"Maternity care was nothing but exceptional"

I cannot put into words the experience I had but I will try.

As a first time expectant father, I was new to everything but also anxious from hearing stories from others about labour etc.

The maternity ward, labour, delivery and resultant after care was nothing but exceptional. From the first day to leaving the hospital both my wife and myself was treated with the upmost care, compassion and overall just genuine good people checking on us constantly put us both at ease.

My wife got induced and the next day brought to the labour ward. For the length of time she was in labour we had come into contact with a few midwives Aoibhinn and Kerri at the start then Claire (midwife labour ward end of August 2025 night shift) came in for a majority of the labour.

Claire is worth her weight in gold. Her knowledge, compassion and just kind heartedness throughout the whole labour put my wife and myself at ease. She came in, took a grip of everything and provided the best environment for my wife through the labour. She explained any questions I had every time and directed me in things I needed to do, especially since I felt like a spare part in the corner. She done everything and more and gave us every option available and put no pressure on us for pain relief etc. Sister Bethany was also on shift and she was outstanding and just provided the great care that we had experienced with everyone else.

My wife had an emergency c section in the end but this was explained in full to myself and everyone involved in it was great, just didnt get their names to thank personally but Ann as the theatre nurse along with Michelle as the midwife were great and couldnt thank them enough also.

The anaesthetist also was so helpful from initial epidural to the C Section and his compassion at the time making sure my wife was OK etc during it was nothing short of outstanding, unfortunately another name i didnt get to thank personally.

In the maternity ward for recovery and our time there, there are too many to thank. From midwives, doctors, student midwives (Joanne), nursing assistants and everyone else there, cannot even put into words as they were so good. Nothing was an issue, were on hand every time we needed them and provided any relief my wife needed. We weren't rushed out the door when it came to discharge nor were we put under any pressure to do anything as alot of information was thrown at us in our time there.

There is no real fourm for putting reviews or giving thanks to the care we received and I just hope this message can be sent to all the team there and also for others to see how good the people in SWAH are.

Every person we came into contact with, were so kind and honestly dont get paid enough for what they do! Cannot thank them all enough. We are so lucky to have this level of care in SWAH and on our doorstep.