ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A post-natal patient at Royal Betoota Base Hospital has told this masthead that she’s received a lot of advice about dealing with her day-old baby from a number of helpful staff.
Each midwife that Carmen Frost has spoken to in the past few days has taken time to share their experiences and opinions with her – which is something that the first-time mum is very appreciative of.
Speaking briefly to our reporter at the vending machines on level four, Carmen said that she’s noticed that a lot of opinions and pieces of advice that she’s been given often contradict themselves.
“Like, uh, the midwife overnight last night said you shouldn’t feed your baby when he’s sat upright because it might make him swallow more air but the midwife I just saw said I can feel him upright if I want and there’s nothing wrong with it,” she said.
“Or the one yesterday that said I should get out of bed and walk around more but then another said that if walking is still extremely painful, I should just rest up and not force myself. The doctor just shrugged and asked me if I wanted some more Tramadol and that I should just get better as time goes on,”
“And the other midwife that said dummies should be used as a last resort to settle a baby. I’m kind of in the same boat but this other midwife put one in when he was screaming his head off and he pretty much went straight to sleep. Like, I get that I’m a bit mentally fried at the moment but nothing seems to make sense. All this advice contradicts itself,”
“What am I supposed to do? Just take it all in and see what works for me?”
Carmen then put $5 into the vending machine and entered the wrong code by accident.
“Oh fuck! Not the Anticols! I wanted the Grain Waves! Fuck!”
More to come.
