Questions about giving birth at the JR

Following it. Have the same questions!!

1: you give birth in a private room with actual walls😂☺️ 2: i heard this and i asked my midwife and student midwife and they laughed and said thats not something you can actually do, if you give birth in spires you can go in a private room after so your partner can stay 3: ive had 2 children at the jr and partners have always been able to be present for the whole labour. Xx

I know you will have your own room while giving birth. Partners can stay the whole of labour but when you have given birth and move onto the ward they can only stay during the day 8am -8pm

I can only comment on questions 1 and 3. So no, you don’t have to give a birth on a ward with other woman, I was moved to a delivery suite and later to the theatre. My husband was able to stay with me throughout the whole labour, except he wasn’t allowed to stay overnight after the baby was born, which wasn’t great as I was so exhausted, so if there is an option to get a private room I would highly recommend getting it.

But that being said thats just my experience with question number 2 - it may be possible but the midwifes looked at me in confusion like i had made it up😆

Once you are in established labour you will be on the delivery suite which is a private room and bathroom. You can have a private room, partner is only allowed to stay first night as far as I am aware. If you have an easy labour you will be out within about 12 hours so I wouldn’t stress about a private room unless you have a csection. If you are induced he will only be able to stay with you when you are in established labour, if they induce you and you are still in early labour they will send him home at night x

I don’t think partners can stay after giving birth, regardless whether you’re in a private room or not, so wouldn’t waste your money. Once you’ve given birth you will go on a labour ward which you could be separated by a curtain, but you will give birth in a private room, either on labour ward or in spires if you like. X

@Shannon you can pay for a private room on the hazel ward after birth, I was going to do it but they were all full x

So from my experience… If you are induced/potentially waiting for a caesarean, and are in the very early stages of labour you will be on a ward. There are private rooms, I was given one as I was 15 days overdue so wasn’t allowed to leave and my partner was allowed to stay with me as it had to happen I was just waiting for a space. I’m not sure about the spires, but generally if you went to the spires I think you would wait at home until you progressed to a point where you’d be taken into a private room to give birth as you’d be in advanced stage of labour. But no, either way you’d be taken down to delivery suite to give birth with your partner by your side. Can’t really answer question 2. I didn’t have to pay. Perhaps contact the JR? I know they will definitely be in the delivery suite with you. I think to be honest it’s time of the day dependent, I don’t believe partners are allowed on the ward at night time unless you’re in a private room, so if you’re in the early stages

Q1 own room Q2 I have never heard of it Q3 can stay throughout labour but depending on the time you give birth say after 9pm he cannot stay on the ward and has to go home but come back in the morning

At night time they may have to go and come back once they are called to say it’s advanced. It all really depends on the kind of birth you want as well. If it’s uncomplicated and you’re aiming for the spires they should be with you for the duration. However once you’ve given birth and the ward has closed your partner is not allowed to say. Which wasn’t that much fun after a c-section! Sorry I hope that’s semi helpful, a bit rambly 😂

So I had my second at JR so can only go off that experience but someone else may have a different version. 1) I was on the ward where I waited until my waters broke (I was induced). Then I was taken to the suite where I was in a room on my own, the midwives were going between me and another lady but I was never alone. The room was dimmed, mood lighting which was so therapeutic, curtains covering the doors for privacy while midwives entered etc. I was in there for about 3 hours after baby was born and then taken to mother and baby ward. I luckily had my own room again here. 2) I didn’t pay, I had my own room and my husband was allowed to stay. I’ve heard others say they weren’t allowed husbands to stay full stop, so I guess it just depends on the lead midwife maybe? 3)I was induced so my husband had to leave at 10pm and was outside the hospital waiting by 7:30am waiting for 8am visiting hours (luckily!) as my waters went at 7:35. He was then there for the entirety

1. Yes you give birth in your own room. 2. Not something I am aware of. I gave birth in Feb 2021 (lockdown) and was allowed to have my own private room overnight after on spires even though I ended up birthing in the delivery suite ( I’d had no complications/intervention or epidural etc) . My partner was not allowed to stay as it was covid. If you give birth in delivery suite I think usually you go to the postnatal ward after which is shared. 3. Your partner will be able to stay. During Covid they were only allowed to be there from established labour (4cm dilated until birth) my husband was never told to leave during this time in fact he was not allowed to leave to get my hospital bag so I had nothing for me or baby 🙈😂

Hi I’m a staff member at JR, not in maternity but - as far as I and some colleagues know, partners cannot stay overnight even in a private room :( although, depending on your time of birth, in some exceptions partners will be allowed to stay. E.g - you’ve given birth at 4am.

