"Experience in maternity ward"

I visited the MAU three times in the week before going into labour. The first time was for bleeding and I received a good level of care. The second visit was because my waters had broken prematurely at 35 weeks. When I arrived at the MAU I was left to sit outside for some time while leaking amniotic fluid everywhere. I was eventually seen and admitted to the maternity ward for the night, so my baby could be monitored. I was placed in a bay where the three other women had already had their babies, which was not a pleasant experience as my baby hadn’t arrived yet and I was kept up all night by these babies crying.

The conditions on the ward were so hot that this affected my heart rate when it was being monitored and the cleanliness was unacceptable (e.g. blood on the toilet seats which was there all night as the toilets were not cleaned until morning). The third visit was a few days later when I experienced more bleeding. The ‘customer service’ I received at the MAU was terrible due to a very uncaring and unfriendly nurse. I was told I was not in labour and my cervix was fully closed. In the early hours I was admitted to the maternity ward, this time in a bay where no one had had their baby yet.

About 30 mins after arriving on the ward I had experienced more bleeding and had very severe back pain. I pressed the buzzer several times and eventually a nurse arrived and I asked for some pain relief. I was informed that only a doctor could give me pain relief and that a doctor would come and see me soon. In the mean time I asked if I could take some paracetamol i had in my bag and just left there. I was also told by the nurse that I had not experienced further bleeding, when there was fresh blood on my pad. The doctor eventually arrived, after a significant amount of time, and examined me and told me I was eight cm dilated. I question if something was missed while I was in the MAU or did I actually progress that quickly? I was rushed to a labour room to give birth. 

The care I received during labour was good. Once my daughter was born we had minimal time for skin to skin contact as she needed to be checked over by the baby doctor and was taken to special care. During skin to skin contact we did not receive any support with breastfeeding, which we should have as it was important she fed due to medication I was taking.

My daughter was in special care for her first 24 hours. I returned to the maternity ward where I was initially put in a bay where all the other women had their babies with them. This was incredibly upsetting (again) and I was eventually moved to a private room. My daughter joined me on the maternity ward under transitional care the following day.

The care received was generally good, however there was a significant lack of breastfeeding support. The feeding support team gave me pieces of paper with information regarding breastfeeding and only spent five minutes with me, dispute repeated requests for support. The limited feeding advice I received was very conflicting. My daughter had jaundice so it was crucial that she ate so we were told to top up with a bottle. We spent three nights in hospital until we were discharged. It is very clear that the ward is severely under staffed. 

Once home the community midwife visited us and later in the day called saying we should go back to the hospital for my daughter’s jaundice levels to be tested. As instructed, we head to the Oasis centre where the test was conducted. When the results came back we were readmitted to the maternity ward for my daughter to receive treatment.

The first night we received great care back on the maternity ward. My husband and I had agreed in a very clear feeding plan for my daughter while she was receiving treatment, which we had discussed with both the doctor and midwife who were very supportive of it. The second night we received the worst care of all my stays in the maternity ward. We were assigned a very un professional staff member who would not listen to any of our concerns and just tried to push her feeding advice, while also making derogatory comments about my milk supply and the feeding advice were had received from her colleagues including doctors.  She also delayed our discharge due to her following the incorrect discharge process. This was incredibly stressful and upsetting. 

I formally complained to Kings about this unprofessional conduct and the lack of feeding support. They admitted I should have received feeding support, which is very disappointing and upsetting. This lack of support lead to me being unable to breastfeed my daughter. Kings response to the complaint did not fully address the unprofessional conduct of this staff member. They also told me to contact other services for maternity patients, when I am no longer a maternity patient. It feels like Kings don’t take complaints seriously.  

This experience and further the response from Kings has had a  significant negative lasting impact on me. The trauma has made me question if I could go through the experience again to have another child. If I do have another child I will ensure am not under the care of Kings trust and will not give birth at the PRUH.