"Maternity Care during Birth"

During the birth of our son, my wife and I were very well looked after by the staff at the maternity unit at the Ulster. It was a difficult experience for her being induced, and then having to go to the labour ward - which meant our birth plan went flying out the window, and after that we had to stay an extra night in the hospital while mum and baby were carefully observed, delaying our plans of going home.

However, from start to finish we were extremely well looked after, especially through these difficult setbacks. Every single decision was communicated clearly and calmly, and made for our new family's well-being. All of the midwives, doctors, support staff and our anesthesiologist were very supportive and professional, even in extremely tense times for us.

Our baby was delivered safely on Tuesday morning, mum was well looked after and even I (dad) got a fair shake of care, with some coffee and toast to boot!

During our first nights stay with our baby, we were told to not be afraid of using the orange support button and we were very glad we took the advice. We learned so much from the midwives, felt supported and most importantly, did not feel alone. Our boy had a tough time latching, especially at night and the midwives never made us feel silly for asking at least 4 times until we got it, and now he feeds perfectly. We would really recommend ignoring your own anxiety and relying on the excellent support the staff provides and learning from them.

I feel like I'm repeating myself, so I'll wrap up. We had a difficult pregnancy and a very difficult induction, delivery and first few nights, but we were fully supported in a caring, compassionate way by countless members of staff.I don't think I should name anyone here for privacy reasons, but we remember and thank every single staff member that helped us from Monday morning, to Wednesday evening when we got to go home.