Shared Hospital Recovery Room

nessytessy · July 2015

Hello everyone,

I apologize in advance if this or something similar has been posted. I quickly searched but didn't find anything.

I am now facing the situation of possibly switching doctors due to hospital affiliations. I was not initially aware that the one hospital my Dr. has privileges to is the only one in the area that has double rooms (and charges $350/night for private rooms which cannot be reserved in advance). I've gone back and forth on this issue for several weeks now thinking it will be OK but I just cannot imagine not having my husband stay the night with me, sharing a bathroom with another stranger..etc. I suppose if this wasn't my first time around I would be more open to it? I hate to switch OBs this late and solely because of the hospital situation, so I'm wondering if its not as bad as I am thinking? Every other hospital in the area has private rooms which is very appealing.

Anyway, has anyone experienced recovering in a "double room"? If so, what were your experiences? Would it be awkward to have visitors? My hospital tour isn't scheduled for another month so I am not sure what the space even looks like and if I should start looking elsewhere instead.

Cook3133 · July 2015

I haven't dealt with this and I wouldn't want to. I can't imagine finding peace with my NB when sharing a room. I've done the hospital twice and NO I would not be ok with sharing. Plus my crap takes up a lot of space.

lakesideknitter · July 2015

I can't imagine trying to learn how to breastfeed with a complete stranger in the room. No way, no how..

lulamagoo · July 2015

Nope. Wouldn't want to do it.
What if they have visitors when you want to sleep? My top was basically off for our whole hospital stay and will be for this one too. Skin to skin and nursing were a priority for me. I would switch. You can ask if your doctor recommends another practice and explain the reasoning.

kmd91 · July 2015

This never even crossed my mind, and I know nothing about the room situation at my hospital. A private room is definitely ideal. Especially when I feel like recovery from birth and bonding with baby is such a personal thing. I'd much rather it be private. Granted, I'm a really private person anyways.

modanz1 · July 2015

No personal experience here but I would feel the same as you do. One of the most private times of my life, I am not sharing a room with a stranger unless I have no choice. I guess you have to decide if you like your doctor enough to pay for a night or two. Sorry you are having to make that decision. That sucks.

Pontot31 · July 2015

Oh hell no! I would not go for that.

nessytessy · July 2015

I think I am on board with you ladies. My mother seems to think it won't be so bad but I think it is crazy. It's unfortunate because its a really great hospital but I think I will resent the decision to stay in the long run. Besides, I don't necessarily "love" my doctor anyway so that's not really a factor at this point.

wedding crazed · July 2015

I wouldn't want that at all. I always feel fortunate about the awesome hospital I deliver at when I hear stuff like this. I didn't even know hospitals still did shared rooms. At mine you birth, deliver, and recover in the same room. Even when I ended up with a C-section I returned to the same room I was in for recovery. And it was my own room the whole entire stay.

Gapeach83 · July 2015

I didn't even know hospitals still did this. I thought for the safety of the newborns and to keep the in the room they had only singles. You have your labor/delivery room then a regular room. No way would any woman want to share. Do they keep baby in nursery? Because we keep the baby in our room and that seems crazy with 2 mom's and 2 or more babies.

TacoSarah · July 2015

In the UK you generally don't get private rooms, you go on the maternity ward to recover and are in a room with 4 beds in it. That's why most people go home as soon as they can which is 6 hours after the birth.

dramaphile · July 2015

This is why I'll be at a Birth Center, and going home within 12 hours (assuming all goes well). No need to worry about sharing a room!

mmk29 · July 2015

I would absolutely switch to have a private room. It's that important to me. I can't imagine dealing with some of the things I dealt with while recovering with DS with a stranger in the room.

ashleywuli · July 2015

I would no way in hell share a room especially a bathroom. You are bleeding and bodly fluids are literally dripping out of you. What if it got messy in the bathroom, and it was from your roommate??? Also, imagine trying to get dressed, walk to the bathroom, breastfeed with a room full of strangers there. The roommates guest. I would switch drs right now to go to a hospital wth a private rooms. I am sorry you're dealing with this, but better to know now than later.

Cook3133 · July 2015

TacoSarah said:
In the UK you generally don't get private rooms, you go on the maternity ward to recover and are in a room with 4 beds in it. That's why most people go home as soon as they can which is 6 hours after the birth.

In my first hospital its 24 hour must stay from when baby delivers until you go home. I think that is if you have insurance it is mandatory. If you pay out of pocket it's different.

The hospital I had my first at had a seprate delivery and recovery room. The recovery rooms were much nicer and had a full size bed in them. They were also in another wing.

