Well I had a bit of worrying news last night.

A girl I know has just had a baby in the local hospital where I may have mine .......... my thoughts are changing a little!!! She is Bulgarian and so has offered me advice along the way. Anyway, the local hosp isn't that great, docs are fab but the facilities are not quite up to the standards of, say, the UK. She sys they paid an extra 20 leva (about 8 pounds) per night for a private room with it's own bathroom. She says that the women that were on the ward were not very desirable and this friend of mine is no snob, for her to say something like that was shocking, it must have been bad.

So, she then said she was in for 3 days, (4 days if you have a "c" section), but the nurses were terrible. She said she had to go and ask them tom come and help her, to show her what to do (she wasn't producing enough milk), no advice, no help and this girl speaks the language!!!!!! Where the hell does that leave me??? She said I should find an ENglish speaking doc who will visit me at least once a day. Where we live, I don't think there is anyone!

I told my dad today and he said oh don't worry, get a private room and you'll be home before you know it!!!!! Easy for him to say, he won't be stuck there for 24 hours, with a new born baby (which I'm panicking about as I don't know what to do), with gypsys in the next room, not understanding anyone and no one understanding me and just wanting to go home!! If I tell my mum she'll tell me to go to the UK to have the baby but then I'm stuck there for 3 months with OH trying to run our business and build our house!! That would be totally unfair and I'd miss him too much. Plus, I want him with me (but even that's not what happens, OH may not be allowed in!!!).

To say I am a little worried is an understatement! I will be looking into going private but that is in the city, would take about 45 - 1 hour to get there and at the end of the day, baby is in control, not me, would we get there on time???

There is nothing any of you can say to make it all better, but this is really the only place I can share my worries.

I wouldn't listen to other people. From what I heard, my labour ward was horrible. I had to spend a few nights in there with a pre eclampsia scare and it really was brilliant. People just have different tastes.

If that really has 100% put you off then don't worry about the private place being that far away. Is it your first baby? If it is, I'm pretty sure you'd get there on time.

I'm sorry you are facing this worrying situation

It sounds like you have some difficult choices to make. I'm not sure what I would do in your situation. I really hope things work out OK for you.

Oh no hun that doesnt sound very good at all. Not really got any advice to give but didnt want to read and run.

Is there no way you could request an english speaking doc beforehand? Or maybe it would be worth the extra hours drive (if you can manage it when the time comes) to get to the other hospital?

Its not great where I am either, our local hosp only give gas and air as pain relief and if you need a c section or epidural or any other intervention then they chuck you in an ambulance and blue light it up to another hospital. Also ive heard some nasty stories about shared rooms etc and i understand how worrying it can be. Needless to say ive opted to go straight to the other hospital (even though its 45mins drive away) and instead am now worrying about giving birth in the car on the way there!

Hope it all works out for you

xxx

The girl who has just given birth is a lovely girl and has just had her first child, so all this was new to her too. I have seen the hospital, it's not good, believe me, it's not good, cracked windows, paint peeling off walls, date back to communist times, and as for the ward, security is another worry, some of these girls have nothing, what if I need the loo, will everything still be there???

Please don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the gypsys, in our village and others they are hard working and mix well with the other locals. But in the town they are pick pockets (Bulgarians and foreigners get done) and not trust worthy at all.

But it's not that, the nurses, if my friend says she had to ak for assistance then she had to ask. She's a girl that speaks beautiful English, has wonderful manners and never has a bad word to say about anyone, she's also very patient. This is why she says she wants to chat with me to make me fully aware of what to expect. I will be checking out the maternity ward for myself first, then I'll give you a run down.

So I think when I get my next scan, we will pop into the maternity ward to check it all out, that will make my mind up either way. I will then decide if I need to get an English speaking doc, at the end of the day I will have questions, what if I have pain or feel ill, I have to be able to make myself understood, for me and my baby.

Sparky0207I'm with you on that one!!!!!! Could get quite messy. We only have a little Punto, now that would be interesting!!

What does the blue light signal? I never actually knew.
And you should have enough time to make it to the hospital if it's only an hour away, wait until you're reaching active labour and then go, early labour can last even a couple days.

I don't know,if it really scares you(i know i would be),you should look into going to the one that is an hour away.Don't wait until the last minute,you should be fine since early labour can last long...

If you're really worried book yourself into the private one.

1hr away isn't far. From what I've been reading labour can last an extremely long time.
The thing is for you to be completely at ease with your surroundings during labour. Otherwise it could slow things down and make things difficult. If you're not going to be comfortable in this hospital go somewhere where you will be comfortable.

I agree with the others. I'd book into the private one, and leave as soon as I had the first twinge! Sorry to hear you're having to make this difficult decision though

I'd book into the private one too.... even if you have a visit of the ward before hand, your view of how your labour and post-natal care has already been set by your friends experience, and you should enjoy it, not worry about whether it's safe to go to loo or not. First labours are normally quite long in the first stages, so as soon as you have a niggle, go straight in... It's better to spend an hour getting back home after a false alarm, than leaving it to the last minute and having a Punto birth