Birth at Charlotte Jean
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Category: Pregnant
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=39680
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Topic: Birth at Charlotte Jean
Posted By: eassa
Subject: Birth at Charlotte Jean
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 8:56am
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Any one birthed at Charlotte Jean Maternity Unit in Alex?
What was you experience like? I am planning on having my first there. |
Replies:
Posted By: countingdown
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 10:08am
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I did, about 9 weeks ago. It was an awesome experience! I wrote about my time there in my blog, I'll copy/paste the excerpt, but feel free to ask me any specific questions.
Charlotte Jean Maternity House 'Charlotte Jean', named after the midwife who established the facility, is not actually a hospital. The nearest hospital to us is in Dunedin, which is about an hour and 40 minutes away. Charlotte Jean Maternity House is just an ordinary brick house with four bedrooms and a large kitchen/lounge area. There are no doctors, but there is a midwife available 24/7, and the client's own midwife is there for the birth and aftercare. There is no pain relief available and if anything was to go wrong then the client would have to be transferred to Dunedin either by ambulance or helicopter. Other than having to be induced with Jude, the birth was straightforward and I was expecting the same this time so I didn't have any concerns about not being in a hospital. CJ was the ideal place to give birth. I had my own room with ensuite, a lovely queen sized bed, a television, and for most of my stay I was the only mum in there. At lunchtime the midwife would come in and ask what I would like from the bakery, and for dinner I was given a range of menus from the local restaurants and told to choose what I wanted (all free). Jason would have been welcome to stay with me, but it was best that he stayed with Jude. Nevertheless they were also well looked after when they came to visit, and in typical Jude fashion, he had Sharon the daytime midwife running around after him making toast and patiently answering all his questions (she thought he was great apparently). I feel very fortunate to have access to such a facility, and it has been a fantastic start to becoming a mum of two. |
Posted By: eassa
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 10:35am
| CJ sounds like a great place to birth at. How long did you stay after having your second one? |
Posted By: countingdown
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 10:47am
| I stayed two nights. I knew that with a preschooler I would have to hit the ground running when I got home! |
Posted By: BabyNo2Time
Date Posted: 24 June 2011 at 6:14pm
Hi Eassa. I had my baby at Charlotte Jean last July. We had intended to go to Dunedin for the birth, but things happened a lot sooner than we anticipated, and once contractions started I decided there was no way I wanted to travel the distance. My midwife said there was noone at CJ and I could have my pick of the rooms. I've visited a number of my friends in the ensuite room so picked that one! It was fantastic! The nurses were all lovely, and being waited on hand and foot was superb. My husband stayed with me the whole time (except for the occasional trip home for a shower and to feed the cat). We went in 1pm on Friday arvo and left at lunchtime on Sunday. I highly recommend it.  ------------- Up the Duff with #2. DS turns 3 in July. http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/293b14" rel="nofollow - My Ovulation Chart |