[Before admission to hospital]
I arrived in London when I was in the sixth month of pregnancy, so quite late actually. I had to quickly register with a GP and get my Flu shot apart from Tetanus + Whooping cough shot. I was referred to a maternity hospital. But you don't have to wait for your GP to refer you, you can self refer yourself.
For registering with a GP find a GP near you and contact them by phone/mail. When in hurry, better to speak on phone even though you will have to wait a lot. You will have to provide an address proof - I gave the temporary accommodation letter given by my company. That's the only document they require. Once the GP registers you, after some time you will get your NHS numbers via post or you can ask your GP. But you don't have to wait for your NHS number to receive any treatment or service - registering with a GP is enough.
I had to soon shift the house and register with a new GP and new maternity hospital. But the process was same.
Now, I had to repeat some tests at my new hospital since the hospitals in London don't accept tests at other hospitals. Some hospitals(like UCLH) have apps/websites for you to track your appointments whereas others(like Northwick Park) simply rely on paper mail.
I was put in high risk category as I was a late booker(arrived late in my pregnancy to UK) and diagnosed with Gestational diabetes. By the time I reached here I was past the date when they do the last ultrasound scan. I had to do multiple requests to get the scan which was finally allowed. In this scan I came to know the gender of my child (in India it isn't allowed).
I was given a machine to measure my blood sugar everyday. I could ask for more test strips once they got over.
[Admission to Hospital]
I had delivery by C-section as the cervix didn't dilate enough even though significant contractions occurred for a significant duration. My earlier delivery was also C-section so that was another risk factor. At around 37 weeks of pregnancy I started feeling reduced fetal movements and I was also diagnosed with Gestational diabetes during my routine visits. On every visit my urine sample was checked for sugar and other tests.
So first they induced me and waited for the water to break for quite some time. That didn't happen so the midwife broke the water herself and then the contractions started. I even took Epidural for relieving the pain.
After the baby was delivered, I was told that my womb was quite thin and it might have ruptured if we had waited too long for natural birth.
After the baby was cleaned and dressed(you have to pack the clothes for the baby) we were moved to post surgery care room where she was placed on me for skin to skin contact and latching on to my breast for Colostrum. She did try to suck well but to be safe the nurse did take the Colostrum from my breast in a small syringe and fed her. My baby was also checked for sugar markers as I had Gestational diabetes. My husband was asked to leave at this point while I rested and my baby was being taken care by the nursing staff.
From here I was moved to general ward which housed 6 new mothers with their babies. Here my husband was allowed to visit in the visiting hours(3 or 4 hours duration). Here the care wasn't as good as what I encountered so far. But not bad. Here the mothers were being encouraged to walk and bath and pick their babies and leave a bit early from the hospital :-).
My husband was allowed to stay with me as soon as the labor pain started before that no one was allowed to accompany me but I was in great hands there. The midwives were very good.
[After the child birth]
Maternity pads - After the childbirth one will likely have a lot of bleeding and in the hospital I was given pads but they were a bit smaller/thinner and I had to use two at a time. It's better to buy maternity pads in advance and pack in your maternity bag.
Anticoagulant(blood thinner) injection - After the delivery happened I was discharged and given certain medicines. One of them was Anticoagulant(blood thinner) injection which was a pre filled syringe which I had to administer myself at home for 7 days. It wasn't explained very well to me but I found this video which explained it very well - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ1bR2N6pCk
Note that it's Subcutaneous and not Intra muscular - meaning that you have to inject yourself in the skin and not the muscle. If you administer in the muscle you might hit and hurt a nerve. So watch the above video and other similar videos to get a better idea. Better to be injected via a nurse in the hospital first.
Baby stuff -
Bath tub - After 4-5 days I started giving my baby regular baths and this bathtub came in very handy. My baby is around 4 months old now and it's still very useful. I expect it to be useful for one year at least. I use this product for hair and body wash.
Baby Massage oil - I used coconut oil.
Nursing pillow - I bought this nursing pillow which is quite good in initial days but after about 1 or 2 months it won't be useful as the baby won't fit properly.
Baby clothes - I found the right size to be Size 0 from Asda. Also, hats, jumpsuits, baby tights.
Vitamin D drops - If your baby is not on formula, you should be giving Vitamin D drops as prescribed.
