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Expand view Topic review: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by NYE31 » Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:43 pm

@firsttimersw11

Another "gem" from your favourite columnist ;)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/112362 ... ating.html

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by SwallowsandAmazons » Tue Nov 18, 2014 12:02 pm

I think you are absolutely right Pie81, and I think it is getting the balance right of the overheads and the facilities, maybe having a downscaled version of Mermaid as you suggested is a great thought, but I think these venues are hard to find in Wandsworth and still extortionately expensive for profit made by the business...

Hence the closure of the two other Cupcake clubs in Earlsfield and Putney...a shame really, the magic code just needs to be cracked!

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by pie81 » Tue Nov 18, 2014 11:56 am

I agree Swallows, I think any post natal service is going to be more successful if it can offer a "come to your house" option as well. I ruled out a number of breastefeeding consultants purely on the basis that they didn't do home visits and I couldn't get it together enough to get to them!

But perhaps there is room for a "one stop shop" to offer both, a cheaper drop in option and a more expensive come to your home option?

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by SwallowsandAmazons » Tue Nov 18, 2014 11:52 am

I do think there is not enough emphasis on women recovering after birth and I think every mother in the UK should have this opportunity like many of our mothers and grandmothers had in hospital in the past. I think 'one stop shops' are great concepts but if they are placed in one geographical location, only the mothers in that area can reach them - and that might have been part of the problem with Mermaid. Perhaps we need lots of them!

The great thing about many advisers, postnatal doulas, maternity nurses etc is that they will go to a mother's home when she is feeling exhausted - and it can be quite hard to get out of the house...and postnatal doulas will nurture and support the mother too, cooking for her, making sure she has a rest and giving her good information etc, whatever her budget...

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by pie81 » Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:41 pm

I thought it was an interesting idea and a shame it's gone under. Two generations ago it was standard to spend 2 weeks in hospital post birth with your newborn so you could recover, establish feeding with midwife help and not have to deal with your older children. So I think the article is wrong to be snotty about this kind of choice.

That said personally if I have spare money to throw at post natal care, it will be spent on getting the best advisers I can find (paeds, breastfeeding consultants, physio checks etc) and/or home help (doula, maternity nurse) rather than on a hotel room.

I know they had advisers at Mermaid too, but much of the cost must surely have been the hotel room, which leaves me wondering how much could be spent on the advisers.

That does leave the issue of escaping from boisterous toddler while trying to get feeding established and recover from birth... Again however my preferred solution would be to spend money on keeping my first child's existing childcare going in the day, rather than a hotel room.

Perhaps there is a market for a "one stop shop" which can offer access to all the best private advisers/home help? As currently it's very hard to find out who to see/where to go for this kind of advice and help. And perhaps if it was set up a day centre it could also have some sitting rooms and a few bedrooms for mothers to come and escape?

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by SwallowsandAmazons » Mon Nov 17, 2014 11:45 am

Saying that they did have many other expert professionals to be accessed - I just hope they were easy to access when the mother needed, it must have been quite a logistical operation as well...

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by SwallowsandAmazons » Mon Nov 17, 2014 11:25 am

No, they certainly didn't provide medical maternity care but they did provide postnatal maternity care on a non-medical level ie similar to maternity nurses.

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by Mum2Alex » Mon Nov 17, 2014 11:00 am

I don't think they ever claimed to be offering "maternity care" (that you need a hospital for - though after my experience at C&W I would suggest you get more care in the community anyway...)

I think the point was that there was support and they catered specifically for a new family.

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by SwallowsandAmazons » Mon Nov 17, 2014 10:56 am

I think the concept was well intentioned and a much needed resource for many mothers. They must have struggled getting the financial structure in place - it was certainly a lot cheaper than a private hospital and the quality of room probably warranted the cost - the overheads must have been vast. However you do have to ask what quality of maternity care the mothers were actually going to get if they were paying them only £10ph? For me it felt a little like style over substance - and that is just my personal view before I get shot down in flames...

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by LP73 » Sat Nov 15, 2014 11:27 am

It's a shame at what has happened especillally when the new marketing team had not been given a full chance to turn it around.
I feel that the issue right from the start was offering packages that would be appealing for those wishing to use on a daily basis.
They never did get that side of things organised and if they did possibly they would have had a chance of survival.
The C&W Kensington Wing offers something similar with a new suite that is wonderful and feels more like a hotel than a hospital. The price however is much greater and I think that one has to give birth there too.
The only other option is to employ a douler at home to help out - I hear that they are a god send!

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by Emma » Thu Nov 13, 2014 7:48 pm

We did all the First Aid training for them and they really cared and were working so hard to make it work.
Emma First Aid for Life

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by NYE31 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:10 pm

A friend of mine went after the birth of her 2nd & aid it was amazing.

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by firsttimerSW11 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 3:16 pm

A real shame. I think it was a great idea and I know a few people who went after traumatic births and said it was a godsend.

I have to say, Bev Turner is incredibly opinioned and judgemental. A champagne socialist if ever there was one.

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by NYE31 » Thu Nov 13, 2014 2:40 pm

I think the article is very harsh, I would have used it for a night or so & it's a real shame that it's gone under less than 18 months on :(

Re: Mermaid Maternity Retreat - Liquidation

by Mum2Alex » Thu Nov 13, 2014 1:42 pm

Before you make a judgement about how "unnecessary" my decision is, let me say this:

1) I will be having a planned section for medical reasons in a tertiary hospital in west London
2) I spent 24h in the hospital after my previous emergency section
3) I will be living 2 hours drive away and won't want to be in a car for that long day 1 post section
4) I am a paediatric consultant and have no intention of spending a minute more in the hospital than is necessary
5) essentially I want a hotel with full baby facilities where I won't be jumped upon by my boisterous toddler. A spa is nice but not essential. Help from Lactation Cons always welcome. Physio - always a good thing. These things aren't necessary for all mums but this is about getting an additional service such as you might expect from a stay in a private hospital, without the premium price tag.

And breathe...

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