Postnatal ward
Daily routine
There are two staff shifts each day, with handover occurring from 7:30–8am in the morning and from 8–8:30pm in evening.
You will have a midwife assigned to your care to regularly review you and your baby’s progress. When it is time to go home, s/he will arrange your discharge.
Maternity assistants are also available to assist you with baby feeding, showering and other day-to-day activities.
Who will be involved in my care?
- Midwives: Once you have been transferred to the postnatal ward, the ward midwives will plan your care, carry out your postnatal checks, give you advice and arrange your discharge from hospital.
- Nurses: Nurses will provide you with care in theatre, recovery and on the postnatal ward alongside the midwives.
- Maternity Support Workers: Maternity support workers will look after you and provide you with support—such as learning new skills in caring for your baby—under the guidance of midwives.
- Medical staff: Medical staff will be on hand if they are needed. Your baby will be examined fully in the first 24 hours of life by a neonatologist or midwife before leaving hospital.
- Neonatal Hearing Screeners: A first hearing test is usually conducted on babies before you go home. The screeners come to the ward every day and will undertake this test for your baby before you leave.
We encourage all mothers, including those who have had Caesarean sections, to begin moving about as soon as possible to help maintain normality and reduce the risk of blood clots.
Meals
Breakfast: Cereals, toast, hot drinks and juices are available in the mother's dining room. If for any reason you are not mobile, or are breast feeding, a member of staff can collect your breakfast for you.
Lunch and evening meal: You can select a hot meal or a light lunch, which can be eaten at your bedside. At West Middlesex there is also a mothers' dining room.
Snacks: The host/hostess will offer you a hot drink along with a biscuit or cake from a mobile trolley, which comes around the ward mid-morning and mid-afternoon.