"Lack of weekend breastfeeding support"

I had my first baby in August at Peterhead maternity unit. It was the main place I wanted to give birth and had the best experience with amazing midwives and a student midwife. My birth was around 20 hours long with my baby boy being born in the early evening. When my son was born we were blue lighted through to Aberdeen for him to be seen in the Neonatal unit. The girls in the unit were amazing and spent time with me to collect colostrum into syringes and try to start breastfeeding. After 4 hours I got my boy back with me in Ashgrove ward around midnight. 

While in the ward, I was left to my own devices. By the time I was settled into my room it was after visiting hours so my husband was unable to stay and help me shower. No one came to my room to introduce themselves, support me with feeding or give any information on how to care for a newborn. The first night I was able to collect a good amount of colostrum myself to get through the first 24 hours.

During my pregnancy my preference was to breastfeed and wanted to try my best to get my newborn latched. However, due to him having a slight facial palsy it was harder than expected. During the day I asked multiple staff for support and voiced my concerns on my inability to get him to feed. These were all greeted by the same general answer of just keep trying different positions and getting him to latch this was the most unsupported I’d felt since starting labour.

As this was over the weekend (Friday - Monday) the breastfeeding support team wasn’t working so I was told to ring my buzzer every time I attempted to feed so someone would come help. I was mostly greeted by a HCSW who would only stand at the door of my room and ask what I wanted. There was no hands on help or support with breastfeeding. During the night when I struggled the midwives would offer me bottles of premade formula instead. It really was the most unsupported I’d ever felt. Being left yourself with a newborn, tired and unsure of what to do, it was a very lonely and traumatic post birth. 

My son was also getting treatment for jaundice and was under the care of an amazing paediatric doctor who I voiced my feeding concerns too. They had clearly passed this on to the ward staff as I was confronted by one of the HCSW who couldn't understand why I was asking for help. They told me just to keep trying and he will work it out. Shocking so called support. I would never dream of speaking to a vulnerable person that way. 

By the time Monday came I was only relying on the premade formula bottles. Someone from the breastfeeding support team did introduce themselves on the Monday morning and asked me how I was getting on and if I had filled in my feeding record book. I had been given no information or record books to keep a note of nappies or feeding over the 4 days I was in Ashgrove Ward. I couldn’t wait to be discharged and get proper support by my family at home.

Currently 5 weeks later I am exclusively expressing milk for my boy as the lack of support and post birth hormones caused me so much doubt and anxiety around feeding. However, the support I have received from the health visitors have been second to none and I now have a referral to the Infant feeding team for breastfeeding support. 

The experience I had at Ashgrove Ward was truly disheartening and disappointing. I hope if we’re lucky enough to have a second child it isn’t over a weekend and does not result in admission to Aberdeen.

I understand the stress of working as a healthcare professional myself with skeleton staff especially over the weekend but I expected more from a place where care, support and empathy should be given with ease. New mums shouldn't have to beg for help or deal with unsupportive staff members who grumble and moan when you ask for help.