Breast Feeding in Hospital.

SusanC_2

More replies I've had:

I went in as a very postnatal mum to the John Radcliffe, with DD (2 weeks) and
DS (10 days) - neither time did I get any food at all and I felt quite cross
about it, as I was only just recovering from birth!

Both my babies were readmitted because of feeding problems at 7 days and 5
days old. I stayed with them, was fed and was lent expressing equipment,
although I had much more real support with my 2nd baby in early 2009 than my
first in May 2007. But even with paediatrics and maternity in the same
hospital my support was from maternity staff coming up to paediatrics to
visit me. Both my babies were both born at the Whittington Hospital,
Archway.

Your friend should also get in touch with organisations local to her
daughter who may have trained breastfeeding counsellors, in case any can do
hospital visits, particularly if as sounds likely baby is being treated in a
hospital which doesn't have maternity services.

I had 2 prems I didnt stay in with them but spend all day in SCBU arriving very
early and leaving late and never recieved a free meal......I was given a note
letting me into the staff canteen but had to pay for the food. With parking and
meals costs.........its not good!

In singleton hospital Swansea in 1999, we were given a note so my dh and
i could take it in turns and get staff rate in the hospital canteen. Our
son was 9 months and breastfed. His twin sister came in briefly while we
swapped dad for mum once as there was no one to mind her and caught
gastroenteritis on the ward possibly from a grubby play mat ( but thats
another story and its not what my son had) The breastfeeding and other
logistics was actually easier once they admitted her too because we
couldn't give her any paraceutamol in the hospital, I don't drive and
both twins needed my breast milk



It wasn't until just before we left 3 days later that we saw a a[poster
on a board next to the closed parents room saying that there was a policy
breastfeeding mums could have food on the ward. Once both babies were
admitted mu husband was able to be with the children while i ate but i
have heard stories of other mums who didn't know about the policy going
without food.

I don't know what the current policy is

teacherandmum

Neville hall hospital, abergavenny, gwent fed me for 5 days after dd was born. i had my own room on scbu but went up to the maternity ward for my food. there was a small kitchen at scbu too. I tried bf for 3 days but it didn't work out so i ff (also supplied by the hospital!)

alm721

I was in Hull Royal Infirmary for 10 days a couple of years ago with my son when he caught whooping cough at 6 weeks old. They would not feed me, there was a kitchen with a kettle and toaster. There was a main canteen several floors down however I had to leave my son and given that the nurses did not always come when his alarm went off I would not leave him and relied on visitors to bring me food.
To make matters worse I slipped in the very very poor condition shower room and managed to tear several ligaments in my knee. I was in a hell of a state and they didn't even bring me ice. Even when I physically couldn't get to the canteen even if I wanted to they still didn't bring me any food.
I do remember one nurse bringing me a cup of tea and then getting told off by someone as we wer'nt supposed to take cups out of the kitchen.
Hope to god I never have to experience that again!

JBD

alm721 wrote: »

I was in Hull Royal Infirmary for 10 days a couple of years ago with my son when he caught whooping cough at 6 weeks old. They would not feed me, there was a kitchen with a kettle and toaster. There was a main canteen several floors down however I had to leave my son and given that the nurses did not always come when his alarm went off I would not leave him and relied on visitors to bring me food.
To make matters worse I slipped in the very very poor condition shower room and managed to tear several ligaments in my knee. I was in a hell of a state and they didn't even bring me ice. Even when I physically couldn't get to the canteen even if I wanted to they still didn't bring me any food.
I do remember one nurse bringing me a cup of tea and then getting told off by someone as we wer'nt supposed to take cups out of the kitchen.
Hope to god I never have to experience that again!

It makes me really sad to read posts like this. When I was in nursing, 20 odd years ago we didn't think twice about giving visitors and relatives food if we felt they really needed it. As a minimum we would make tea and toast for people sitting with dying relatives, for example. Also if there were spare meals left over we would certainly offer them if we felt visitors really needed them, and I'm sure a breastfeeding mother of a very young baby would come into this category.

beckseven

My son was admitted to SCBU at Kettering General Hospital in 2006 at 5 days old due to severe dehydration and losing 20% of his bodyweight due to me not producing enough milk and having problems bf but when i expressed my fears my mw told me i wasn't doing it properly and that in no way was I to give him a bottle. different story thought and off topic. The care for my son in KGH SCBu was great but for myself was different. The first night it wasn't certain that my son would survive the night but there was no bed for me anywhere in the hospital so I was told i could either go home (unthinkable to leave my seriously ill baby alone) or sleep on the parents room floor. 5 days after giving birth and having lots of stitches I slept on a tiled floor in feb. Also I was still bf and expressing milk to be tube fed to my baby and there was no food provided-just a microwave. I llived on soup and cadbury's creme eggs and lost a lot of weight in the week i was in-so much so that the nurses noticed and told me to be careful. I'd never thought about the food issue before but i am now and it is very important.

choccybuttons

Hi

Me and my week old son stayed at belfast childrens hospital when he had suspected meningitis in September 2008. They feed breast feeding mothers but often forgot - main advantage that the hospital was next to the maternity so even had a midwife come and see me to make sure he was feeding right.

bylromarha

OP-have just returned from hols and see this is still going on. Hope your grandchild is doing better now.

If the hospital are still being unhelpful, and DD now has a house, is there anyway you can use the time between now and when you next visit to cook a pile of meals for DD to bung in the freezer at the house and defrost and reheat as needed?

Also think the home delivery option has merits - I think its Sainsbury's who promise to deliver in 1 hour slots, meaning DD can still meet the 2 hour feeding need.

All the best.

moneypanicker

My children were born at St Michaels - they don't seem the best at encouraging breast feeding. They also have a weird policy on post-natal ward that you leave your babies to have your meals at a separate dining room.

On a seperate note i am also a children's nurse and when we had breastfeeding mums on the ward we had a duty to feed them - ok it might not have been great food but they would have been given something!! This has been policy in 2 hospitals i've worked at.

I would pursue this with ward manager and then write to chief exec. If baby was born at St michaels mum may still be classed as in-patient and then they would have to feed her. I think this is disgusting :mad:

msb5262

Hello OP,

Sorry, I haven't had the opportunity to read the entire thread but your DD's situation is a disgrace to the NHS. I hope she is ok and that the baby is doing well.

In your position I would be emailing the chief executive and letting him know in no uncertain terms that your daughter NEEDS to have food provided, even if payment is required, and that unless the situation is remedied in very short order you will be involving the local press, radio, TV etc.

Copy the email to your local MP, your daughter's MP if different and to the MP local to the hospital.

End your message with the statement that you look forward to hearing his/her response and that you will be emailing or ringing every day until the situation is resolved.

Meanwhile have you considered starting a thread here asking if any MSE-ers are local to the hospital and would be willing to drop in on your daughter taking her some food? I know I would gladly help if I weren't the wrong end of the country.

Best wishes

MsB

a155sjd

little one was at St George's tooting for a hernia op& I was breastfeeding - i was given food - think it wasnormalfor all bf mothers there in 2008