"My birthing story"

I had a mix of experiences during my time giving birth, but overall, I’m grateful for the care I received. The water birth room was beautiful—calm and soothing, with the perfect lighting to create a relaxing environment. My midwife, Emily, was amazing. She was warm, patient, and incredibly supportive, respecting my wish for a natural birth and only intervening when absolutely necessary. Even when complications arose, she handled everything with care and ensured I received the help I needed from the doctors.

Moving to the theatre was a big contrast—it felt overwhelming to go from the calm of the birthing room to a bright, crowded space where everything happened so quickly. I felt a bit out of control, but the doctors did an excellent job, and I’m thankful there were no issues with my recovery.

Afterwards, my experience on the observation ward was more challenging. I was so tired and overwhelmed that I couldn’t advocate for my birthing plan. My baby was taken from me for clothes and left in a cot, even though I had requested as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. The nurse who cared for us didn’t ask for permission to use their pinky finger in my baby’s mouth, and their hygiene practices concerned me. Breastfeeding support at that stage was unhelpful and caused damage to my nipples, but fortunately I had colostrum harvested beforehand to feed my baby. I did not feel confident in the care me or my baby received, I felt unsupported and like we didn’t matter. 

However, there were also moments of kindness that I’m incredibly thankful for. Ruth went above and beyond to arrange food for me when I had missed lunch—her thoughtfulness in finding vegan options was so appreciated after such a long day. When I moved to a private room, it was a relief to have some privacy and a bed for my husband to stay with me.

Claire, one of the staff members, provided invaluable breastfeeding advice and helped me feel more confident in feeding my baby despite the challenges. That support, along with the help I received from the midwives and health visitors once I was home, made a huge difference.

During my time in the observation ward, a doctor from the theatre came to explain to me what happened, but I couldn’t take in the information. A day later, when I was in the private room, I requested for someone to explain what happened and answer my questions, which they did and I felt more at ease about what happened. 

Although the experience wasn’t perfect, I’m thankful for the compassionate and skilled individuals who made it better. I’ve also written separately about the incredible breastfeeding support I received later on, which has allowed me to continue feeding my baby 9 months on.