"Thank you for bringing my son safely..."

What I liked

The midwives that were present throughout my labour were lovely. Very supportive and made sure I knew what was happening all the time. Unfortunately my birth didn't go as I had hoped and we ended up having a forceps delivery but again, I was kept fully informed all the way through and what could have been a frightening experience was as calm as it can be under the circumstances!

Breastfeeding Babes were absolutely wonderful and thanks to their support at the start, I continued to successfully breastfeed my son until he was 18 months. Thank you!

What could be improved

The parking is horrendous! There are not enough spaces and the spaces that are there are far too small. There are a VERY limited number of parent and child spaces and all of the other spaces are so small that a lady with a bump needs to get out before the car is parked - not easy if you are attending an antenatal appointment alone!

Once I had had my son I was intent on breastfeeding. I found the night staff on the ward I was on to be quite unsupportive. I was struggling to feed my son and he was very upset as was I. The nurses/care assistants on duty were quite abrupt and when I said I really felt I would be better at home one of them assured me that if I went home I "would be back the next day with a terribly jaundiced and sick baby". I was mortified. She said I was doing it all worng and tried to force baby onto my breast and was quite rough. she eventually told me I should give him a formula feed to make sure he didnt get ill. I was really upset at this but allowed her to do so. I really think the staff on post natal wards need to be more gentle and supportive to new mums trying to breastfeed.

Anything else?

I think the opportunity to discuss your birth experience with Birth Afterthoughts is fantastic and will be doing so before my next baby so I can make sure I am clear about what happened and how I might be able to have a different birth experience next time.