"The care was excellent but disjointed at times"

I gave birth to my little boy in February of this year at Daisy Hill Hospital and the majority of my antenatal and birth experience was very positive!

Unfortunately I was diagnosed with shingles at 40 weeks so had to wait to be induced at 41 weeks - this was a difficult few days but I can’t praise the midwives enough! Joanne, Catherine, Geraldine and so many others on the labour ward were fantastic and guided me through each step. Special shoutout to the Sapphire CoMC team too, who were with me from my booking scan until 2 weeks postpartum. Everyone took genuine interest in our experience and care, and I felt so safe! I would have liked to have had the Sapphire team more involved in the induction process / on the labour ward as they had been with me throughout my pregnancy.

Áine, Elaine and Rachael saw me through my assisted delivery, with Dr Bibi and again, through a 2L blood loss and subsequent transfusion. 

The next few days of recovery in hospital were very rocky and I was so grateful for how understanding the midwives and consultants were.

My one criticism or concern would be postnatal care, particularly for my episiotomy healing. I had lots of mixed advice from staff - use witch hazel vs don't use it as it will break down stitches, take baths vs keep it dry. This saw me visiting the maternity assessment unit for 4 weeks postpartum and on 2 rounds of antibiotics because a stitch dissolved prematurely and I got an infection. At 9 weeks I still wasn’t right but the maternity assessment unit would not see me as it was beyond 6 weeks. I ended up in A&E before being redirected back to mat assessment unit to check me - I had seen several doctors who told me it looked infected, and eventually the last doctor told me the wound had actually healed and wasn’t infected! It would have been good to have had a more coordinated and committed plan for recovery from the outset to avoid this back and forth. I am still awaiting a further gynae appt to investigate suspected granulation tissue.

I had my consultant debrief at 6 weeks to discuss my labour but when I arrived the consultant said they didn’t have my notes and would just take a note of my questions and send me a letter - this hasn’t come to anything as yet, which is disappointing.

Overall, the care was excellent but disjointed at times, and postnatal care could be improved - I really liked the Sapphire model of care during pregnancy and would choose it again.