"Obviously short staffed but still received good..."

What I liked

The second midwife who looked after me whilst I was in labour was fantastic. She explained what was happening and why certain action had to be taken where as previously the midwife before her had just done things without explaining and was not very polite or helpful. She worked through her lunch as they were short staffed and even stayed after her shift had ended to accompany me to theatre when I was sent for an emergency c-section - she didn't have to do that as another midwife was ready to take over but she was very caring and stayed with me during quite a scary time, she was excellent at her job.

Once I had had my son, we were moved onto M1 where I stayed for 3 days. I cannot fault the care I received. The staff were brill, the ward manager was very hands on and helpful. I had some trouble breast feeding at the start and they took the time to help me and make sure I was ok before I was discharged. They were obviously short staffed but it did not affect the care I got.

What could be improved

The first Midwife that I saw on the delivery suite was rude and unhelpful. She put me on drips to speed up my contractions but did not disuss this with me, she did not explain the pros and cons and then shouted at me for having a drink. She never told me I shouldn't have been drinking or drinking at that point. She mocked my birth plan and when I asked for pain relief she seemed to sneer and comment that it wasn't on my birth plan. She did not explain what was happening and why certain action was been taken.

I did feel at this point that the labour was taken completely out of my control and that I wasn't kept informed of what was happening.

Anything else?

Despite the first midwife been rude and unhelpful, the overall care I received was very good and the majority of staff I saw were great. It is a shame though that one staff member can spoil the reputation of the others as It does seem to be the bit that you remember the most.