Multivitamins for mother - I am using these.
Nursing - pads and bras.
Bed protectors - Washable and disposable.
Pram/Car Seat/Baby cot etc. - You can always check GumTree.com for used stuff. A lot of people advise against buying second hand stuff for your baby due to hygiene/safety issues - so take an informed call. Argos has reasonably priced baby stuff as well. You need a car seat to get the baby discharged from hospital. You can borrow from a friend if you are not sure about buying initially.
I brought this pram from India. It's good and lightweight but once in London you will walk a lot. It doesn't seem suitable for heavy use and feels quite shaky. In India we don't use prams heavily so it's ok there. Even in London, if you don't use prams very often you can use this.
I brought this cradle also from India. Very useful and not able to find it in London.
Some of the used stuff I bought in London - Silver cross Linear Freeway travel system, Babybay convertible baby cot, Joie car seat.
So first they induced me and waited for the water to break for quite some time. That didn't happen so the midwife broke the water herself and then the contractions started. I even took Epidural for relieving the pain.
After the baby was delivered, I was told that my womb was quite thin and it might have ruptured if we had waited too long for natural birth.
After the baby was cleaned and dressed(you have to pack the clothes for the baby) we were moved to post surgery care room where she was placed on me for skin to skin contact and latching on to my breast for Colostrum. She did try to suck well but to be safe the nurse did take the Colostrum from my breast in a small syringe and fed her. My baby was also checked for sugar markers as I had Gestational diabetes. My husband was asked to leave at this point while I rested and my baby was being taken care by the nursing staff.
From here I was moved to general ward which housed 6 new mothers with their babies. Here my husband was allowed to visit in the visiting hours(3 or 4 hours duration). Here the care wasn't as good as what I encountered so far. But not bad. Here the mothers were being encouraged to walk and bath and pick their babies and leave a bit early from the hospital :-).
My husband was allowed to stay with me as soon as the labor pain started before that no one was allowed to accompany me but I was in great hands there. The midwives were very good.
[After the child birth]
Maternity pads - After the childbirth one will likely have a lot of bleeding and in the hospital I was given pads but they were a bit smaller/thinner and I had to use two at a time. It's better to buy maternity pads in advance and pack in your maternity bag.
Anticoagulant(blood thinner) injection - After the delivery happened I was discharged and given certain medicines. One of them was Anticoagulant(blood thinner) injection which was a pre filled syringe which I had to administer myself at home for 7 days. It wasn't explained very well to me but I found this video which explained it very well - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ1bR2N6pCk
Note that it's Subcutaneous and not Intra muscular - meaning that you have to inject yourself in the skin and not the muscle. If you administer in the muscle you might hit and hurt a nerve. So watch the above video and other similar videos to get a better idea. Better to be injected via a nurse in the hospital first.
Baby stuff -
Bath tub - After 4-5 days I started giving my baby regular baths and this bathtub came in very handy. My baby is around 4 months old now and it's still very useful. I expect it to be useful for one year at least. I use this product for hair and body wash.
Baby Massage oil - I used coconut oil.
Nursing pillow - I bought this nursing pillow which is quite good in initial days but after about 1 or 2 months it won't be useful as the baby won't fit properly.
Baby clothes - I found the right size to be Size 0 from Asda. Also, hats, jumpsuits, baby tights.
Vitamin D drops - If your baby is not on formula, you should be giving Vitamin D drops as prescribed.
Multivitamins for mother - I am using these.
Nursing - pads and bras.
Bed protectors - Washable and disposable.
Pram/Car Seat/Baby cot etc. - You can always check GumTree.com for used stuff. A lot of people advise against buying second hand stuff for your baby due to hygiene/safety issues - so take an informed call. Argos has reasonably priced baby stuff as well. You need a car seat to get the baby discharged from hospital. You can borrow from a friend if you are not sure about buying initially.
I brought this pram from India. It's good and lightweight but once in London you will walk a lot. It doesn't seem suitable for heavy use and feels quite shaky. In India we don't use prams heavily so it's ok there. Even in London, if you don't use prams very often you can use this.
I brought this cradle also from India. Very useful and not able to find it in London.
Some of the used stuff I bought in London - Silver cross Linear Freeway travel system, Babybay convertible baby cot, Joie car seat.
