"Birth experience during c section"

Whilst I cannot fault the care the midwives showed me during the induction period, when it turned out I needed to go for a section birth this is where my birth became traumatic.

The spinal seemed to not work and I was not properly numb on my right leg. I still could fully lift my right leg, it was explained briefly I could be put to sleep if I wanted or we could start and that sometimes the spinal just took a little longer to fully work. I decided to go ahead with the section but was in a lot of pain.

I was aware of one of the anaesthetists who was down from another hospital, and could hear them disputing different terms with other staff that they weren’t familiar with, or how they did things slightly different, this made me a bit uneasy.

It was decided once baby was born, I would be put to sleep as I was in so much pain and then consultant explained this wasn’t how it should be and wasn’t the experience they wanted for me.

My partner was sent to recovery. Our baby arrived with him 10 mins later, which he was grateful for, but no one could tell him how I was. It was an hour and a half he had to wait for me to return to recovery to know I was OK, perhaps this needs looked at, as it made him very anxious.

Later that evening a consultant came to talk to me and explained 3 times they tried to get spinal injection in and perhaps they had missed the nerve, which was why I wasn’t fully numb. This was never explained to me during the section, had it been explained that the spinal was attempted 3 times I would have likely chosen to be put to sleep for the whole of the section.

Luckily, I already have a son who is almost 6 and now my new born daughter and so am not planning anymore children, but had this been my first birth I would have been absolutely terrified to go on to try for a second child as my birth was so traumatic for me.