Good/bad experiences with hospital staff due to being in same sex relationship

[DrGirl72]

Hi Miskilla, Another congratulations to you and DP on your pregnancy. I am also in Adelaide and am happy to share some of my experiences. My first two children ( who are now 11 and almost 9 years old) were both born at WCH. My ex-DP was the birth mother for both of them so my expereince was as the non-birth mother. We had really good care with WCH and did not experience any homophobia. We also conceived both boys at home using a known donor and the method of conception/identity of donor was never raised during any of ou antenatal/postnatal care. We were both times booked to go through the birth centre but both times ended up with emergency caesarians. Like Nurse27 we attended all appts together and were clear from the beginning that we were a couple and the child's parents. I was a little anxious at the time 9especially the fist time) as to whether we would encounter much homophobia but did not (well not overt anyway!). I am currently 25 weeks pregnant and this time we are going to birth at Ashford (we needed the help of IVF to conceive but again using our own, known donor). We have a private obstetrician amd a doula.. so far so good re these issues. I also know a number of lesbian couples in Adelaide who have had their children at Ashford and been happy with the experience. Great to have another Adelaide lesbain around the raps, hope this is useful and more than happy to chat more if you would like, feel free to PM me, Girldoc

[Sally2]

We have never had anything negative directed towards us as two Mum's, including during the 11 weeks at Mercy with Charlie when he was first born. All the way along, we were both treated as equal parents and both encouraged to care for him.
I'm not sure what we would have done had anything negative been said, particularly when he was so fragile ( as were we !! ) but remember that all medical staff are now actually trained in embracing diversity in their patients, so it would be more unusual than common to have someone say something inappropriate.
Being upfront helps too, even when we aren't always comfortable 'coming out' to everyone we meet, we want to make sure Charlie is never given the impression that there is anything to hide by having two mum's. Unfortunately, this meant the other day telling the fish and chip lady in front of a busy shop that Charlie had two mum's and we were lesbians quite funny now but embarrassing at the time !!
Congratulations again on your pregnancy! When do we get to see a ticker???

[miskilla]

Hey everyone! Wow you all have great points and seems you all had pretty positive experiences. Thank you so much for all the replies. I'm not actually new to SA, I just can't decide on a hospital. We had lived in Gawler and I really wanted to go there but now we're closer to Lyell Mac. I've heard so many good things about LM but really love Gawler and the idea of being closer to the 'country' hehe. We'll see, the doc gave me a number I need to call asap to get booked in for hospital care. I still haven't done it, but I'll check if Gawler is possible. My 10yr old son was born at WCH, I was with his father at the time, but we're too far now and I doubt I'd go back after last time.

Oh so I called on Thursday to get the results of my hcg levels. I was put through to the nurse who was a bit confused about what I was after. She proceeded to tell me my hcg levels were 41, which sent me into a spin for the next 24hrs worried something was wrong. Yesterday I went in for my app and the doc tells me my levels are through the roof and all is looking perfect. He was horrified that the 'senior' nurse had told me the wrong numbers and went and spoke to her. I told him I didn't mind I was just so relieved, but he spoke to her anyway. My follow up bloods yesterday were perfect too so hopefully its smooth sailing from here.

The last day or 2 I have woken up feeling a little sickie so I'm wondering if the sickness is starting to set in, believe it or not I'm kinda somewhat thrilled about it, haha. I have been getting this really achy heavy period like pain for days but the doc has assured me it's just my uterus stretching etc. Anyone else experience this? oh and mood swings? I think the term 'mood swings' is an understatement!! I'm sure my lovely lady would agree right now too!

Sally2 that's hilarious about the fish & chip shop lady! Kids can be very embarrassing huh, trust me I've been there with my 10yr old many a time! And DrGirl72 thanks for sharing your experiences also, we don't really have many other lesbian friends, and none interested in having babies that's for sure so we had noone to ask. Wow you don't have much longer to go! Do you know what you are having?

This post is far too long; I better go get ready for my little mans footy presentation! Oh and I'll try figure out this ticker business!

Rachel