"Do Not Give Birth Here"

If I ever hear a woman intending to use the maternity services at this hospital I will actively try to dissuade her from doing so. This hospital should remove all signs relating to the support of breastfeeding as it most certainly does not support you in any professional manner. If you are a cow you might feel quite satisfied with the filthy postnatal wards as it is like a cattle market in there. It is horrifically understaffed with inappropriate seating for women that have just given birth let alone breastfeeding mothers and my bed was broken. I cannot fault the care I received during labour, but as soon as my labour was over any adequate care ended. I am still suffering mental distress from my experiences at this hospital eight months on. The postnatal care I received here has severely tarnished my memory of the first couple of days of my first baby's life, thankfully my physical health has not been limited. I experienced: Lack of breastfeeding support when at my most vulnerable (crying in the middle of the night as I could not get my baby to latch on only to have syringes tossed onto the bed and told to hand express and not seeing the midwife again until the next morning) Ultimately following instructions in the welcome pack to the ward to breastfeed Inappropriately dealt with bleed Wake ups in the night for irregular observations Doctor saying they would return to discuss my health and treatment and never doing so Broken bed No chair to breastfeed comfortable in Had to ask for a new sheet for my baby's cot Filthy bathroom facilities Lack of staff Overheated wards My baby's security tag also set off the alarm when we went to close to the doors, no action was taken to see if a baby was leaving the ward