"They were brilliant"

I was induced in the Monday early April and had discussed with the induction ward midwife Kerry that my ideal birth plan was to give birth in the Active Birth Centre.

Kerry arranged Lily and Louise who would be on shift the next morning to complete breaking of my waters so we could meet and there would be continuity of care. I really appreciated this as I was well into my labour when they came back onto shift the following morning so it made such a difference to see familiar faces.

Throughout the night I laboured with the help of midwife Ellen (we think the 2nd midwife was called Katie but not 100% sure sorry!) who were brilliant at talking me through all options for pain relief, answering all mine and my husband’s questions and being a great support throughout the night.

After pushing for a while the midwives brought in the ABC sister Christina when we realised that my baby wasn’t in a good position. It was explained to myself and my husband we were going to move to delivery suite and as I would likely need forceps/suction cup.

This ended in an emergency c section due to positioning of my baby and our son required attention from the paediatric doctors that were on standby as he required oxygen. This went on for about 10 minutes which was a really scary time for us both, the anaesthetist and the doctor who were looking after me were brilliant at chatting to us both whilst this was happening and keeping us calm.

My aftercare was brilliant and I was transferred to Johnston House as I required extra help after the birth. The midwives and midwifery assistants were great at answering all my questions and helping me with my recovery. If I used the buzzer they were at my room within a minute to help me with anything I asked as I wasn’t able to lift my son from his cot for feeding. They were able to help me with breastfeeding as I struggled with a lethargic baby who had jaundice and was struggling to latch. The paediatric doctors and nurses were also brilliant at explaining any issues to us as our baby developed jaundice and required multiple blood tests.

We cannot thank the midwives, midwifery HCAs and medical staff enough after our experience.

We especially want to thank Lily, Louise, Christine, Ellen and Katie - Louise kept us updated regularly throughout my c section and helped me in recovery immediately afterwards and Lily was so helpful throughout my labour, she also came me in Johnson House before she finished her shift to check in and say goodbye. Christina came to visit me in Johnson House a couple days after as she finished work prior to my section taking place which we really appreciated as we had a few questions about what had happened during my labour.

The anaesthetist Jack and the doctor (I’m so sorry I can’t remember her name) who were by head through my section were brilliant at answering all my questions, making me comfortable and keeping us calm whilst the doctors worked for approx. 10 minutes on our son.

We cannot thank the staff in Royal Jubilee Maternity enough for all their help throughout our labour experience