"Lexden ward after C section"

I had a C section due to baby's breech presentation and found the care I received before and during the operation to be excellent. However, recovery on the Lexden Ward was a stressful ordeal which I could have done without when recovering from surgery. I was in hospital for 48 hours and the care I received was extremely variable depending which midwives were on duty. It really went downhill during the night when partners have to leave. I received little breastfeeding support and conflicting advice - I think this is the key reason my baby had lost 15% body weight on day 5. I was told as I was about to be discharged that there was a breastfeeding counsellor but I had never seen or heard of them before despite asking for feeding support. There was little or no handover between shifts, so we found ourselves explaining everything again from scratch to every new midwife.

After a C section you are extremely dependant on midwives at night, as you can't do much physically and your partner isn't there to help. Some midwives were very helpful and couldn't do enough for me - others told me to deal with it myself (which I did, and dislodged my wound dressing while lifting baby). The best service I got was from the staff on the tea/food trolley, who were unfailingly polite, friendly and helpful. I felt so alone and helpless during the nights that I begged my partner to come and take me home. 3 women on the ward were all crying one night for the same reason, and I know from having 2 friends on the ward at the same time that mine wasn't an isolated experience.