Care After Birth
After the birth, feeding can start as soon as your baby shows
signs of 
interest, and you will be given all the help you need.
Your midwife will weigh and check over your baby and ensure you
are well.
You will be offered something to drink and eat and a bath or
shower, or a wash if you had a caesarean section.
If you gave birth in hospital you will be transferred to one of the
two postnatal wards about an hour or so after the birth.
The postnatal wards
There are 2 postnatal wards:
- Percy Phillips Ward. Ward manager Nicola Chinnock. Telephone:
0117 323 3042
- Mendip Ward. Ward manager Liz Jones. Telephone: 0117 323 3032
or 0117 323 3033
Percy Phillips Ward has facilities to care for mothers with
babies who need some extra help (transitional care), for example
because they were born slightly too early or are small. Mothers
whose baby is cared for on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are
usually looked after on this ward as well.
Percy Phillips Ward consists of several 3 to 5-bedded rooms and
3 single rooms, while Mendip Ward has a mixture of single and
2-bedded rooms, and a 10-bedded ward.
Single rooms are allocated on the basis of clinical need, but
those on Percy Phillips Ward are sometimes available as amenity
beds; please ask your midwife. Amenity bed rates vary from £50 per
night for a single room with sink to £107 for a room with full
en-suite. Unfortunately we do not have facilities for birth
partners to stay overnight.
The midwives and healthcare assistants looking after you will
help you establish feeding and advise you on caring for your
baby.
Following a caesarean section you are encouraged to start moving
around as soon as you feel able to, but we will help you take care
of your baby, so do not hesitate to ask for assistance.
A physiotherapist visits the ward every weekday to talk about
postnatal exercise and see women with specific issues, and infant
feeding specialist midwives are available for extra help and
advice.
With your consent, your baby will have a hearing test and a full
examination between 6 and 72 hours of age.
On the day of your return home, you will be given your handheld
maternity record (yellow book) and telephone numbers to contact
your community midwife and the maternity unit, should you need to.
Please inform us if you are going to a new address or have changed
your telephone number.
Help us keep the postnatal wards clean
& safe
When you are transferred to the postnatal ward after the birth,
please ask your birth partner to take home items you no longer
require, so that all your belongings fit into the bedside locker
and on the shelves of the cot provided on the postnatal
wards.
Please do not bring in your baby’s car seat until you are certain
that you are going home that day.
After a home birth
If your baby was born at home, your midwife will ensure all is
well following the birth and make arrangements for your baby’s
first full examination, which is usually done between 6 and 72
hours of age. You will be given contact numbers and your midwife
will arrange the next visit with you before leaving.
Early discharge home
It is acknowledged
that following the birth of your baby when you have both been
assessed as fit and well and you are happy with how your baby is
feeding, the best place to be is in the comfort of your own
home.
As a result, depending on your birth experience, we support
early transfer home.
If this is your first baby and you have had an uncomplicated
birth and you are both well, the usual length of stay will be for
one night or around 6 - 24 hours.
If this is your second or subsequent baby and you have had an
uncomplicated birth and you are both well, the usual length of stay
will be between 6 - 12 hours.
If you have had a planned caesarean section and you are both
well, you may return home after a period of 24 hours, as
recommended by NICE (National Institute for Clinical
Excellence).
If there are any concerns over your well-being or that of your
baby, your length of stay will be determined on an individual basis
until such time as you are assessed as fit and well to return
home.
Postnatal care in the community
A community midwife will visit you at home on the day after you go
home, and will arrange further visits according to your needs in
discussion with you. You may be visited by a specially trained
Maternity Care Assistant and may be invited to attend a postnatal
clinic as an alternative to home visits.
If all is well you are normally discharged from midwifery care
from around 10 days after the birth, but midwifery care can
continue for longer than this if you or your baby have additional
specific needs. Your midwife will transfer your care to your Health
Visitor when the time comes and explain this handover of care to
you. For information on the Health Visitor Service and Community
Child Health visit
http://www.bristol.nhs.uk/Patients/All_Services/HealthVisitor/default.asp
Postnatal appointment with your GP
You need to make an appointment with your GP for a check-up for you
and your baby at 6 weeks following the birth. In case of some
complications, you or your baby may also have a follow-up
appointment with a doctor at the hospital; this will be sent to you
in the post.
Registration of the birth
You need to make an appointment and register the birth before your
baby is 6 weeks old. Please telephone 0117 9222800 for Bristol, or
01934 627552 for Clevedon to register.
Further information
Off to the best start is available to download from
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_074095
Breastfeeding and work is available to download from
http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/en/materialforclients/downloads/breastfeedingandwork.pdf
Birth to five (DoH 2009) is available from your health visitor
or you can download it at
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_107303
The pregnancy book postnatal pages can be downloaded at
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/@sta/@perf/documents/digitalasset/dh_107686.pdf
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