My birthing center is 4-6 hours after baby is born as long as you are comfortable with that. With my 3rd I was and we had baby at 6:15p and left about 10p

MargaretC5 · July 2015

I was just expecting to share a room before having DS, I was just used to sharing when you go to the hosipital for any other reason. I was really surprised when I found out they had private rooms. It was nice but I would not consider it a must have. I would assume there are curtains for some privacy if you have to share.
Oh the other hand if you are not crazy about your current doctor and you are not high risk, I see no harm in changing if it makes you more comfortable.

katiedhunter · July 2015

Ummm yep that's a big negative batman! No way would I share a room after delivery. With my first it was a CS and I reacted badly to the spinal and puked for about 4-5 hours after baby was born. Also as PP said sharing a bathroom......hell no. I would personally switch no hesitation!

LSRoo · July 2015

I would never deliver at a place where I had to share a room. That's just me.

cbolton19 · July 2015

@nessytessy There was a thread in O15 where another mom is having the same problem. She posted an update, but I didn't see what it was. You may want to search there too, I know it had a lot of comments and possibly some more advice. I would hate that, and I know my husband would too. I hope something works out for you!

Elyse1384 · July 2015

Yeahhhh... Wouldn't share. So many reasons why given our experience with DS. I hope everything works out for you!

kittidavis · July 2015

I shared a post partum room with my 2nd child. It really wasn't all that bad. I was busy with mine and she was busy with hers.

ashleyfreake · July 2015

There is only 1 hospital in my city and everyone has a double room. They do have a couple private rooms but they are reserved for people having complications. So looks like I will be hoping for a very clean roommate

mollypuss1 · July 2015

TacoSarah said:
In the UK you generally don't get private rooms, you go on the maternity ward to recover and are in a room with 4 beds in it. That's why most people go home as soon as they can which is 6 hours after the birth.

This is my first and my midwife said that if all is well with me and the baby they can discharge you as early as 4 hours depending on the need for beds, this seems VERY quick to me and is freaking me out a bit.

TacoSarah · July 2015

mollypuss1 said:

In the UK you generally don't get private rooms, you go on the maternity ward to recover and are in a room with 4 beds in it. That's why most people go home as soon as they can which is 6 hours after the birth.
This is my first and my midwife said that if all is well with me and the baby they can discharge you as early as 4 hours depending on the need for beds, this seems VERY quick to me and is freaking me out a bit.

I personally see no benefit in staying in if you and baby are healthy. Might as well go home and be in familiar surroundings where you can adjust more quickly and be more comfortable. My plan is to get home as quickly as possible.

mollypuss1 · July 2015

@TacoSarah I think I just want to be molly coddled for a bit longer as its starting to hit home now that I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm ridiculously inexperienced when it comes to babies.

FilbertTree · July 2015

TacoSarah said:

mollypuss1 said:

TacoSarah said:
In the UK you generally don't get private rooms, you go on the maternity ward to recover and are in a room with 4 beds in it. That's why most people go home as soon as they can which is 6 hours after the birth.
This is my first and my midwife said that if all is well with me and the baby they can discharge you as early as 4 hours depending on the need for beds, this seems VERY quick to me and is freaking me out a bit.

I personally see no benefit in staying in if you and baby are healthy. Might as well go home and be in familiar surroundings where you can adjust more quickly and be more comfortable. My plan is to get home as quickly as possible.

Kiddo1.0 and I stayed in for nearly 48 hours on the shared ward because he was a little cold and I was a hot mess. My cousin had her baby in the same hospital and she was home the same morning. Its just whatever works for you and if you're not ready to go for whatever reason, if there's a bed available, you can stay.
I had absolutely no issues with recovering on the ward (6 beds on mine), if you wanted privacy you can pull the curtains and make your own space. I'm actually a little more apprehensive about this LO's arrival and having a private room because I found it reassuring to have other people in the room and nurses popping their heads in just to check on me.

oliarnmom1517 · July 2015

I like my space and have a big family and so does my DH.. I also want the first few days home to just be my DH and I so I would rather have my own room and have people be able to come and go without disturbing another person.. If I absolutely had to share then I would adjust but if the hospital I'm going with has private rooms so that shouldn't be a problem..

thefithuntress · July 2015

My sister-in-law delivered in NYC and had a double room where she recovered and we visited her and the baby. There's a huge curtain that divides the room. It's really not that horrible. We never saw the other mama. But if comfort is your top priority and the thought bothers you it's your birth plan- definitely switch.

