*not in a private room, a la a princess, but procedurally it would be the same.
I was cracking up last night because they were showing on tv how in the UK they give women laughing gas while in labor. I remember being completely W.T.F! about this when I found during my NCT classes. Except they call it "gas and air".
1. You can go home as soon as your baby is checked out by the Pedi (assuming no birth complications). The Pedi's work "office hours" though - for example, I had C at 2pm, but didn't get up to the recovery ward until 8pm due to complications of getting my placenta out (it took a long time and they put me on a pitocin drip to make sure my uterus completely contracted down). Therefore I had to stay overnight and wait for the Pedi to get there the next morning.
2. They are EXTREMELY au-natural about birth in the UK. It's all mid-wife led and you only see an OB is you are a high risk pregnancy or need a c-section. If you ask for the epi, they won't push back...but do offer you gas and air and a warm bath first. I delivered at the John Radcliff in Oxford and right before C was born they had remodeled the top floor, which included a couple of pool birthing rooms as well as a sensory room for you to labor in. All in all very pro-natural birth. You have 3 options for delivery if you have a healthy pregnancy:
1. Home birth 2. Mid-wifery center (only drugs are gas and air...if you have an emergency they will transfer you to a hospital) 3. Hospital
All 3 options are mid-wife led deliverys (unless complications arise/c-section as I mentioned above.)
Why is the gas so prevalent there whereas in the US it's unheard of?
No idea! But I do know that it doesn't "cross the placenta", so it's deemed safer than a narc or epi.
Other fun facts:
1. You get a blue folder at the beginning of your pregnancy. It has every stich of medical information about your pregnancy-birth. You are suppose to bring it everywhere with you, as it's the only complete record of your health and stats. I was like WHAT...and my mid-wife was like, yes...oh, maybe you should make a copy, just in case.
2. When the baby is born, you give back the blue folder and get a red booklet in exchange. This is where every stich of your childs medical history is recorded.
3. Midwifes come to your house at day 3 and 10 and for the next month (if i recall correctly). From then on, with exception of getting vaxes, you take them to a community center (weekly if you want) to weigh them. For me, it was set up in the assembly hall of our local elementry school every wednesday. I would roll up and the mid-wives would have several scales set up and you would then record the weight on a sheet of paper (so the mid-wives could review and make sure your baby was growing) and then in your red book.
Post by gretchenindisguise on Jul 23, 2013 13:37:59 GMT -5
There is a show I just discovered on Netflix called "Call the Midwife" about midwifery in a poor section of London (I think) in early 1900s. It's really interesting that the tradition of midwifery didn't translate to US.
Also - shouldn't downtown abbey's births been by midwifes and not doctors? Or is having a doctor there a nobility thing?
I was told I could leave after 6 hours (in London) but I stayed overnight. I was not prepared to leave after 6 hours. They totally pushed gas and air on me to the point that I had to tell them to sop, it was awful and made me vomit. They also pushed pethidine on me (demerol) and I passed on that too. They were quick to offer up an epidural but I said no. It was all midwifery led (and I had a male midwife deliver my son)
But fields, you forgot to mention the best part of the whole thing - the midwives come to you for a couple of weeks after you have the baby, so you don't have to leave your house. It is awesome.
I hated carrying my medical records with me, but still have ds's red book. I also had to test my own urine, which I refused to do and they loved to point out how American I was. They also mentioned that when I requested the gestational diabetes test, which they reluctantly did, and the Group B Strep, which they didn't do.
Why is the gas so prevalent there whereas in the US it's unheard of?
No idea! But I do know that it doesn't "cross the placenta", so it's deemed safer than a narc or epi.
Other fun facts:
1. You get a blue folder at the beginning of your pregnancy. It has every stich of medical information about your pregnancy-birth. You are suppose to bring it everywhere with you, as it's the only complete record of your health and stats. I was like WHAT...and my mid-wife was like, yes...oh, maybe you should make a copy, just in case.
2. When the baby is born, you give back the blue folder and get a red booklet in exchange. This is where every stich of your childs medical history is recorded.
3. Midwifes come to your house at day 3 and 10 and for the next month (if i recall correctly). From then on, with exception of getting vaxes, you take them to a community center (weekly if you want) to weigh them. For me, it was set up in the assembly hall of our local elementry school every wednesday. I would roll up and the mid-wives would have several scales set up and you would then record the weight on a sheet of paper (so the mid-wives could review and make sure your baby was growing) and then in your red book.
An epi doesn't cross either. but I can understand why it is seen as being safer than say morphine.
I was told I could leave after 6 hours (in London) but I stayed overnight. I was not prepared to leave after 6 hours. They totally pushed gas and air on me to the point that I had to tell them to sop, it was awful and made me vomit. They also pushed pethidine on me (demerol) and I passed on that too. They were quick to offer up an epidural but I said no. It was all midwifery led (and I had a male midwife deliver my son)
But fields, you forgot to mention the best part of the whole thing - the midwives come to you for a couple of weeks after you have the baby, so you don't have to leave your house. It is awesome.
Where have you been lady!!!
OMG, I forgot about the pethidine...that was the talk of my nct group post our births.
I talk about the midwife visits in my post directly after the other one OMG, those blue folders, I still can't get over those!
And I still use C's red booklet I'm sort of sad I don't have one for N.
How are things? What board do you hang out on these days?
I hated carrying my medical records with me, but still have ds's red book. I also had to test my own urine, which I refused to do and they loved to point out how American I was. They also mentioned that when I requested the gestational diabetes test, which they reluctantly did, and the Group B Strep, which they didn't do.
YES.
