my own clean(ish) shower afterwards- ideal.  curling up in my own clean(ish) sheets.  lovely.  perhaps i'm naive- but i'd rather have limited pain relief options available to be able to get the time, attention, and sancuary I think i would need.

That's my theory. Especially the attention and sanctuary parts, not to mention the freedom.  If something is even slightly amiss regarding my pregnancy or labour, I will gladly transfer to hospital care.  However, that is not my first choice. 

I did not watch the program (on purpose), but I am very pleased that the homebirth option exists in the UK.  I did A LOT of reading on the pregnancy experience in the UK before we decided to move back and it seems that the general experience is highly dependent on luck (what Trust you are in, quality of midwifery care you receive, quality of follow-up care you receive, etc.).  The second biggest factor, for expats, seems to be your ability to adapt to a different system of care.  That seems to be dependent on your comfort with a non-medicalised view of pregnancy and how lucky you were with the Trust and midwives.  However, it also sounds like things could improve dramatically if the NHS were run differently.

It was the BBC, not ITV, and Panorama is a pretty reputable show from what I understand.

The flip side of all this is that they aren't all that bad. My son might well have died if I'd tried for a home birth. And while I had loads of horrid complications, I would say that overall, my care was very good and the complications weren't due to care. There were things that sucked, and one of the wards was closed due to staff shortages, but it could have been much, much worse.

Sadly, it is the luck of the draw in so many cases. I think big cities are probably the worst for overcrowding and under-staffing.

It was just depressing.  I'm still a bit traumatized from watching it.  I know it sounds silly as I have a healthy, happy and active baby girl but it just hit too close to home.  I purposely chose St Mary's because it's a children's hospital.  I could have delivered at Wythenshawe Hospital as I'm 1/2 way between both. I chose St Mary's.  My experience wasn't great but I now know how bad it could have been.  They were full, the midwives were dismissive and I wasn't given anything but paracetamol w/ codeine because I was in the maternity ward and not the delivery ward (no beds).  Being a first time mom I didn't know what to expect and what I should be getting. While watching Panorama I just cried for all the parents who lost babies because NO ONE EXAMINED THEM!!  It should be SOP to examine every woman when they first arrive.  I totally have changed my mind and don't want to have another one here in this country.  A huge turn around for me, I'm a huge supporter of the NHS and think it's just fab but...I dunno maybe  in a couple of weeks when I forget about the program.

My only question is what do they do in America??  How do they not run out of beds??  What is the difference??

My only question is what do they do in America??  How do they not run out of beds??  What is the difference??

My sister's doctor scheduled her a "room" at a particular hospital on the date they assumed she would be due. The baby came a week early, and they managed to fit her in there. My best friend, however, had an emergency c-section at 34.5 weeks, and was actually scheduled to have her baby at the same place as my sister. Unfortunately, all the rooms were full when she had to have the emergency c-section, so she was sent to a nearby hospital where there was room. I'm not sure if it always works this way though, because the places they were scheduled for rooms at is a very "fancy" place where the rooms are super nice (like a hotel) and there is a mommy spa where you can get manicures and pedicures. Pretty crazy.