Try this one. I think the above is not connecting for some reason.
There is no 'right' for British women to have pain relief when in labour!
by Gill 39 Replies latest jw experiences
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Gill
After being home for nearly three days now, my neighbours daughter has still had no midwife or doctor attend her as they are 'very busy' and will get round as soon as they can.
Did someone say that the UK was dissolving into a green amorphous sludge?
Basically, we're all too apathetic and continue to allow everyone to tread us into the ground. Those who raise an issue are ignored as 'complaining is embarrassing and 'alarmist'. So the innocent continue to suffer while we all look the other way in and embarrassed 'british' silence!
Who is more vulnerable than a woman in labour and her baby?
Crazy world, and I remember how fantastic, excellent and first class the Maternity services used to be in this country!
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The-Borg
Your scaring me now, my wife is due in 9 weeks.!!
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dinah
I've heard several "horror stories" here in America from women who gave birth while on Medicaid because they had low income and no health insurance. So things aren't as rosy here as we are led to believe.
My best friend had private insurance when both of her babies were born. She didn't get pain relief either time because her labor went faster than they thought and by they time the staff got around to checking on her, it was too late for an epidural. Your OB will tell you every labor is different.
Thankfully your friend and her baby survived!
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fifi40
I think this thread highlights once again the hand of the media..........Horror stories in the UK............Horror stories in the USA.
I do hope those who have babies due soon (mum's or dad's) decide to keep their rational head on and approach the birth of their child with all the joy and happiness they should, whilst understanding that giving birth is painful, and although it would appear some hospitals are overstretched, be confident that if you do have an emergency the people you will need are close at hand.
Rather than jump on the next plane to USA (as suggested by Burn who is totally against any form of UHC, and paid somewhere in the region of £1500 for the service he received, in addition to his normal monthly health insurance payments) if you want to go private and can afford to, pay for it.....you too will be kept in the hotel style manner described by Burn........but if you cant remember 1000's of babies are born in the UK every year with the medical assistance and healthcare of the NHS and a very high percentage of those are satisfied with the service they get
Fi.
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Gill
Fifi40 - Your respect for the NHS is admirable and I also think that it has been a wonderful service.....but 'has been' is the operative phrase.
If we really care about the NHS we should not ignore the symptoms of its terminal illness and starvation of essential funding!
The first link I gave , that wasn't working, tells of 1000 avoidable still births in the UK.
That is 1000 bereaved sets of parents, two sets of grandparents potentially for each baby, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters etc all grieving the loss of a baby that died because of lack of training and funding.
Saying, the NHS is fine because 9 out of 10 women survive the experience or the 'majority' are satisified' with their experience does no service to the NHS as it is a 'Universal' service and just because it appears to be free doesn't mean we should accept second class treatment.
At the Hospital in question that my daughter in law gave birth women are routinly turfed out of the hospital even in the middle of the night only a few hours after giving birth. That in itself should make us begin wondering what is going wrong.
The Health Service should not become a lottery where the majority survive, and never mind the minority who don't make it.....and what are we monaing for.....it's 'Free'!?
We have to fight for it to be first class again. Pretending it is 'OK' is not how we move forward.
Demanding the best for EVERYONE is the only way forward.
Women about to give birth should not be afraid but should be aware of 'potential' problems and have their partners ready to fight tooth and nail for them as my neighbour had to for her daughter. If she hadn't done that, that little boy would probably be dead by now! He is not an 'acceptable statistic' simply because the NHS 'appears' to be free.
If we care for it we need to not ignore where it is failing, and certainly praise the staff for the work they are doing while being strangled to death by a totally incompetent government that needs a boot up its arse!
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fifi40
Gill
You seem to be making an awful lot of assumptions about what I think as your words bare little resemblance to the 2 posts I have made on this subject, and you appear to infer that I think the NHS is just 'fine and dandy' and I have no concern for a minority of people who do not receive excellent treatment......oh and I think its free.
My point in both of my posts is for those who are soon to be 'guests' of the NHS to deliver their babies that they need not get into a sudden panic about what sort of experience they can expect based on the bad experience of the minority.
Having lost my first baby, I know to well the grief surrounding such an event for all the family........but I also know that had my son been born today his chances of survival would have been far greater because of medical advancement.