I argued with my OB here in the US when I was pregnant with N about having to drink that crappy stuff b/c they didn't make me in the UK. Haha.
How did insurance work if you aren't a citizen? Was your whole pregnancy in the UK?
If you have a visa to live in the UK you have the right to the NHS. There is no insurance. There is private insurance in the UK but it doesn't cover pregnancy (unless you are on an expat package and then sometimes it does)
There is a show I just discovered on Netflix called "Call the Midwife" about midwifery in a poor section of London (I think) in early 1900s. It's really interesting that the tradition of midwifery didn't translate to US.
Also - shouldn't downtown abbey's births been by midwifes and not doctors? Or is having a doctor there a nobility thing?
It did until the 1910s/1920s when having a hospital and doctor birth became common and states began outlawing midwifery. its still illegal in my state.
I was told I could leave after 6 hours (in London) but I stayed overnight. I was not prepared to leave after 6 hours. They totally pushed gas and air on me to the point that I had to tell them to sop, it was awful and made me vomit. They also pushed pethidine on me (demerol) and I passed on that too. They were quick to offer up an epidural but I said no. It was all midwifery led (and I had a male midwife deliver my son)
But fields, you forgot to mention the best part of the whole thing - the midwives come to you for a couple of weeks after you have the baby, so you don't have to leave your house. It is awesome.
Where have you been lady!!!
OMG, I forgot about the pethidine...that was the talk of my nct group post our births.
I talk about the midwife visits in my post directly after the other one OMG, those blue folders, I still can't get over those!
And I still use C's red booklet I'm sort of sad I don't have one for N.
How are things? What board do you hang out on these days?
I travel between boards I rarely post on ML but always lurk! Life is good, missing living in the UK these days, but I chalk that up to all this royal baby coverage!
Oh and NCT groups, another bonus of pregnancy in the UK. I imagine kate didn't partake!
There is a show I just discovered on Netflix called "Call the Midwife" about midwifery in a poor section of London (I think) in early 1900s. It's really interesting that the tradition of midwifery didn't translate to US.
Also - shouldn't downtown abbey's births been by midwifes and not doctors? Or is having a doctor there a nobility thing?
It did until the 1910s/1920s when having a hospital and doctor birth became common and states began outlawing midwifery. its still illegal in my state.
hence why they have a doctor on DA.
Is it that direct entry midwives are illegal, but Certified Nurse midwives aren't? I don't think CNM are illegal anywhere.
OMG, I forgot about the pethidine...that was the talk of my nct group post our births.
I talk about the midwife visits in my post directly after the other one OMG, those blue folders, I still can't get over those!
And I still use C's red booklet I'm sort of sad I don't have one for N.
How are things? What board do you hang out on these days?
I travel between boards I rarely post on ML but always lurk! Life is good, missing living in the UK these days, but I chalk that up to all this royal baby coverage!
Oh and NCT groups, another bonus of pregnancy in the UK. I imagine kate didn't partake!
I've been getting the pang recently as well - we were there last year and I still wish sometimes we could have stayed. But only if I could have my parents/family come live there too. Ha.
It did until the 1910s/1920s when having a hospital and doctor birth became common and states began outlawing midwifery. its still illegal in my state.
hence why they have a doctor on DA.
Is it that direct entry midwives are illegal, but Certified Nurse midwives aren't? I don't think CNM are illegal anywhere.
I think just direct entry but CNMs are super rare, I couldn't find one within a 2 hr radius of where I live which is a big city.
I travel between boards I rarely post on ML but always lurk! Life is good, missing living in the UK these days, but I chalk that up to all this royal baby coverage!
Oh and NCT groups, another bonus of pregnancy in the UK. I imagine kate didn't partake!
I've been getting the pang recently as well - we were there last year and I still wish sometimes we could have stayed. But only if I could have my parents/family come live there too. Ha.
Glad to hear things are well!
Ok people, heading out to lunch, bbl.
That is how I feel too, I don't want to leave my family but I am tired of living here. Ha! We were there in March, we go every year, which is sort of annoying because it makes me miss it more!
My husband may be doing his post doctoral work in Glasgow, and I have no idea what kind of coverage we'll have. I may be pregnant when we move there (assuming we do). I hope this isn't a horrible financial decision .. Don't know what would be covered by his job
All I know about births in the UK is they don't believe in inducing. My mom was called a "Pushy American woman" a few times by her doctor. She FINALLY convinced her doctor to induce her on March 3rd (my due date was Jan 29). I arrived on March 2nd. We were also sent home a mere 8 hours from me being birthed (but sent home with a midwife for a week) because there was no room in the L&D because there was like a million births that happened.
I have no idea. They really beat it into you not to lose it. There are no electronic files of your info anywhere. At all.
I really want an answer to WHY.
The red folder is the pediatric folder -- so you need to keep it through all 18yrs of the kid's life?
Yes, you would keep it their whole childhood.
There are also no pediatricians like we have here. You take your kids to the 'health visitor', and to the GP. But if there is a serious issue then you get referred to a pediatrician. But you wouldn't have a pediatrician as your child's regular doctor.
And I am sure the reason there are no electronic files are due to money.
All I know about births in the UK is they don't believe in inducing. My mom was called a "Pushy American woman" a few times by her doctor. She FINALLY convinced her doctor to induce her on March 3rd (my due date was Jan 29). I arrived on March 2nd. We were also sent home a mere 8 hours from me being birthed (but sent home with a midwife for a week) because there was no room in the L&D because there was like a million births that happened.
The longest they will let you go now is 2 weeks. I went 2 weeks late with both my kids, both born at 15 days past their due date. They would never let you go 4 weeks now.