flas · July 2015

Where I live there are only a few private rooms and then the rest are shared. You can't pretegister for a private room it's first come first serve. I ended up in a shared room but there were no other mothers so I was still by myself. The only thing I hated was that hubby had to go home for the night leaving me by myself for the night. I delivered around 10pm and was so exhausted I asked the nurses to watch the baby while I got some rest. They were super surprised that I wouldnt want the baby with me from the get go but with no one else to help I just needed to sleep! After that the baby stayed with us unless I needed to rest and there was no one else there to watch the baby. I had to stay an extra day because of having a catheter and healing from a tear that went the other way! Even with shared rooms I found that what my hospital did was separate all the moms so that they were all in their own rooms to start, they only doubled up when necessary. If all goes well you won't be there long enough for it to really be annoying, at least IMO.

mrsericalsmith · July 2015

I'm having the same concern. My OB can delivery me at 2 different hospitals one being where my son was delivered 11 years ago but it is farther from my house now. I was in a private room & honestly don't think they had shared rooms. The hospital closer does Have shared rooms & private. The private is on a first come first serve basis. If my husband can't stay I'm pretty sure I'd freak out & he would have a fit. I'm actually considering registering at both hospitals. Just in case!

vrossolille · July 2015

With my first born we had to share recovery rooms at the only local hospital so I had no choice. It was HORRIBLE. The my did let me leave a little early because I was panicking. There is a curtain but this specific girl was younger and had all her younger school aged friends coming and going who had no respect for the woman on the other side of the curtain. If she didn't have visitors she was on the phone 24/7 and talking about what parties were the coming weekend. I wanted out soooo bad! Ruined that experience and day for me. I have since not went back to that hospital for my other two births although it's different now it just turned me off from it. I definitely recommend switching. My dr makes us wait for 24 hours if it was a completely heathy labor in which you have no idea what easy you will go. Last baby my blood pressure shot up in labor and they wouldnt let me go home until it was down. Which was 3 days later. For the UK people, do they do circumcisions and still send you home in 4 hours?

Ceridwen77 · July 2015

I had to go check, and luckily my hospital only has private rooms. Yay.

ash413 · July 2015

vrossolille said:
With my first born we had to share recovery rooms at the only local hospital so I had no choice. It was HORRIBLE. The my did let me leave a little early because I was panicking. There is a curtain but this specific girl was younger and had all her younger school aged friends coming and going who had no respect for the woman on the other side of the curtain. If she didn't have visitors she was on the phone 24/7 and talking about what parties were the coming weekend. I wanted out soooo bad! Ruined that experience and day for me. I have since not went back to that hospital for my other two births although it's different now it just turned me off from it. I definitely recommend switching. My dr makes us wait for 24 hours if it was a completely heathy labor in which you have no idea what easy you will go. Last baby my blood pressure shot up in labor and they wouldnt let me go home until it was down. Which was 3 days later. For the UK people, do they do circumcisions and still send you home in 4 hours?

Circumcision is primarily a United States thing, it is not common in many other countries, including the UK.

mollypuss1 · July 2015

vrossolille said:
With my first born we had to share recovery rooms at the only local hospital so I had no choice. It was HORRIBLE. The my did let me leave a little early because I was panicking. There is a curtain but this specific girl was younger and had all her younger school aged friends coming and going who had no respect for the woman on the other side of the curtain. If she didn't have visitors she was on the phone 24/7 and talking about what parties were the coming weekend. I wanted out soooo bad! Ruined that experience and day for me. I have since not went back to that hospital for my other two births although it's different now it just turned me off from it. I definitely recommend switching. My dr makes us wait for 24 hours if it was a completely heathy labor in which you have no idea what easy you will go. Last baby my blood pressure shot up in labor and they wouldnt let me go home until it was down. Which was 3 days later. For the UK people, do they do circumcisions and still send you home in 4 hours?

We don't do circumcisions in the UK and the rest of Europe unless there is a medical reason.

mrskelly731 · July 2015

I had to stay two nights due to blood clots in the recovery room after DD was born but I didn't have to share. Not that many births were happening. You have a privacy screen for when you do breastfeed and you are all going through the same thing so I won't care if I have a room mate this time, of course no room mate would be ideal but it is what it is. It's not permanent, just one night, I'm sure I'll survive.

lyankowi · July 2015

For STM to the nurses come in a push on your stomach (uterus) to help you pass clots? A coworker told me some hospitals do and some don't. The hospital I will deliver at wants you to stay two days so they can help you pass clots too

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