"Labour and aftercare experience"

I gave birth to my first child at Wishaw General Hospital last month. I can only speak highly of the midwives who cared for me through my labour, they were all so attentive and really made me feel at ease. I ended up having to get an emergency forceps delivery and again all the midwives, doctors and theatre staff were amazing and so reassuring. Looking back they really helped make my overall birthing experience a positive one considering it wasn’t plain sailing.

However, the aftercare was a different story. When I was put on the ward after giving birth I feel like the care really slipped. After having a spinal I was supposed to be helped to stand up/walk, this was never done. I gave birth in the early evening and was taken to the ward about 5 hours later. I had to ask the midwives who came round early the next morning to remove my catheter if they would help me up and for some assistance in getting cleaned up.

I was the only mum on the ward who was breastfeeding and felt a bit neglected. I was not made aware that as I had been given morphine during labour that this would make my baby sleepy and I should wake him for feeds. This resulted in my baby losing more weight than normal as he was not fed enough which could have been prevented had I been given more support from the midwives. This then went on to have a negative impact on the start of my breastfeeding journey.

The day after I was released from hospital I was visited by a midwife who had a terrible attitude. As my baby had lost quite a bit of weight I was made feel like it was all my fault. I was visibly upset and instead of reassuring and comforting me, they barked orders at me, criticised me and made me feel like I was doing everything wrong. Women are so vulnerable and emotional after giving birth and need reassurance and a caring and compassionate midwife to help them adjust to their first couple of days with their new baby. The way the midwife treated me has really effected me mentally and emotionally and had a massive impact on my first few weeks as a parent. I hope other mums are not treated the way I was.

I also feel I should mention that I was not told that I had a 2nd degree tear nor was I examined before I was discharged from the hospital. I only found out a few weeks later after reading my notes on the badger notes app and after contacting my doctor as I was still in a great deal of pain and didn’t understand why after so many weeks. The doctor advised that I was badly bruised and there was no wonder I was still in so much pain.

However, I don't want this to over shadow all the great care i received up until I gave birth but as this didn't continue after the birth I feel it needs to be addressed so more support and encouragement can be provided to mums. I hope this can be looked into in order to provide better care to all women who have given birth to help provide a more positive experience.