"Amazing staff at Ward 38 but facilities fell short"

I had an unexpected hospital stay towards the end of my pregnancy so I was admitted to ward 38 (antenatal side) for a few days where I had an induction. The process took a few days which I expected and I felt relatively okay for the first few days and the staff looking after me went above and beyond.

I ended up opting for a semi-planned c section after the induction didn’t work. I felt that my wishes were respected and I was put on the list the following day. The theatre staff and anaesthetist were excellent before, during and after the c section as well.

I then was transferred to the postnatal side of ward 38 with my husband and my newborn with me. I was utterly tired after having surgery and also having to look after and feed my newborn overnight. Adrenaline and excitement for my new baby had kept me going along with the thought of after nearly a week in hospital, that I will be going home the next day.

Unfortunately, the day after my c section and shortly before we were about to be discharged, I developed a fever and high heart rate and felt really unwell. I had developed an infection and so best course of action was for me to stay and receive IV antibiotics. At this point, I was absolutely devastated because all I wanted was to go home after what had felt like a long stay in hospital.

There was also the fact that we were staying in a bay of four with other mums and newborns, which isn’t the most ideal environment when trying to recover from surgery. But for one night, I was accepting of this fact.

However,  after becoming unwell, I felt that being in a bay was not the right place for me, I asked the nurse if there was anyway I could be moved to a side room or a quieter bay so that I could rest as I knew that another night in hospital meant another sleepless and restless night. I just wanted to be in an environment where I could rest a little to help me recover from the infection and surgery. 

Unfortunately, I was told that the whole ward was full and that there were no side rooms or other bays I could be transferred to. This was disappointing as I felt like I was running on lack of sleep for nearly a whole week and it had started to affect me. Again, I can’t fault the midwives looking after me, they were so caring and reassuring and did everything for me that they could do. 

I ended up staying 5 nights in the antenatal side and 3 nights in the postnatal side of ward 38. Overall, the care I received was amazing from the midwives, care assistants, doctors and everyone else in between. The only downside of my experience would be that I felt that due to the busy nature of the ward and lack of side rooms for unwell mums, facilities felt lacking for someone like me at the time. It would have made a world of difference for me and my husband to have been provided a side room for the 2nd and 3rd night post c section and infection. Luckily, I started to feel better 12 hours after starting antibiotics and continued to be well until discharged.

Being able to go home with our newborn after this felt amazing and a blessing so I don’t think it took away too much from my experience of becoming a mum.