"Birth and Induction"

Due to pregnancy related complications, doctors recommended that I be induced around 40 weeks. I did not want to be induced but I consented due to the risks involved in waiting. I was admitted at 9pm, and the procedure involved a membrane sweep and a prostaglandin gel. This worked swiftly, and when I was re-examined at 5am, the midwife told me I was already 2.5cm dilated and was ready to be transferred to the Labour ward to have my waters broken.

Instead I waited until midday to be transferred –  55 hours of waiting. The reason provided was that there were not enough staff on duty in the Labour unit, and while I was at the top end of the queue, any woman who progressed to active labour would be transferred before me. As a result of waiting, my contractions slowed but I had to remain in the ward with other labouring women and women who, like me, were waiting to be induced. The ward was extremely busy and the staff eventually had to suspend induction bookings because so few women were able to be transferred to the Labour ward due to the lack of staff.

I found this experience extremely distressing. Labour is an intensely emotional and physical process, and I had had to mentally prepare myself for an induction, which had stalled. I was strongly advised against discharging myself because the induction process had begun and I would lose my place in the queue. However, I could be given no definite timeframe for when I would be transferred. I have an older child and I had to find someone to look after him for 5 nights. I felt like I was just put on a shelf and told to wait, irrespective of the impact it was having on me, my baby and my wider family.

During this time, every doctor, nurse and midwife I came into contact with was, without exception, kind, compassionate and professional. Staff were very sympathetic with my situation and told me that my experience was unfortunately far too common, but that when they raised their concerns with management, they were ignored.

While I did not feel neglected by those on duty, I did feel neglected and let down by the system. I felt like I was just a procedure, not a person. Had I known this would be my experience, I would not have consented to the induction

How can a pregnant woman be strongly encouraged to agree to an induction, when there is a real possibility that there might not be the staff to care for her throughout that process? Why is it acceptable to pause a woman’s induction for 55 hours due to staff shortages? Is the staff rota prepared by someone with clinical experience and who has an understanding of what is happening on the wards? Does the maternity unit rota routinely include staff on sick leave? And how many new and graduating midwifes are being employed by the NHS?

I would like answers to these questions for myself and to help me make sense of my experience, but also as a way of supporting the maternity unit staff. They do an amazing job in very difficult circumstances, and I feel the lack of adequate support is not only grossly unjust for the professionals on duty, but potentially life threatening for those under their care.