Before you go home - maternity discharge video
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Hello, my name's Jody.
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And I'm one of the discharge coordinators.
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Congratulations on the birth of your baby.
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Before you get home with your baby, there are some things we'd like to
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tell you about how to help you take care of yourself and your baby.
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If you have any questions, please ask the midwife or one of the
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team on the maternity unit.
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You can watch this video again on the hospital website or via
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the MOMA app when you get home.
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So don't worry about remembering everything now.
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Once you and your baby are fit to go home there are a number of things that we
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need to do before you can leave hospital.
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The midwife will give you your discharge paperwork, including those postnatal
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notes and phone numbers for you if you have any concerns when you get home.
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We will give you a child health record book for your baby, which is used to
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keep track of your baby's progress.
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Your baby's weight and immunisations are recorded here,
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as well as other milestones.
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We will provide any medications you may need to take home with you.
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We will check with you that we have the correct address, phone
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number and GP details for you.
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Once these are complete, you are ready to go home.
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This can happen at any time, day or night.
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When you get home, our team of community midwives will continue
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to care for you for up to 28 days.
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We offer a combination of home visits and telephone calls tailored
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to yours and your baby's needs.
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In some areas you can choose to see a midwife at a local postnatal clinic.
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On your first full day at home from hospital, a community
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midwife will visit you at home.
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Usually a midwife you've met before.
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If a midwife has not visited you by 3PM that day, please contact
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the Maternity Liaison office.
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The midwife will ask you about you and your baby and share with you information
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about recovering from childbirth, common health concerns after birth, such as
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tiredness, discomfort, and mood changes, how to assess your baby's health and
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where to go for help feeding your baby caring for your baby, including skincare
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and cord care and contraception.
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Your midwife will check both of you, for example, by undressing baby and seeing how
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you are healing if you have any stitches.
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You can discuss your birth experience with the midwife who can answer
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any questions you may have about your care during labour and birth.
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If you're not expecting a visit or phone call from your midwife,
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but you have concerns and need to speak to them,
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please don't hesitate to phone their mobile phone.
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If your midwife's not available, then please phone the Maternity
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Liaison Office who will get in touch with a midwife for you.
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Their office is open between 9 AM and 3:15 PM from Monday to Sunday.
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It's really important to look after yourself as well as your baby.
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Sometimes it may feel like there's no time to eat or sleep.
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If you do not take care of yourself, you may tend to end up run down and exhausted.
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It can be really common to feel tearful, anxious, or sad.
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This is often called baby blues.
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The symptoms often go away on their own.
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If you or your family notice changes in your mood or emotions that last longer
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than a couple of weeks, then let your midwife, health, visitor or GP know.
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In the immediate days after having a baby, there is increased chance
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of infection in the vaginal area.
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And very occasionally this can lead to the life-threatening
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infectious disease called sepsis.
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It's so important to wash your hands both before and after going to the
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toilet or changing your sanitary pads, this is especially necessary when
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you or someone close to you, such as a family member or close friend has
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a sore throat or chest infection.
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Having a baby increases the risk of you developing deep vein thrombosis, a DVT.
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This is a serious condition where a blood clot forms in a deep vein
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in the body, usually in the leg.
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It's really important you call your midwife GP or maternity unit immediately
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if you have pain, swelling, tenderness in one leg, usually at the back of
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your lower leg, the pain may be worse.
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When you bend your foot forwards,
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a heavy ache or warm skin in the affected area
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or red skin, particularly at the back of your leg below the knee.
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You must call 999 immediately if you have sudden difficulty breathing, have
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pain or tightness in your chest or upper back,
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or you're coughing blood.
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If you have any of the following contact, your midwife, GP, or
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local maternity unit immediately.
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You can contact your nearest maternity unit anytime of the day or night.
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Phone numbers for the maternity unit are at the end of this video, and
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they're in the written information you will take home with you.
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Symptoms to watch out for include feeling unwell with a high temperature
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with, or without shivers.
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Very heavy vaginal bleeding or passing blood clots.
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Smelly vaginal discharge, dizziness, fainting, breathlessness,
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palpitations, or chest pain.
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Severe abdominal pain, visual disturbances - changes to your sight for example.
