"Let down by a lack of support"

I was booked in for an elective C section at the RAH, Paisley. I had quite a straightforward pregnancy, despite some anatomical anomalies and high risk factors, so I had my baby at 39+1 weeks. 

I had seen the same consultant all the way through my pregnancy at the Vale of Leven Hospital and she ended up being there for my C section, which was really comforting. The C section was a bit of a daunting prospect, but from the time we checked in we were kept regularly up to date and visited by the different professionals who were involved in the surgery, who confirmed what would happen and talked us through all of our concerns. 

When we went through to the surgery, all the staff were really helpful. My epidural/spinal block took two attempts and I did end up feeling (and unfortunately being) very sick in the theatre but everyone was very attentive and kept me informed of what they were doing to help. I was shown my baby as soon as he was born and they handed him to us as soon as they could, which was lovely. The nurse also took pictures of us together as a family, which I really appreciated. 

When we went into recovery, the staff were amazing. I had some issues with bleeding and they kept a really close eye on me and kept us informed of what could happen. They also helped my partner with the baby as I was unable to move much, and helped me with getting washed and changed after being sick.

The nightmare began when we moved to the ward. Due to the issues with bleeding, I had been in recovery for quite some time and moved up to the ward about 8:30 pm. When we moved up, there were so many people in the room (the restrictions said 2 people per bed but there were at least 4 visitors for each of the 3 other occupied beds). The nurses who had taken me up from recovery told me that they would speak to the ward staff as it was so overwhelming and loud. Eventually, the nurse did come round to ask some of the visitors to leave… but seemingly in an act of retribution, told my partner to leave before the end of visiting hours.

I had only been in the ward for around 15 minutes at this stage, and had only been mobilised once in recovery from the bed to the chair and back. One of the nurses came to ask me how I was, and at this point I was crying in pain and because I didn’t know how to cope alone with a baby after such a difficult time after the surgery with blood loss and sickness. The nurse said they would come back to see me and they never did. 

My baby struggled with latch and I was not producing much milk, so it was a difficult time trying to learn to breastfeed. I asked for support with this when I first arrived on the ward, and never received any. I then buzzed for help again at 1 am and was told someone would come after an HCA turned the buzzer off. At 5 am I buzzed again, and at this point I was just offered formula. I took it after me and the baby crying for almost 8 hours on a busy multi-bed ward and that basically signalled the end of our breastfeeding journey.

I did try to pump when I got home, but would encourage anyone else NOT TO accept the offer of formula because it is not worth the effects it can have on your ability to breastfeed. What was most frustrating about this is that it obviously depends on the staff how much support you get, as later in my stay someone else was struggling with breastfeeding and they were offered regular support and a breast pump on the ward. 

The next day (and during the days after that) we did have one amazing nurse who bent over backwards to help us and was so good with both me and my partner. However at night, when I had no other support, it was the same story of being unable to get much help. At one point, one of the nurses actually rolled their eyes at me when I asked for help to swaddle the baby because I was in a lot of pain when bending over to do it. 

Due to the lack of consistency with the medication times, I spent most of my time in pain and in tears. 

Due to the complications I had suffered post-surgery, I ended up being in hospital for 4 days. It was, without a doubt, the worst experience of my life. In the very unlikely event that we would have another baby, I would request to have my baby in the QEUH.