Are partners allowed to stay overnight at chelsea and westminster?

Also are there any specific tips or things that someone planning to give at chelsea birth centre should know of? x

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Yes, but it is HECTIC in the postnatal ward and they would have to sleep on a chair.

Yes in a very upright uncomfortable chair. I sent mine home about 10 pm as I wanted him to have a good rest so he was of use the next day.

The birth centre rooms are wonderful, we had a double bed, it was very private and the midwives were all lovely. I couldn't rate the birth centre highly enough, I had a great experience. Good luck!

yes!! Had my baby in April at the birth centre and I had such an amazing experience. We got the double bed too and I actually liked the food. Midwives were exceptional

So glad you had a good experience too! I also thought the food was decent and the midwives were all lovely

Hi - Is the birth centre the private section of the hospital? or if it's free you pay the £300 charge? I've been looking but a bit confused about the difference in private and NHS in the same hospital

Hi it's the free part, you don't have to pay anything. It's on the same floor as the private wing and you can pay extra to be upgraded to a private room, but I heard they almost never have space. If you give birth in the birth center it's a private room anyway. My room was lovely, it had a double bed and en suite bathroom, it felt like private healthcare.

no it’s the midwife led bit if you’re not having an epidural. They do have some rooms you can book but it’s first come first served. If you’re having an epidural or a c section then you’re in the Labour ward. The private part is called the Kensington Wing and for a planned c section it was about £8k 🤯

If you give birth on the labour ward then you'll be in the ward, shared space etc. a private room may make more sense then

in our community

Oh my God, oh my God I hope this is not true!!!! I’m kind of scared

I’ve been throwing up and taking a shit all night!!! I just hope that it’s not what I think it is

Small head reported following 20 week scan

Has anyone else had it flagged that their baby is in the bottom 5th percentile for head size?

They said everything was fine whilst we were in the scan and then I got a phone call the next day saying that it’s on the small side and we’re being referred to a paediatric specialist at St George’s. Has anyone else had this and how did things go??

Would you bring 9 week old to a family party of 35+ people?

These are also people who will want to pass the baby around and get a turn to hold him. He just got his 2 month shots two days ago

Exercise 6 weeks after c section

What movement did people start to introduce? I won’t do anything too vigorous until I’ve seen the pelvic physio as I don’t want to compromise anything that may have been extremely weakened through pregnancy! But just wondering what types of classes/movement people started off with?

Induction experience

I just wanted to share my experience with being induced as I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought it may help others.

I opted for the foley balloon which was inserted at 8am Saturday morning, I had to stay in hospital due to hypertension and protein urine however usually you can just go home once this has been done. The insertion of the balloon was not painful, was slightly uncomfortable as there was slight pressure. I actually found having the cervix checked prior to be worse (again not painful at this point just uncomfortable) The balloon had little effect and after having it removed I was still only 1cm. Removal also was pain free and hardly even noticeable.

I then had my first dose of the gel and definitely noticed a difference, I started experiencing period like cramps almost immediately however they were light and manageable. After 6 hours I had another cervix check and although my cervix was soft it was still only 1cm and was only open at the front. I had another dose of the gel and felt an increase in pressure and more intense cramping where I now required pain relief (codeine). After another 6 hours I had another cervix check and I had now dilated to 2-3cm however was still quite difficult to get all the way through so a third gel was recommended which I agreed to.

Almost immediately I noticed the difference and was in considerable pain, I had paracetamol and codeine however the contractions had now become intense and a lot closer together (around 3 minutes apart). After a couple of hours I had my last cervix check and was 4cm and taken down to the Labour ward to have my waters broken and an epidural.

I had been in my room for approx 20minutes when my waters broke by themselves and I was now 10cm and actively pushing…. There was no time for the epidural and my beautiful girl arrived into the world within 2 minutes of pushing.

All in all I would say the cramps/contractions were manageable up until the third gel where it became pretty unbearable however it was for a very short time a gas and air helped take the edge off. The worst part about any of it was actually the later cervix checks where after stimulating the cervix my contractions were at their most painful.

If I had to be induced again I would skip the balloon and opt for the gels immediately as thy had a quicker effect and I would have been out a lot sooner if I had done this to begin with.

One more thing, I’ve never believed when people say “you forget the pain once they’re here” but I can honestly say this is true. It’s been 4 days and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Gave birth (vagina) 5 days ago and yesterday morning and this morning getting lot of pain in my right bottom side and lower back