Hospital stay

I was told I wasn’t allowed to move at all, especially as I had a catheter in most of the day and halfway through the night. I just had to buzz the midwives and they helped me with anything I needed - passing me my little boy, changing him, putting him back down, etc x

My hospital allowed my mum to stay with me x

You might be able to move more than you think. The nursing staff are around to help as well. If you really struggle then they will happily have baby at the nurses station for a bit so you can rest. I would try to not worry about that now. You will manage. Every mum does.

I had everything to hand, nappy bag on the bed and I held the baby all night. I changed baby on my lap and breastfed. I had Bluetooth wireless ear buds, popped one in and listened to music or watched Netflix throughout the night. I had lots of snacks and drinks. It wasn’t too bad, I was just in awe of actually having my baby in my arms. Bring plenty of peppermint tea - it’ll help with any trapped wind and it actually helped me go to the loo the next day xx

They were great with me, i had to have an emergency c section at quarter to 6pm so didn’t get out of recovery till 7:30pm and my partner was able to stay with me for a few hours over visiting as i couldn’t do anything so he had to pass me the baby and do the changes at first but it gave him some great bonding time. The epidural lasts about six hours until you can get up to move the advice i got and took was as soon as the 6 hours were up and i could move my leg and sit up in bed, So when i could even at 2am I asked for help to get out of bed to the chair to have a wash and from then i was good i was able to sit myself up and get to my little one, but on top of that they help set you up so your baby is right next to you and you can get to them with minimal movement and so you don’t have to get out of bed. With the catheter that stays in until it runs clear so just make sure you stay hydrated, and don’t worry it’s not that hard to move about with xx

I couldn’t move overnight as I had baby at 3pm so still had catheter in until next morning. They did get me out of bed at 9pm and sat me in the chair but I was bleeding so got me back in bed after cleaning me up. Just press the buzzer whenever you need them to pass you baby. It was tough because my baby would cry unless she was lying on me but obviously I couldn’t sleep if she was on me. I think I slept 1.5 hours the whole time I was in hospital (27 hours) but it was much better at home as partner was right there plus the next to me was level with our bed so I could easily pick her up. To be honest you worry before hand but when baby is here you just do it and don’t even think about it. I think a lot of that first night is fuelled by adrenaline. But even the next day when my partner came back I couldn’t nap because I just wanted to be with the baby and him. My ward was so busy and they seemed so understaffed but they still came, they understand you can hardly move x

I just pressed the buzzer non stop 😂 I had an emergency c section but had norovirus the day before I gave birth so I was exhausted my partner was able to stay til 11 as I was still completely out of it and then one of the midwives offered to take my LG for a few hours as I was extremely unwell. Anytime I buzzed they were happy to come and support when I had her as movement was minimal but I think I mentally wasn’t available rather than the physical side being an issue x

I've been having similar thoughts Laura, my c section is on Tuesday and I'm anxious about the same things, so this is really helpful, thank you.

My partner could stay with me however I told him to go home and get some rest as we’d had 2 long days of induction before the c-section. I had my c-section at 11am and was up and moving by 10pm. I was in small amounts of pain up until about 5/6am and then felt like I needed to cry in pain but managed to get some more pain relief and I felt a bit better again. I was home by 12pm that day. Throughout the night my little one wouldn’t sleep and just wanted to be cuddled so I was up and down quite a lot with her. x

Wait since when can’t the husbands stay? I had an unplanned c-section during covid I was in hospital For a week. My husband stayed with me for a week

@Jen Since Covid, the hospital trust in my area no longer allow partners to stay overnight. They have to leave by 8pm. When I had my first which was the year before Covid he was allowed to stay with me but I didn't have a c section that time.

Double check on the hospital website if they do let your husband stay. My hospital allowed birth partner to stay 24 hours. I made him go home though so he could rest and just did the buzzer and asked the midwives to help out if needed. They did a nappy change for my LG at night as I struggled to get out of bed. Don’t worry too much as there are usually good midwives who don’t mind helping x

@Reema yeah I have checked website and spoke to midwife and they're definitely not allowed to stay 😞 fingers crossed I will only need the one night stay!

Thankfully with my second due in November my partner can stay for the duration, however with my first their rule were partners leave by 9pm. I got my partner to place everything I’d need in the night on the little table that goes over the bed, so everything was in easy reach before he left.

I had my c-section at 10am and by 6pm I had my catheter out and was able to get up and walk slowly and take a shower. Hopefully you will be able to get about but if not you can just buzz the midwifes and they will be able to help you with anything you need. Plus they come round pretty religiously anyway to do post surgery checks and offer pain meds so you won't be left alone for long. Good luck xx

Have you checked with your hospital? My husband stayed with me the full week I was in hospital after my first c section and we had a private room so we could both shower etc

@Holly yeah unfortunately they do not allow partners to stay 😞

I had an emergency c- section and my partner was allowed to stay with me the midwives made a bed for him. It was our first baby and we didn’t have a clue so we got help from them too. When he wasn’t there I just had to press the button near the bed and I’d get help. Don’t worry too much you will be fine x

Is it hospital policy your partner can't stay? Some hospitals allow partners and some don't (if mine had made mine left they would have got one hell of a melt down from me, to the point it would have been easier to let him stay then deal with my crazy ass).

@Helen yes unfortunately hospital policy. And I asked my midwife who also confirmed he won't be able to stay.

My partner stayed with me but I'm not sure if it was because I had the c section and my baby was born at 7:55pm and I didn't go onto the ward until 11:30pm

@Laura that really sucks. Having them there is so useful. I struggled to get out of bed so my husband was basically doing everything. He was changing her nappies and clothes then bringing her to me. He went and got more water for the jug and generally helped keep me calm (I had a few break downs because breastfeeding just wasn't going well). It's also thanks to him that I actually was cared for because they were soo understaffed. He turned my drip off when it stopped, delt with my hand bleeding when my canula fell out, and was checking on me every hour before I was white as a sheep (they looked at me once in 8 hours) - he is a nurse and worked on a surgical ward for 5 years so that did help.

My daughter was born via section at 9.20am. At 8pm when they were sending ny partner home I was up and out of bed walking around. Very slowly and a bit wobbly. I still had a catheter in. I found the staff were very helpful but I was able to walk around and do much more on my own then I thought I would of been able to xx