Anxious about labour

Anyone who has given birth at the Royal and Devon Hospital in Exeter that could share their experiences please? ❤️🙏🏻 I am specifically anxious about what happens after birth. I am not from UK and in my country you always get yours own double on suite after birth and the dad can ALWAYS stay, its very focused to keep the family together. You also get a tray with a nice freshly made sandwich and some alcohol free prosecco (its all really nice experience) In the UK my understanding is that you have a short time after birth before you are moved into a shares post labour ward? And the dad cannot stay over night ? It all seems rushed and scary having to be in a ward with other people without your other half. I know i am sounding silly but I am very introverted and attached to my husband. This has resulted in me having panic attacks often and i wake up at nights thinking about it and having anxiety 😔😔 I would appreciate anyone telling me their experiences

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Hey! So I have birth there nearly a year ago. Honestly i can’t fault it- the staff were amazing very friendly, attentive and helpful! You give birth in your own room and have midwife’s and then around 3/4 hours later I can’t remember exactly how long before you go into another room ( also depends on how busy it is) you get moved into a ward with other people you have curtains and stuff around you so you do get privacy- you partner has to go home at 10:00pm that night once you’ve given birth they aren’t aloud to stay I also found this very hard but everyone is super helpful so that helps a lot. Your partner is aloud to stay with you in the night while you’re in labour. The rooms are really nice and have lovely dim lighting and fairy lights if you give birth at night. Got loads of room in there and things like yoga balls ect to help you get comfy! If I’ve missed anything just ask xx

I had my little boy delivered in August last year by emergency c- section and I can’t fault the hospital at all staff are so lovely and amazing. I was then on a ward of 4 but the first night it was only myself, you have a buzzer which you can press and a midwife will come to you if you need help with anything, your husband is allowed in from 9am-8pm this is only if you have to stay in you could get discharged the same day☺️

You get curtains around you on the shared ward, I went straight into the delivery room and I gave birth at 11:28pm and after being stitched up and showering and having an hour of skin to skin in the delivery room they the moved my partner with me to the cubicle in the shared ward but asked him not to stay too long. It was about 2am when he left, think we went into the shared room around 1:30am...it takes a while after delivery to even get moved to the shared ward. My partner could then come back at 8am, he brought alcohol free prosecco! The nurses overnight offered me tea and toast and in the morning they did toast and tea again, I brought my own snacks too. It didn't feel rushed after the birth, the midwives were lovely and gave us plenty of time alone before moving us. I didn't fall asleep for hours but I just held my baby and relaxed it was nice to have that time together xx the midwives were lovely! Your husband could video call you when he leaves so you still have him there in a way? X

Hiya lovely, I recently had my little one at the RD&E and my general experience was very positive, I had a lovely midwife who supported me through my labour! She kept the atmosphere very calm considering I was in pre-term labour. Myself and my partner were taken to our own labour suite and were able to rest in there for around 3 hours after giving birth, before being moved to a shared antenatal ward. I must admit I really struggled the first night without my partner there, purely because I’d been awake for 48 hours. However all of the midwives are super lovely and are there to support you however they can at any time throughout the night! We then got moved to their NNU after 5 days where we were given our own room whilst our daughter received additional care

I had my little girl there in April last year and we couldn’t fault any of the staff during labour and afterwards. I was put onto a ward of 6 people afterwards on a Friday night but by Saturday 4pm ish I was the only person there until early hours of the morning! You have a buzzer so if you need a hand with anything the midwife’s will come to you. Again your partner is allowed to be from 9am-8pm x

Thank you all SO much for telling me your experiences ❤️

I had my first child there in August 2022 and had a super crazy and quick delivery (2hrs start of contractions to birth), staff were really nice, gave birth in a private room & partner had to leave a couple of hours after birth then me & baby got moved down to a shared ward, I was the only person on the ward overnight so had a massive room to myself 😂 then got discharged in the morning/early afternoon still with no one else in the shared ward, I think I was in there for 14-16 hours total In comparison I gave birth in Sheffield’s Jessop’s ward in May 2024, again it was a super quick delivery (1hr30mins), partner stayed for around 2 hours again, I was helped with bathing then moved to a shared ward which was completely full, I had to stay for a day & a half because they took so long to get around to discharging me due to how busy they were I vastly preferred Exeter but I’m pregnant again with my 3rd due May 2025 & will again be going to Jessop’s but hoping for a home birth tbh