Question 1: you’ll have your own private room on either the delivery suite or spires midwifery unit. Question 2: I’ve not heard about paying for a private room personally however if you give birth on the Spires Midwifery Unit you will have your own private recovery room too which has a double bed and en-suite bathroom, partners are allowed to sleep over with you too there. Delivery suite labours you will be put onto a ward with other women for recovery, partners can visit during hospital visiting hours. Question 3: I’ve given birth twice at the JR, the only time my husband wasn’t allowed to stay for the full birth etc was during lockdown (my first labour) my second was recently and he stayed for the whole thing, no restrictions. I HIGHLY recommend contacting the Spires unit for a tour prior to your birth, you can book now. My second labour there was amazing, I loved it. The tour definitely put my mind at ease with any questions I had! 😊

Thank you everyone this is so helpful! Feel less nervous now 😅 if the private rooms don’t exist/aren’t available and my husband is sent away until active labour I’m going to get him to check into a premier inn or something nearby as we live about 30mins away but the A40 traffic means it can take over an hour sometimes! Will check out the Spires too, I assume if you did need a doctor you’re close enough to the main hospital that it’s not a problem?

@Katy spires is about 2 floors up, so you’d be very close if you needed a doctor

@Katy yes the spires unit is just a couple of floors away from the delivery suite in the same building. Just a lift ride away. They explained how quickly they can have a doctor to you when I went for the tour. It’s very quick. I had a traumatic first birth and was quite worried about not being around doctors etc but after going for the tour I decided to go to the spires for my second birth and it was so positive, calm and I actually enjoyed the experience more. Highly recommend 🥰

I confirm you give birth in a private room, either in Spires or in delivery suite. There's walls and it's a private room but you can still hear other women screaming, especially in delivery suite. You can pay for a private room (as a private patient) but your partner won't be able to stay past visiting times. About the partner staying for labour, they can stay past visiting times only if you are in established labour as you will be either in the single room is spires or in delivery suite. If you are in early labour in prenatal ward, then partners can only stay up to 8 pm - again, even if you're in a single room - but they will be called once you're jn established labour.

There are videos on YouTube of the delivery sweet and I guess the spires so you can see what it's like where you'll give birth. I found them useful to watch in advance

@Katy when I had my second my husband booked a b&b 10 mins walk away as we live over an hour away and he doesn’t drive!, there are a few very close to the hospital 😊 It was when covid rules still applied and I was induced so my husband was only allowed on the ward with me when my waters went. I had my 3rd in December, I was induced and in a private side room from the get go, where my husband stayed the whole time in a pull out wardrobe bed 😀 baby was born late at night, by the time I was ready to go to the ward around 2am my husband was told he couldn’t stay, but when we explained our situation he was able to stay in a private side room with me. Maybe it depends on availability/the midwife as I was told we may have to leave in the morning if someone needed it. (We didn’t until discharged) Hope all goes well, I couldn’t fault the care or midwives with my births at the JR ❤️

Am i right in thinking you can’t have an epidural if you go to the spires instead of the labour ward?

@Charlotte yes, you would need to go to delivery suite for epidural, but you can transfer if needed

@Charlotte yes spires is a midwife led unit so they don’t have access to the anesthesiologist or doctors required for an epidural. They can very easily transfer you from spires to the delivery suite where you can access an epidural should you want one x

You get your own private room To give birth. If you deliver on spires you get a room after birth as well. Sometimes they let partners stay if you have to stay overnight, it depends who’s on duty and how busy they are. I laboured in a private room on delivery suite then had a c section. Your partner stays with you til you’ve given birth. I then went to recovery ward about 8pm and my husband was allowed to stay until 11pm

Also the JR normally aims to get people home about 6hrs after labour if everything is straightforward so you may not even get sent up to the ward and instead go home with your husband

In case anyone else is searching for this, thought it might be helpful now I’ve had my baby: You can pay for a room but they’re not always available. I didn’t ask for one and I really wish I had. My husband was allowed to stay until visiting hours ended, my baby was early and after a C section I was pretty overwhelmed. I struggled that night to move around or pick my baby up when I needed to. The ward was busy & as a result I struggled on my own with feeding & moving which meant my son went a long time without milk and I didn’t catch up on post op rest. He was ok but it was concerning as I was so out of it I needed someone to identify I needed help/formula. I ended up with baby blues for the first 2wks & I think that first night struggling after surgery with little support contributed. The staff are nice on the whole but if you feel you need support, keep your birthing partner with you if you can. On a better note, if you have a C section, surgery staff are amazing!