"Excellent care during the loss of my daughter"

Last April I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of my first daughter. I had had an uneventful pregnancy, and no concerns for either myself nor my unborn child throughout the 9 months.

At 41 weeks I had a home visit from my midwife, and in the following days, my contractions started. Being overdue I had an induction date planned for the following week. After several days of stop/starting contractions, I realised that my baby had become quiet, and was moving around much less than previous weeks.

I telephoned the Fetal Medicine Unit at Arrowe Park and told them of my concerns, they asked me to come in and they would check me and baby over. I arrived at the Unit and after a short wait was seen by a lovely midwife and monitoring was attempted. However, the midwife was unable to find which way my daughter was lying so I was moved into the next room for a scan. After a quiet few minutes, during which the midwife positioned the screen so I could watch too, she turned to me and said 'I'm so sorry'. My daughter had no heartbeat.

The midwife stayed with me through the next few hours, whilst my husband arrived, I was scanned by a second senior midwife and the Consultant on call. All members of staff were very compassionate and sensitive in their manner towards both me, my husband and our unborn child. All care to follow was explained in clear detail, and options were discussed delicately at all times.

I delivered my daughter 2 days later under the care of very supportive midwives, making use of the Snowdrop suite. My labour was effectively managed and all aspects of my needs were met to what I feel was the best of their ability. I cannot fault any of the staff in caring for me and my husband, and subsequently ensuring precious time was spent with my daughter.

I feel that the local maternity services endure a lot of bad press, so I want to thank all the staff involved for helping me and my husband through an experience that no parent should ever have to endure.