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Nausea or vomiting, pain in one of your calves in your lower leg.
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Severe anxiety, paranoia, extreme depression or bizarre thoughts.
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Most people who give birth vaginally will sustain some tears and grazes
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to the perineum, the area between the vaginal opening and the back passage.
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A tear happens as the baby stretches the vagina and pelvic floor during birth.
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Sometimes they need stitches to help heal.
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If you have stitches, these are dissolvable and they can take up to
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four months to be absorbed completely.
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If you've chosen not to have stitches, then the tear may take longer to heal.
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You can speed up the healing process by keeping the area really clean, have a
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bath or shower at least once a day and change your sanitary pads regularly.
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Washing your hands remember both before and afterwards.
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Make sure you're drinking at least two to three litres of water every day.
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Eat a really healthy, balanced diet, including fruit, vegetables,
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cereals, wholemeal, bread, and pasta.
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This will help prevent you from becoming constipated.
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You may need to take regular pain relief, such as paracetamol and
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ibuprofen to help with any discomfort.
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This will help you to move more easily.
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Walking also helps prevent stiffness and reduces swelling.
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If you've sustained a third degree tear, you'll be sent home with a few things
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antibiotics to reduce the chances of infection and medication called
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lactulose which helps soften your stools.
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We'll do a referral to physiotherapy and you'll have a follow-up
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appointment with the obstetric team.
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If you've had a caesarean birth, you'll need to look after the wound.
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The dressing will stay on for five days.
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You can still shower with the dressing on.
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The wound dressing and non dissolvable stitches or staples
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will be usually taken out by your midwife after five to seven days.
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Once the dressing has been removed, gently clean and dry the wound every day.
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Wear loose, comfortable clothing and cotton underwear, and watch
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out for the signs of infection.
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These can include swelling, redness, pain, a high temperature, pus or
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just generally feeling unwell.
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When you're feeling tired, being active may seem like the last
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thing you want to do, but regular activity can relax you, keep you fit
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and help you feel more energetic.
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It can also help your body recover after childbirth, and it may help
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prevent postnatal depression.
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If you had a straightforward birth, you can start gentle exercise
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as soon as you feel up to it.
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This can include walking, gentle stretches, pelvic
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floor and tummy exercises.
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Please refer to your postnatal exercises leaflet that you've been given.
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If you've had a caesarean birth, there are some special considerations
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to be taken into account so that you recover from your operation safely.
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Please refer to the caesarean birth leaflet that you have been given.
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Your pelvic floor muscles help control your bladder function and play a
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really important role in your sex life.
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During pregnancy hormonal changes and the extra weight we carry causes
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them to weaken, it's vital that we make them strong again, just like any
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other muscle that we need to tone up.
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If you have a catheter wait until it is removed before you do those exercises.
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Remember it is possible to become pregnant again very soon
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after the birth of the baby.
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Even if you are breast or chest feeding.
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And even if your periods have not returned it's important to
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plan contraception in advance.
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You can discuss your contraception at any time with your health visitor, your
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midwife, your GP, a doctor, or nurse or contraception or sexual health clinic.
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Not all methods of contraception are safe for everyone, you can
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discuss with your doctor or nurse which methods are suitable to you.
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Between 10 and 28 postnatal days, the midwife will discharge you to
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the care of your health visitor.
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Health visitors are nurses and midwives who are qualified in the care and
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development of preschool children.
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Your health visitor will continue to support you and they will
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monitor your baby's wellbeing.
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They will also give you information about your baby's immunisations,
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local baby groups and clinics.
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Your local children's center might also offer these baby groups.
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You can find more information about house visiting service online.
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If you have any unresolved concerns or questions about your
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pregnancy or your birth experience
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You can discuss this with our team of experienced midwives who lead
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our birth afterthought service.
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Your birth partner can take part too.
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If you've had a caesarean delivery, and you're thinking about delivery options
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for the next time, you can speak to the midwives in the birth after cesarean team.
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Sessions are available at William Harvey hospital in Ashford, the Royal
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Victoria hospital in Folkestone, the Buckland hospital in Dover,
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Kent and Canterbury Hospital,
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and at QEQM in Margate.