"Concerns about treatment I received giving birth"

I'm disgusted with the 'care' I received whilst in the maternity unit in the early hours. We phoned the unit to say we were in labour after I was having contractions for over 2 hours, only to be told I wasn't in labour, and as it was my first child I could expect to be in labour for at least 12 hours. However after having a contraction and vomiting while on the phone we were told to make our way in.

Once we arrived we were taken to a room where I had to wait nearly 2 hours for a pool to be set up. While I waited I was given gas and air and used the bath in the way you'd use a birthing pool. I had my baby in the bath, and was then taken to the bed where I was left naked, exposed, feeling vulnerable, with a naked baby and was left to sit in shock for over an hour in my own blood with nothing but a single pad beneath me.

I had to buzz for a midwife to wrap our baby and clean the bed. I was given one pad and went to the bathroom to clean myself, and as I was doing so I urinated only to have the midwife open the door on me. Whilst I was in tears with pain I was told I shouldn't be peeing without a pan down the loo, which I wasn't previously told.

I was only offered paracetamol to help with the pain, I was told I'd be checked over before I went home and I wasn't. As first time parents we didn't have a full understanding of proper baby care, we weren't shown how to bathe, wrap or even change our baby. We were left totally alone, and at the time we thought this was normal practice, however upon speaking to other mothers we have since come to realise we have been severely mistreated.

This whole ordeal has made me stressed and infuriated so much so I'm finding it difficult to sleep at night and with a newborn, sleep is essential. This is beyond a joke and we are, as a couple disgusted and second guessing having another child in the future as the treatment we received was disgraceful.