"The troubles I had with my son after he was born"

After my son was born we noticed that his breathing wasn’t normal and that when he was feeding most of it was coming out the sides of his mouth and he was sticking up his tongue when taking a bottle. He was also quite sick after being fed and in between feeds.

We mentioned to the midwife who said we weren’t feeding him enough, then the next midwife said we were feeding him enough, then I was told I was breastfeeding wrong. I had a different midwife every time. Apart from one that came maybe 3 times. They noticed my son shaking and got me sent back to the royal with him 2 days later saying it was because I had drank fizzy juice when I was pregnant, where the doctor at the hospital said it was nothing to do with that and checked him over said he was fine but we were still not getting to the bottom of things.

We had to take him to the doctors on countless occasions because of his breathing and feeding but we were given different milk and gaviscon and told that should help but still it didn’t. Our health visitor was brilliant and saw each week that something wasn’t right and eventually after countless doctors appointments  tried to get us a paediatrician appointment because he wasn’t thriving.  Our request was rejected and told to wait a week.

Our son later that day was showing signs of dehydration and was being really sick so took him to the hospital and we were taken in. In that 2 weeks we found out that our sons flap of skin that stops food going into your airways was so floppy it was obstructing his airway completely every time he was breathing. The surgeon who done the procedure as well as the nurses were in complete shock that it had not been noticed sooner by midwives or doctors and that we were very lucky that we took him into the hospital when we did! We were told that we had been giving him too much milk also and when we said that’s what we had been informed by midwives they were shocked. Because of his weight and condition he should have been getting less.

I cannot thank the doctors, nurses and surgeons at the royal hospital for children enough for everything they have done for our son and to our health visitor for believing us. I wrote a complaint to the doctors surgery we are registered at and basically I got palmed off and told that one of the doctors had said that they said to me if I was worried take him to A&E, which was not said to me at all! I kept getting told he was fine and it was normal! Now I have no trust in gp’s at all and not happy at all with the care we got after I got home with our son.