Difference in having baby in UK vs. US

After I gave birth I was taken to a ward with 3 other women, 2 of whom had already had their babies. The one in the bed next to me was having a full on party with all her friends and relatives. But even if she had Iron Maiden performing live in her cubicle it would not have stopped me falling asleep after 26 hours of labour. My husband went outside to make some calls and when he came back I was fast asleep and so was the baby (in a crib next to my bed).   

I've been fortunate not to have PND, but I've wondered if this 'ward' scheme and no well-baby nurseries contribute in some small way to PND. 

I don't wonder, I KNOW this definitely worsened my PND.  I just SO wanted s/one to take her away for a bit and to sleep unabated.  It wasn't that I didn't love her, it's just that all I could think of was drinking gallons of water and going to sleep and not having to worry about her until I felt better physically. 

PND can be VERY serious.  Mine was.  I'm glad I was in a place where it's treated as the disease it is and the mother isn't made to feel like a bad person or feel like she might lose her baby b/c she is ill.  I had wonderful support for my PND. 

If we have another, I'd like to have a home delivery so I can get some friggin' REST after the birth.

If we have another, I'd like to have a home delivery so I can get some friggin' REST after the birth.

I really needed the rest after birth and knew I'd get that at home.  After both my births, I went to the loo (after I got out of the birth tub) placenta was birthed within ten minutes then we all went to bed.  For me, that is the only way.  I find mothering extremely challenging and I knew way before I ever gave birth that I needed to go into mothering on a high.  I got that hormonal 'I can do anything!  I love life!' high from my birth and for me, that is what I need to start the journey.  I knew I'd have issues to get over if I had a 'normal' hospital birth and I couldn't deal with that AND mother a newborn.  I got the needed rest/sleep in my own bed from the beginning and that went a long way towards a speedy recovery for me.

Fascinating reading all of the birth stories in this thread.  Some stories I think, 'oh my f- god!' because the crap going on from the hospital is so awful.   :\\\'(

You can supposedly have a home birth in the UK but it was never presented to me as an option. I did ask our GP about it when I first got pregnant and he said I could if I was "low risk" but my age meant I would be "higher risk" - as it turned out I spent almost my entire labour at home anyway so I might as well have had a home birth! 

Sounds like my GP with his 'no homebirth for any woman' line.  That is just uninformed, full stop.  Which is why I ignored him completely.

AIMS (http://www.aims.org.uk/) was very helpful for me as it's all about choice (legally speaking) but like you mentioned, Britwife, so often the choices are not presented and that needs to change.
BirthchoiceUK was a good resource for me, too.

I'm not the first to say women should have the choice that works for them in birth with regard to birth place and everything else. 

To be honest in the end it would not have mattered much to me where the birth took place, I just wanted the baby OUT! I was supposed to be in a birthing pool etc at the hospital but I laboured on at home (literally) more or less by myself, except for my husband, and only arrived at hospital in the nick of time.  It seemed like a huge deal while I was pregnant to have total control over everything but in the end I was happy with how it went.

Yay Indymom!  Why didn't I think of this??  I have been scouring the internet for info on birthing here in the UK, and all along it was right under my nose!  Thank you all for writing your experiences!

My main question was 'do I have birthing options here?'  Now. I it looks like I just have to figure out how to get what I want out of the system.

I also am intrigued by the standard midwife care here.  I saw a group of midwives (never an OB) who were fantastic for my prenatal care/delivery in the US, but I wonder if the care is as outstanding when they are the 'norm' ...in the US they still have to prove themselves, you know?

One more thing, the pain relief options here: there are so many!!  Why aren't there that many choices (at most hospitals) in the US??  And I want to know the effects of those meds on the baby during delivery.

A little off topic - but I always wondered where would be the best place for a woman who has lost - or even given up - her baby is in the hospital schematics. Where I lived in Florida, those giving up babies for adoption were taking off the maternity floor right after giving birth and placed in - of all places - the ward with the more "mentally unstable" patients.

two hospitals I worked at would place those women on the general medical floor, mainly so they wouldn't hear babies crying.  can you imagine, if they were placed on a psych ward, that would be a continuation of an already horrible nightmare !