Breast Feeding in Hospital.

nickyhutch

tiamai_d wrote: »

Would you have friends and family enough to make a trip of over 100miles to bring you food? Every day for weeks? (the baby was 9? weeks early so we are talking 7-9weeks at least)

Most mums (new or otherwise) don't have that kind of support. And then with baby in SCBU needing fed every 2 hours a visitor would be making that trip in the hope that mum has time to pop out and see them because you are usually only allowed one visitor in the unit per day. 2 hour feeds do not mean 2 hours in between feeds, its from start to start, so if a feed takes 30mins plus the 15min for cares before that then add in 15mins for getting into and out of the unit, it's an hour between feeds. Presumably she then has to express milk too, so thats another 30mins pumping, washing equipment, refrigerating and labelling milk.



The whole point you are missing is that there is not the option to pay for food.

I KNOW there isn't an option - I just said that there SHOULD be. If I read the original post rightly, though, there is a microwave (soup?) and a kettle.

If it were me? Honestly, I don't know if my family would rally round like that - I guess so, though. My Mum is retired so probably would. Honestly though, if it were me, and I was struggling so much, I'd change to FF. I know none of you want to hear that, but I would.

nickyhutch

SugarSpun wrote: »

The NHS frequently sends infants - and adults - to hospitals far from their local one to ensure better care. Like the mother above who lives in Glasgow but is with her baby in Bristol. How's she supposed to have her relatives drop in home cooked food?

In any case, this discussion is irrelevant: the hospital has no facilities to enable parents to fend for themselves - no restaurant and only a dodgy pub a longish dark walk away, and a shop that is staffed by volunteers and irregularly open. Given the number of infants shipped in from elsewhere, they need an infrastructure in place to deal with parents, breastfeeding mothers or not. The breastfeeding aspect just makes it more urgent, because if the mother isn't fed her supply will suffer.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood. I thought there was a microwave and kettle.

dangers

If the Somerfield is still where I think it is, then it isn't too far from the hospital. Although I do not know how large a supermarket it is. It won't be too big. There is also a Sainsburys within walking distance, although I can appreciate that the new mum will not feel like walking out and about in an area she doesn't know.

havetosave

Having visited St Michaels many times when my sisters baby was in the Nicu unit (being BF but with no food provided), we would often nip out for a coffee and sandwich at a lovely coffee shop a few minutes walk up the road.
There is no reason for the mother to not do the same, and a quite coffee shop is not a place to feel intimidated(sp) by. If there are other mothers on the ward, as with my sister, why not go and grab some food together so she won't be on her own.

feelinggood_2

nickyhutch wrote: »

Honestly though, if it were me, and I was struggling so much, I'd change to FF. I know none of you want to hear that, but I would.

The Mum would still need to be fed, and I imagine would still not want to leave the baby alone. I think sandwiches, pasta salads, cereal bars and other things should be bought and taken in. I think it is possible to eat healthily without cooking, and it might not be as nice, but isn;'t going to pose a risk.

emlou2009

ceebeeby wrote: »

Can someone show me the proof that hospital food is cold, crummy, unappetising and has sat on a hot plate for hours. This isn't a sarky, unfunny request trying to be smart - it's a genuine horror thought, that after all the hospital food reforms it's STILL not right!!!

Yep - that was what I was given when in the maternity unit almost a year ago!

nottslass_2

ceebeeby wrote: »

Can someone show me the proof that hospital food is cold, crummy, unappetising and has sat on a hot plate for hours. This isn't a sarky, unfunny request trying to be smart - it's a genuine horror thought, that after all the hospital food reforms it's STILL not right!!!

3 weeks ago whilst I was an inpatient, I was given an Egg Mayo Sandwich that was out of Date by 2 days.......................

I was Pregnant at the time so shouldn't really have been having mayonaise anyway,but to be given something so out of date is terrible - what if I had of been elderly with bad eye sight ?

weezl74

Some facts occur to me as I read this, which I feel are being missed or overlooked by some in the debate:

1 The NHS provides a service which we all pay for, and so we are its consumers. Martin Lewis has set up a website to help consumers of products and services to get what they are entitled to. Therefore any threads which are appropriate to this internet forum most definitely ARE about what people are entitled to. If anyone is annoyed to see a thread about entitlement then they are most definitely visiting the wrong website.

2. The NHS has a specific duty of care to all patients to not expose them to any greater risk whilst under its care. It also has a duty to feed and hydrate all its patients.

3. This baby is being nourished by the OPs daughter, whose milk supply will drop in energy and nutrient efficacy by 25% if her diet is poor as she begins to lactate. Further, as a premature baby, the hospital must not embark on a practice which is of greater risk to the baby, by forcing the mother to have to stop breastfeeding if she herself does not want to do this, since it is more risky to the baby and the hospital do not have the right to impose that on the mother or baby.

so, if the hospital fail to adequately nourish the OPs daughter they are withholding from the patient adequate nutrition, or forcing a risky choice which is not theirs to make.

They are failing in their duty of care.

The OP has rightly posted a thread about entitlement, in the right place and based on sound thinking about the duty of care that the NHS has to all its patients.

fernliebee

I'm sorry but I have never been in the situation of having a preemie baby in SCBU however I know how hard it can be getting Breast feeding established in a full term baby in the comfort of your own home. I am astounded that there are people on this thread saying she should be walking to a shop, going out for a coffee etc. For goodness sake I couldn't leave my DD with anyone else until she was at least a year and even then it was an hour, with my mum, and she was not poorly. I'm damn sure I would not be shifting from the bed side of a very sick newborn, especially when having to concentrate all my energy on feeding said baby.

Yes everyone has their own opinions but the simple fact is that it has been proven that breast fed preemies recover more quickly, and a mother should not be punished for choosing to do THE BEST for her child. I'm sure she would be willing to pay whatever it costs, this is not the issue (though personally I think she should be fed for free, as baby needs mum to feed) it is shocking that at a time when she has so much on her plate she is not just being brought food with other patients.

I want to send a food parcel myself!!! if I had an address for the hospital I would write and complain as I am so outraged about this. All the best for you OP, and your DD, and DgD. x

SingleSue

I have been in with my youngest son, not breast fed now as he is a wee bit too old (he is 12 next month!) but they give the person staying with the child (be that mum, dad or other relative/carer) breakfast.

All other meals we can either use the parents room with microwave for heating food and making cups of tea/coffee or go to one of the canteens in the hospital.

On his last admission, we missed evening meal time by the time they had him settled and as I hadn't eaten since early that day (and looked rather wavey on my feet), the nurse kindly did me some toast with marmalade.

I know how difficult it is to leave a young child on the ward, youngest was horrendous the first time he was admitted (he is autistic alongside other things wrong with him) and I had to literally wait at times until he had exhausted himself before I could get away to have a loo break...with a young baby, this must be even harder as they are totally reliant.

As I said, I don't know what they do with the BF mums but my hospital is Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk.