Matilda Midwife/Nurse Experiences?

H

hkexpat2010

Registered User
For those that have given birth at Matilda, can you share your experience with the midwives/nurses? I've heard all the Dr.'s come in very last minute in the birthing process so I'm curious to know more about the midwives....

-How much time do the midwives actually spend with you? Do they just come in to check you and then leave right away?
-Or do they spend alot of time in the room with you? IE acting more like coaches, helping you with your breathing, trying different positions, etc?
-Are they friendly/nurturing or more matter of fact?
-Any ones in particular you recommend?

Also, are there birthing aids like balls, birthing chair, squat bar, etc in the room when you give birth? Or will they bring them in if you ask?

Any advice you can share would be greatly appreciated!!
 
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I have had both my sons at Matilda in the last two years and had excellent experiences with the majority of midwives up there. The only exception was the first time around there was shift change right at the end of my delivery and a very noisy midwife came in while I was pushing and really struggling. She started have a very loud social chit chat with my doctor and paediatrician. I got very cross and asked my husband to tell her to shut the ?$$?%% up!
 
When I was at Matilda the Midwife was with me probably 50% of the time. (6 hr labour) and she was fantastic. (It was the middle of the night so she left me alone at times early on to get some rest while I still could) My OB was there for probably a total of 1 and a half hours all up. She came in about 3 times and was there from 9 cm until I was taken out of the delivery room. Both the Midwife and my OB definitely coached me in the pushing stage and the Midwife was a combination of friendly and matter of fact. The midwife I had is no longer in HK, but hopefully you will have a good experience also.
 
I was a bit put off by the midwives at first. When I called them before going to the hospital, contractions were 3 minutes apart, I was told to wait at home longer, to relax and take Panadol because it was my first baby. When we got there, I felt she wasn't very friendly (it was 4:30am though...), very business-like and strapped the external monitor thingy on me, had me fill in forms, drew blood, etc., then left. The midwives weren't there most of the time except to look at the monitor and to tell me to get up and walk around to speed up labor (I had 2 different ones because of shift change). They came in every half hour to check on me, but nothing to help with contractions.

The shower and bath are in the delivery room, but no birthing ball (they do have one, you have to ask for it).

Around 7.30am, I kept telling the midwife I needed to have a bowel movement, but was told I was in early labor so needed to get up and walk. My sisters and husband all felt they weren't doing enough. The general attitude was that I was probably going to take awhile. When the baby arrived an hour later I was by myself in the bathroom. My husband had to go find the midwife. My obgyn came half an hour later to deliver the placenta, stitches, etc.

To be fair I didn't ask the midwives to help me during labor (I didn't know what to ask for?), so they mostly left me alone. Afterwards they were very nice and helpful especially with breastfeeding (I asked for help a lot in that).
 
Catan, I'm just curious but did you give the midwives a birth plan when you were admitted? I plan to draw one up and ask the midwives to be present for some "coaching" through my contractions.
 
I had a very good experience with my midwife at the Matilda, Ashley. She's a very pleasant lady and was very supportive the whole time. She was with me about 70% of the time while I was waiting for full dilation. She explained the process that I'm going through; expected time of delivery based on my progress; checking on the pain relief brought by the epidural; where the doctor was and what he's asking her to do. She was very positive and also gave me time to rest when I needed to. During the delivery (pushing only took me 20 minutes and this is my first baby), she was playing an active role by coaching me how to push. She worked well with my doctor. Their motivation made me give birth so easily :) even post-birth, she helped me in breastfeeding. She was very patient during my 3-day stay and allowed me to call on her if I needed help on anything. I hope you'll have a pleasant experience with your assisting midwife too. I sure did.

As for my doctor, he checked on me regularly when I was at the delivery suite. He also followed my birth plan to the letter. I made it clear that I wanted a v delivery and I knew he made it possible. My water bag broke early and I was having a fever at that time but he never mentioned C-section. As I mentioned, I pushed the baby out in 20minutes.

All in all, giving birth at the Matilda was a good experience :-)
 
I did have a birth plan that my ob had faxed to them a month ago. By the time we got to the hospital, the pain was intense-- all thoughts of my birth plan were far far away! The subject never came up. My birth plan basically requested not to do interventions unnecessarily, not to offer pain relief unless I ask for it, and to allow bonding with baby immediately after birth. All of that happened as the labor went very quickly. I went from hardly dilated to full dilation in an hour, the baby slid out a second after crowning without much effort on my part. The midwives didn't have a chance to help with coaching. Although my mother kept saying they should have known baby was coming. My husband was upset that no one was there when baby came out, he thought the midwives would have been more present. As for me, I was just relieved baby was fine, so I don't have any strong feelings about the experience. I would have preferred being left alone to being rushed though (my ob had warned beforehand that some midwives can tend to rush you if not progressing).







RileyC said:
Catan, I'm just curious but did you give the midwives a birth plan when you were admitted? I plan to draw one up and ask the midwives to be present for some "coaching" through my contractions.
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the mid-wives for me were most helpful after the birth, rather than during as she just sat next to me recording data and bascially writing....they were helpful in teaching me about breastfeeding and teaching me how to care for my baby (as she was in NICU critical at QMH). they provided good psychological support which i really appreciated as my husband was on his way to QMH and I was basically all alone
 
Just curious -- if the doctor is not actually there for the birth, if he didn't actually deliver the baby, do you still pay the full doctor's fee?
 
Yes.. for me, I developed a hematoma and needed stitches, so when the doctor came, she delivered the placenta, and dealt with those issues.


Gracey said:
Just curious -- if the doctor is not actually there for the birth, if he didn't actually deliver the baby, do you still pay the full doctor's fee?
Click to expand...
 
Great, thanks for sharing everyone! I find it really helpful to know more about the midwives roles. I'm considering using a doula and this aids in the decision making process :D
 
I had a very positive experience with the mid-wives for my first delivery in Matilda. The mid-wife on duty when I was delivering was excellent (she has left for Australia btw). She was checking in on me regularly enough (but not excessive), and when it was time to push she guided me through the entire process and every contraction/push, until the obgyn and the paediatrician came in to the room at the last push.

With my second delivery at HK Sanatorium, the experience was a little different. My OBGYN and Paediatrician (both are the same with the first delivery) were with me in the room right from the first push and my OBGYN guided me with the push, the mid-wive didn't have to do anything.

All-in-all, we had good experiences with both Matilda and HK Sanatorium, though they are quite different. Think the former is better for first time parents, and second better for experienced ones.
 
Once the baby is delivered, do the midwives help with things other than breastfeeding? E.g. teach first time parents about diaper changing, bathing, burping, swaddling etc.
 
The nurses in the ward were v helpful after my c section at the matilda. You can be as hands on as you want. I was wanting the baby w me all the time, but ended up so exhausted they actually suggested looking after the baby for one night so I could get some sleep. Other more experienced ladies were happy to leave their bubs in the nursery to maximize rest. They are always there to teach you how to bathe everyday, how to swaddle, and all in all, a lot of emotional support. I had the same nurse for 5 nights in a row, and I don't think I would have got through the whole thing without her. Wrt breastfeeding you will find different nurses have different techniques and approaches. Some geled w me, others I found a bit rough and dogmatic, but they are all there to help. I loved the experience and plan to give birth there again next yr w my second little one.
 
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