In no way do I think that the NHS is perfect, or that this government has not had an adverse effect on the NHS and I would gladly support a government that increased funding for the NHS, promised and actioned a proposal for improving the NHS service and improving the standard delivered to all. Whichever government that has the unenviable task of improving the NHS has a big job on its hands and one that cannot be accomplished overnight ............. for now we have to work with what we have got, and what we have is fundamentally a successful system albeit in need of serious overhaul.
As a matter of interest how are you suggesting we 'demand the best for everyone' or 'fight for it to be first class again'? Because if there is some physical way in which I personally can make a difference (other than voting for a government that makes the reform of the NHS a priority) I would be willing to consider giving time to it.
Meanwhile I reiterate my earlier sentiment for those who are soon to be using the NHS maternity facilities.........dont get into a panic over it and if you have concerns talk to your GP or midwife about them.
Fi
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funkyderek
Gill:
This young woman did not even have a private room to herself but was in a crowded ward!
There's the problem. She should have gone private. Then she could have had whatever form of pain relief she wished.
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Gill
Fifi - I apologise for any hurt feelings, completely.
As for those who are about to go into hospital to have their babies, more than likely everything will be fantastic, but forewarned is forearmed!
When my children cross the road, I remind them to be careful, vigilant and constantly observant. The same is the case for anyone about to use the Maternity Services. No doubt all will be fine.....but, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be extra careful and aware that their partner may have to support them more than he would have expected. Most births would go well even without hospital care, but it's the minority that slip through the net and suddenly turn dangerous that midwives and doctors should be on the look out for, and if they are over stretched someone may have to physically force them to help.
In the case of my neighbour, she had to insist and say 'NO' to the midwife who was about to walk out leaving her labouring daughter with her baby's heart rate falling, and no pain relief. First time and even experienced parents are not aware of signs to look out for, and overstretched midwives may not have time to observe these signs. She forced the midwife to fetch doctors and they intervened. Had this young girl and her young boyfriend been on their own, we might be recounting a different story as they didn't understand that things were going wrong.
FunkyDerek - Usually ALL women give birth in a private delivery room in a hospital, NOT in a ward. It is unusual in the extreme to give birth on a ward and not acceptable!
When I had my first child 23 years ago, we used to have such a thing as 11 weeks of antenatal classes and preparation for birth for 2 hours a week. It was always stressed that though a certain amount of pain in labour is inevitable, any excrutiating pain was unacceptable and we would always be helped. Labour should NEVER turn into a nightmare experience. If we needed an epidural it would be provided and there would always be a midwife with us throughout labour. Even eight years ago with my last child, this WAS still the case.
Now, there are virtually no antenatal classes available. Pain relief is NOT a right. And you'll be lucky to get a midwife to attend you during your labour as she is too busy running from room to room. Women are left totally alone if they have no partner with a midwife dropping in now and again. It is a sad and tragic deterioration. Women should not be sent home from hospital a few hours after giving birth and especially not in the middle of the night.
Someone with 23 years experience can see how the service has deteriorated and is NOT what it was and what it should be.
Fifi - Again with any apologies for any hurt feelings, but I think the first step is to get involved with our MPs. We could email the government email address and perhaps......someone who knows about setting these things up should set up some kind of on line petition.
Anyone who is about to have a child should consider learning all they can about the experience and getting antenatal classes.
A relative of mine has already decided that she will hire a private midwife for her care and labour at the local NHS hospital just to be sure that she has a midwife with her.
Labour is usually straight forward. But things can go pear shaped very suddenly, it did with all of mine. I wonder if I would have survived any of my labours in the 21st century when I hear what happens today.
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BurnTheShips
Now, there are virtually no antenatal classes available. Pain relief is NOT a right. And you'll be lucky to get a midwife to attend you during your labour as she is too busy running from room to room. Women are left totally alone if they have no partner with a midwife dropping in now and again. It is a sad and tragic deterioration. Women should not be sent home from hospital a few hours after giving birth and especially not in the middle of the night.
Someone with 23 years experience can see how the service has deteriorated and is NOT what it was and what it should be.
Well, maybe I am just ignorant, but can't you choose your own medical staff over there? We chose ours based on recommendations and previous experience. We even interviewed our providers before hand. If our midwife and doula had been too busy we would have hired a different one. Our midwife's birthing center even had a birthing class my wife forced me to attend before hand.
You don't get to choose who you use over there?
Burn