Healthcare with Maternity Cover & Question about Queen Mary

I gave birth at the Queen Mary 9 days ago, and have nothing but praise for the staff I encountered there. Their regular procedures are a little old-fashioned by Western standards, i.e. they are keen on episiotomies and having labouring women constantly strapped to a monitor on the bed. But I found the staff very flexible and willing to accommodate what I wanted. After half an hour of monitoring to establish a pattern, they allowed me to wander around, and would not perform an episiotomy without my consent. At every step they were checking details on my birth plan with me.


The main drawback is the public ward, because you can't pay for a private or semi-private room without being back-charged for the whole of your treatment as a private patient, which makes it no cheaper than private hospitals. However it will be busier at some times than others - I was unlucky enough to give birth at a very busy time, and had noisy babies on either side of me, whereas when I went back a few days later to retrieve something I had left behind, the ward was almost empty. I also have friends who were luckier in having women next to them who choose to put their babies in the nursery rather than having them crying at their bedsides. Either way, for a normal delivery it's usually only two nights, and after two sleepless nights in labour beforehand I was able to sleep through almost anything.


A lot of people are also put off by the restrictive visiting policy, but I think it's a godsend. Imagine having extended families coming in all the time - it would be as noisy as a dim sum restaurant.