"Poor coordination and admin but excellent care"

My experience at the Rosie got off to a shaky start with my GP referral for a pregnancy ultrasound getting lost and having to be sent three times before the ultrasound department could confirm I had made it into the system. Due to the delay in my referral, I was unable to secure a scan date before I was 14 weeks pregnant, which is too late for the nuchal screening test for Downs syndrome, although I was later given a quadruple test instead for the same purpose, which has a lower rate of accuracy.

I was initially told I wouldn't be given any hand held medical notes because everything was now computerised. However, I was asked to produce hand held notes for each visit, whether it be for a scan or a review. It turns out that some patients are given hand held notes but not others. On my final review by a midwife, my abdominal measurements were found to be small and I was thus asked to wait for a consultant to speak to me or to get a further scan. After a wait of several hours, I was asked to see the sonographer who had not been briefed properly and was thus confused as to why I needed another scan and clearly expressed their frustration, although they admitted it wasn't directed at me.

During my 36-week check by a midwife at the birthing centre, I had asked to see an obstetrician because I wanted a second opinion on whether a natural birth or planned cesarean was safer for me, due to some complications following the birth of my older child. However, the midwife failed to refer me to an obstetrician as promised, phoning me later in the day only to say that a consultant midwife thought a cesarean would be no safer for me. The midwife claimed that an obstetrician would take the same view, yet failed to put me in touch with one. At 39 weeks pregnant, after my husband had advocated on my behalf to ask again for a referral to see an obstetrician, I finally got to see one. The obstetrician did, I fact, believe that a planned cesarean would pose less risk for me than a natural birth, contrary to what the midwife said.

Despite my doubts and complaints about the Rosie up to that point, the care I received on the actual day of my c- section and the following day in the postnatal recovery ward was excellent. The midwives, nurses and care assistants were so caring and helpful. It never took more than a few minutes for help to come whenever I had to ring the bell for help from my bed. I received good advice on breastfeeding and recovery from my C-section and the staff were both professional and personable.

The specialist registrar who performed my C-section did it smoothly and skilfully, enabling us to welcome our second child safely into the world. Despite the bumps on the way to his arrival, I am very grateful overall to the staff on the delivery ward for their excellent work and caring approach.