"Early birth of my son"

I experienced Preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM) at 32 weeks and then had my son at exactly 33 weeks via emergency c section. It was an incredibly hard experience and very difficult visiting him in the NICU having just had a c section.

Unfortunately, with the exception of the midwife I had present at my son’s birth and one more after, I did not feel supported by the midwives on the unit at all. I was not asked once if I was coping okay with my son being in neonatal, any time I needed painkillers brought to the NICU I felt as though I was a burden due to the attitude of some of the midwives. Two days after I had had my c section, bearing in mind I was up and down, trying to walk etc. a midwife told me that I really shouldn’t be needing pain relief now, which really impacted on me asking for pain relief as I was made to feel I was being over dramatic. 

When it came to discharging me from the unit and therefore the hospital where my son was going to have to stay, I was given zero warning on the run up. It was never mentioned, a midwife just walked into my room at 8am and said that I was going home today, also at the one time my partner wasn’t there and I was feeling extremely vulnerable. It was the nurses on the neonatal unit that actually spoke to me about it and how it would work and supported me through this. 

Unfortunately, I felt very uncared for, at a time when I really needed it the most. Having a child in the neonatal unit was terrifying, adding to that how much pain I was in it was a really horrible experience. Unfortunately the staff only added to this situation which I’m so disappointed in as I have had such wonderful experiences with the staff on the maternity ward before.