Giving birth at Wellington hospital

Anybody know if Wellingon hospital provide nappies, sanitary pads etc after birth?

I've had some great feedback what to pack in my hospital bag but just wanted to hear from anyone who had given birth in Wellington hospital as to what was provided/available, seems every hospital is different.

Also heard thru the grapevine of two women who ended up with C- sections and were left to fend for themselves completely after birth so if anyone knows if DH can stay as long as he likes after the birth to help out or do they kick them out at a certain time?

Thanks, any feedback greatly appreciated!

Edited by Tanners

No nappies but we did get sanitary pads - you get 7 so will need a few more of your own too!

Re Dads staying... Well my story is my DD was born at 8.08pm and we got to postnatal ward at about 10pm and the nurses came and said he had to leave right away as visiting hours had finished and that he could return at 8am if he really wanted to. I really wish I had laid a complaint now as apparently others have told me he could have stayed! I was in a double room but it was pretty quite on the ward when Lily was born and even when we were discharged 2 days later. Re how long you can stay, I was in for 2 days and discharged because I was handling things well etc. They do pretty much leave you to it though and when DD was 1 day old she managed to pee and poo everywhere out of her nappy all over her clothes and bedding so I got her out and put her on my bed and she mucked that up too! So I got her changed and pulled hers and my bedding off and then buzzed the nurse! She actually told me I should have just buzzed her at the start (oops!) but I'd thought she wouldn't want to help change the nappy and wipe her up etc! Anyway that was when the 'you're ready to go home speech' happened!
I also found the nurses got a bit annoyed on the first night too... With a new baby I had a lot of questions 'Is that normal' etc and I must have buzzed them half a dozen times in the first 3-4 hours that the nurse ended up showing me how to cosleep so she was right there!

My understanding as to why they leave you to it a bit is so you learn to cope and do these things for yourself/by yourself as once you go home etc you are by yourself.
I know with C-sects from other mums that they like to get you out of bed as soon as possible and I recently had surgery on my abdomen area and found this the case too and it's more for your recovery as it's better to be up and about rather than laying in bed.

Oh yeah, I second the snack idea too! I took snacks more so because I like to eat small and regularly. Food while I was there wasn't bad but wasn't the 'greatest'. I also took a bit of juice too because Water can get boring after a while ;)

They do have nappies, but only flat cloth ones and you have to ask for them. Much easier just to take some disposibles .

I shared a room one night, but the second night had it all to myself. I found the midwifes/nurses really helpful although I could have been there at a less busy time than some of the others. They even heated up bubs clothes for me the night he was born to make him really toasty. No pressure to leave, but I was ready to come home after 2 days, plus someone else arrived to share my room that night and I figured I would probably get more sleep at home.

One thing I found was that the curtains stayed pulled between the two beds in the room the whole time. Although privacy is good, I think it would have been good to chat with the other Mum too. I could, of course, have pulled the curtains back myself but I guess you don't know if the other Mum wants that or not.

I had a c section last year, I was transferred down at about 4am, DH was kicked out (I should have demanded he stay, I will next time if we are in hosp), and I was put into a shared room. Just after breakfast I got transferred to my own room, and day 3 I transferred out to Kenepuru. Got transferred back to Wellington the next night (a couple of infections and no milk so baby had lost a lot of weight) and DH stayed with me for the next 4 nights till we were allowed to go home. I stayed in Delivery the first night I got transferred back (but it wasnt shared).
DH was allowed to stay past the 8.30 visiting hours (and I saw other people who had their DPs staying, so if I had asked/demanded he prob would have been able to) We didnt ask when iw as transferred back, we just did it (not that I could walk or move anyway).
As others have said you get maternity pads (they were the most comfy ones I had, brilliant!) and old cloth nappies.
I too would take snacks (or get people to bring you in extra food) I am rather fussy so barely touched my hospital meals, but wolfed down other food bought in to me.
I dont remember being left to fend for myself, I remember them trying to give me painkillers that I didnt want, but gave them to me later when i needed them! I remember the MW taking DD for a bit could I couldnt get her to sleep (yeah, cos she was starving!) I didnt like one of the MWs, but loved the others.
Oh they were a bit slow getting me discharged when we were finally allowed to go home (and also being transferred) so make sure you give them a rark up if they are taking too long!

Nah it really was the MWs, with the transfer they dont use an ambulance, someone has to drive you, so they just needed to get my notes together (dr had already signed off on it) and with my discharge I just needed another lot of bloods done. my MW came in and took them, aparently the MW who was looking after me in the hosp couldnt take bloods? So my MW took them then I was able to go home as soon as the results came though (like an hour later), so sorry but it really was the MWs in my case

They couldn't kick me out fast enough!

I had a c-section and was given a room by myself which I was transferred to around 2-3am. The midwife who was with us said DH could stay but there was a change of shift and the next one kicked him out. I am still angry about this. Until they removed all the tubes and needles the next morning I couldn't sit up and needed assistance to feed my baby. I felt so disempowered and alone without DH to help me.

The midwives came pretty quickly whenever I buzzed. I think I was getting prioritised because of the c-section and later because my milk didn't come in and my baby lost more than half his body weight. A lot of them were really good.

I can't even imagine what it would have been like if I hadn't had a private room (at one point DS wouldn't stop crying after hours and hours - because he was hungry but no one worked it out - and I just put him down on the bed and cried myself for about half an hour). I think if they had to make me share they would have moved me pretty quickly because of all the special needs we developed.

It did take a full day to be discharged but they told us it was because there was another baby who was seriously ill that they had to admit to nicu - couldn't really argue with that.

I found the food better than I expected, although my expectations were pretty low.

I used to work at Wgtn Hospital and have had two babies there.

There are pads in the bathrooms - and sometimes in the side of your baby's cot. Since you share bathrooms they can run out quickly so don't feel bad asking for more. I strongly recommend jandals for the bathroom......there is a lot of blood......

If you need help from a midwife then you should absolutly use the call bell. The response time in the new hospital is just amazing, but do remember that there is one less midwife per shift at night, and sometimes they are busy dealing with other people.

If you are in Delivery Suite you can have someone with you at all times. The reasons that they ask partners/ support people to leave after 8.30 are:
* safety and security (there used to be men coming and going all night, and the midwives spent all their time getting up to open the door to let people in). Women on the ward complained about men wandering around at night, making noise etc.
* Partners using the bathrooms and showers (effectively doubling demand on them) so that women couldn't use them when needed.
* Everyone wanting mattresses/ bedding for the overnight stay and there was not enough equipment or space for this(some partners didn't wear nightware either)
* Disturbing people sharing the room.

Anecdotally, partners were staying all night, they were not sleeping well in chairs, it was keeping up the mothers when they needed rest as well.

I'm not anti-partner, but there are some good reasons not to have partners hanging round all night - and remember it was the women on the ward complaining about other people's partners. That being said, I was really upset when my partner had to leave the first night.

If you birth in the evening or early hours and are transferred to the ward your partner will likely be asked to leave. You can try seeing if you can stay in Delivery Suite a bit longer to stall things.

Women who are seriously ill (e.g. after a big bleed) and are not able to safely look after the baby can have exceptions made for them.

Take extra snacks - it is a long time between dinner and breakfast. They do provide extra snacks now (flavoured milk or cheese & crackers) that are delivered at breakfast and dinner. There is a Wishbone on site, as well as the hospital cafeteria.

Congratulations - good luck!!!