Has anyone delivered at Al Wasl recently? (as in last 6 months or so)

Tru Blu

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EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 19 August 2011 - 18:14

Instead of starting a new thread I'm going to answer my own question and give you my birth experience at Al Wasl for anyone delivering there soon as I delivered my 2nd DS there in the early hours of Monday morning, weighing in at a whopping 4kg. My waters broke at almost 11pm Sunday evening at which point I thought I should call the hospital and double check it was ok to come in. Due to language problems I finally ascertained that 'if there is leakage then you can come!' There was no doubt about the fact my waters had broken so off we went to the Emergency dept at Al Wasl. On arrival I was assessed by the nurse and asked a few questions then had to go 'register'. Husband took paper to the registration desk, got asked for my health card and was given the paper back with a bit extra. Then had to wait to be assessed by the doctor on duty to see how far along I was. The doctor did a quick scan to check the heart beat and examined me internally to ascertain that I was definitely in labour, fully effaced and 3cm dilated already. She advised that I would be taken to the labour ward as soon as they could take me. Husband was sent off at this point to the admissions part of the hospital to fill in paperwork and pay 7000 AED for the delivery. A short while later I was taken to the labour ward where husband was not allowed in. I was given a gown to change into and told to remove ALL valuables and give them to my husband. If I'd thought about it earlier I would have left everything at home as walking out into the waiting area wearing one of their 'beautiful' gowns whilst having contractions is not easy! Anyway, whilst in the labour ward a nurse fills in all your paperwork by asking all about your history again and various other questions. During this time they make you lie in a bed and monitor the baby and you. My last pregnancy ended in a precipitate labour, the whole thing last just short of 4 hours from the beginning of strong irregular contractions to the birth, so I had a feeling that this would be the same. Whilst trying to answer the nurses questions I could feel the contractions getting stronger and closer together. I asked how long they leave it before they examine you and was told that they check properly every 4 hours! I had to tell them four or five times that my last labour was very quick and 4 hours would be too late but they almost seemed not to believe me until they noticed that the babies heartbeat had changed a little and that I was struggling to cope with the contractions. I asked if they had any gas & air in the labour ward as I did not want an epidural or any other pain relief. I was told that that could not be given now as they had to carefully watch the baby's heartbeat. I insisted that I be internally examined as it felt that they weren't taking me seriously. They finally listened and when they examined me found that I was ready to be moved to the delivery suite. I was taken to the delivery suite in a wheelchair by my allocated midwife and my husband was called from the waiting room so that he could be with me. I was also granted my wish of being given gas and air for the pain. Unfortunately, by the time I got the pain managed with the gas and air it was taken away from me as it was time to push. There were two midwives present throughout and they did their best to guide me through the delivery without too much damage. However, the not so little 'little one' had other ideas and came a little too quick for their liking. So I ended up with one healthy DS and 2 rather large 2nd degree tears before 3am! The midwives were amazing and great with their encouragement and words of advice. Unfortunately, due to it being Ramadan and the timing of the birth I had to wait in the delivery suite for 2 hours before being seen by the doctor to stitch me up. That wasn't very pleasant or comfortable but I won't complain as I got that time to spend alone with DS and DH which was precious. I was finally taken to the ward at around 6am. I never requested a private room as I figured it's not really any different to being in a NHS hospital back in the UK and I hopefully wouldn't be there long either. The room I was in only had one other person in so all was relatively quiet. They asked what menu option I preferred but never really gave me the full choice. They saw the colour of my skin and asked if Indian would be ok, I nodded in agreement. The food was surprisingly good for hospital food even though I wasn't too sure what some of the dished were. There was definitely plenty of it so there was always something you could eat if one thing wasn't to your liking. Every meal came with a bottle of water. Tea and coffee were brought around with a snack in between meals in the morning and afternoon. The majority of the nurses on duty were absolutely lovely and whatever they came round to do was explained and done in front of you. Unfortunately I had one nurse who treated everybody like an idiot. DS had low blood sugar and was tested on regular intervals to see how he was feeding. Due to the fact that he was extremely tired all day he had very little in the way of feeds so was fed formula first thing in the morning through a syringe. Later in the day I was in the process of feeding him when a new nurse started her shift. She came in and insisted on taking his blood sugar immediately even though I was in the middle of a feed. When I asked what she was doing instead of telling me it was his blood sugar test she told me I was not staff and not on duty and that she needed the baby. I was so shocked at her response I just passed him over. She then proceeded to wheel him outside of my curtain to conduct the test. Then, instead of actually coming back in and telling me her findings and what she was going to do she rambled at me through the curtain telling me I wasn't feeding him and his blood sugar was low and now she HAD to feed him. She did all this during visiting hours when my DH, DS1, Mum and MIL were there looking very bemused at her behaviour and lack of professionalism. She then proceeded to feed DS formula through a syringe outside of my area and only brought him back after she had finished. Not once did she actually talk to me and tell/ask me what she was doing. I was so shocked that I never said anything at the time and only managed to open my mouth at the next shift change where I stopped the next nurse from doing anything and told her how upsetting the last experience was. I appreciate they have to take action when the baby is not doing well, but to do so without the consent or knowledge of the mother is disgraceful. Anyway, enough about her as I'm now at home with a beautiful healthy DS2 and having different battles altogether with DS1 who is making me feel very guilty just by glaring at me every time I do anything for DS2! The only thing left is what to take. As mentioned before, pretty much everything you need is provided but you may want your own for the sake of comfort. Their disposable knickers were dreadful to look at but extremely comfortable. The maternity pads aren;t very comfy but are very long and practical. They provide nappies which are not branded but do the job. They provide cotton wool too. They will also bath and dress the baby in mini hospital gowns and swaddle them in their blankets. You will need your own towel for a shower if you wish to take one there. I did ask DH for a toilet roll as the ones they have get used up very quickly when the ward is full and I got fed up asking/waiting for more to be delivered as they only provide you with one at a time. They also provide you with a gown to wear whilst you are there. Although these are not for the fashion conscious they are good in the sense that if you do get them dirty it's not your own clothes you have to worry about. I would definitely take some water as even though they do provide some it's not enough, and you don't get given water for any medication you may take. I would also advise some sort of entertainment. There is a tv in each room for 4 people but depending on your location and whether the curtains are open/closed you may not be able to see it. It does get very noisy at visiting times as there doesn't seem to be a limit on how many people are around a bed at one time. Great for the person who is entertained by lots of visitors, not so great for anyone trying to get a bit of sleep in before their visitors get there!! Right, I think that's about it for now. I'm sure to have missed something out but if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I'll try my best to answer them.

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