"I never want any other new mother going through this."

Pregnant with my 1st child & at 39 weeks I woke up feeling mild contractions. I contacted the Fetal Maternal Assessment Unit (FAU) at Antrim Area Hospital and explained my pain. They told me that it was very unlikely to be labour pains as I was at 39 weeks and not high risk and just to have a bath and see how I get on as the day progresses.

That evening I rang again as my pains were more intense and as I live in quite far away I didn’t want to leave it too late to drive to the hospital. Again they told me to hold it out & if the pain continues to ring back. At this point I told the midwives I was coming up as I couldn’t cope with the pain.

I arrived at FAU late evening. I was told to sit on the hard chairs outside the unit until someone was free to see me. I sat there for over an hour before I rang again, this time crying in pain. The midwife let me in (nobody was in the room at this point) & connected me to a machine to monitor baby and checked my cervix for dilation. I was told I was only 1-2cm dilated and it was best I go home as it would be unlikely the baby would come that evening. I wasn’t happy with this outcome so they suggested we go and wait in the car and time my contractions.

An hour or so later I went back to the FAU and the midwife checked my cervix again and told me once again it was unlikely a baby would be arriving anytime soon. I knew my pain and asked to stay. They told me they would get a bed ready and asked my husband to go home. I asked him to wait in the car.

They ran me a bath whilst they got a bed ready for me. I was in the bath when the pain got extremely intense. I couldn’t get out without calling a midwife for help. At this stage the midwife that came to me was worried about how far along I was and told me I should have been in the labour ward. They checked me again and I was at 3-4 cm after an hour. I asked for pain relief but they couldn’t provide it due to there being no beds in the labour ward and could only offer me gas and air. I was so upset but the pain was taking over. They told me to call my husband and get him back - thankfully he hadn’t left the car park and went home.

My labour continued in the FAU and it was progressing very quickly. I was still in my dress and sandals I arrived in & felt very uncomfortable and not looked after. I begged to go to the labour ward as I needed pain relief but still they couldn’t provide me with a bed there. I told them I needed to push and they began to get panicky. I wasn’t able to go to the labour ward nor get access to pain relief, I was at the stage where I needed the delivery suite. I was pushed through corridors with my legs in the air which was horrendous, I was glad it was during the night and nobody was there to see me (I think) and was pushed into the delivery suite in the early hours of the morning where I was asked to move beds whilst in the middle of contractions and pushing. I got into the bed and just 20 minutes or so later my baby was born healthy and happy which I was delighted about.

The midwives in Antrim did the best job they could under extreme pressure however I was asked to go home in several occasions and thankfully I didn’t listen or I would have had my baby at home or worse on the motorway.

I went through my labour in the FAU where I had no privacy nor access to pain relief. I gave birth in the clothes I came in which had to be thrown out. I didn’t make it to the labour ward and at the most pivotal point of labour I was being pushed through hallways.

I was devastated as to what happened and still have trauma thinking about it however knowing my baby was healthy was the most important thing to me, I could deal with the way I was handled. However I never want any other new mother going through this.

Antrim is supposed to be equipped to support the expectant mothers coming from causeway however sadly it is not the case. The midwives are under extreme pressure and there aren’t enough beds in the labour ward for mothers nor in the delivery suites. The midwives do a fantastic job and delivered my baby safely but my personal experience was horrendous.