"A positive experience. The staff are a credit to..."

What I liked

I had my baby at Princess Anne in August 2011 by c-section due to a placenta complication. My husband and I attended an appointment the day before our c-section, expecting a chat with a midwife and anaesthetist. We were given an hour and a half briefing about what to expect the following day and left feeling totally relaxed and reassured with no remaining questions as to what would happen.

The staff in surgery were very professional and personable. I was introduced individually to the many staff who were going to be involved in the operation and considering what was about to happen (I had never had any real medical intervention before), I could not have been made to feel anymore at ease.

I remained in recovery for about 5 hours where the midwives made us feel like we were their personal guests for the day; Constantly cooing over our new son and making sure we were okay.

I stayed on Burley ward for 3 nights and found all the midwives professional and helpful. I had intended to go to Ashurst as soon as possible but I was receiving such good care, I couldn't face moving and I'm glad I didn't attempt such an upheaval.

I really couldn't fault anything- even the hospital food was good.

What could be improved

I think I was expecting a negative experience- possibly the bad experiences make more interesting news than the positive ones. I thought my NCT course gave quite a negative image of Princess Anne almost advertising Ashurst as the superior hospital- however it had always been my intention to have our baby there in case something should go wrong. In the end I didn't have the choice due to requiring a c-section.

Yes, the midwives and nurses are busy but I think maybe the expectations of people are not realistic. They are not there to hold your hand- most women are adults and have chosen to have a baby, the midwives are there to help when you need it. For example, I could not get my baby off to sleep as my milk was yet to come in. After 2 laps of the ward in the middle of the night, I bumped into a midwife who insisted I go to bed and my son could come in their office to settle down. I woke up 4 hours later with a sleeping baby by my bedside. After more sleep I was then helped to express the little colostrum I had to give my v.sore nipples a break. I could have flung my arms around the midwife!

Anything else?

As stated all midwives were excellent. Thank you.