"They helped keep me and my husband calm"

I went in to labour 4 weeks before my due date, then found out my baby was in breech position and had to go for an emergency c-section.

Everyone that we encountered that first day from maternity assessment unit, antenatal ward, labour ward, theatre and recovery were so kind. They helped keep me and my husband calm during a stressful situation.

We were well informed about what was going on and what the next steps would be and felt well listened to when things changed and labour progressed quicker than expected. Someone was regularly checking in on us to see if there was anything else we needed and I feel like I was still able to have a positive birth experience despite it not being the delivery we had planned for. 

I spent 4 days following delivery on the postnatal ward. The staff here were so caring. I was very overwhelmed by the whole experience and quite emotional but they kept me at ease and listened to and addressed my concerns.

I had a lot of difficulties with breastfeeding in the first few days and was quite upset with this but I received a lot of support with this from many members of ward staff - day and night.

They helped reassure me when I was unsure what to do and really built up my confidence so that by the time I was discharged I felt ready to go home and knew what I was doing.