"Positive experience"

We would like to share our very positive experience of care at the Princess Royal Maternity Unit, from our initial 12-week scan, to visits to maternity assessment, to delivery and ultimately discharge.

At our routine outpatient appointments, we were always seen on time and kept informed. There were never any last-minute cancellations or times when we were kept waiting. We always felt we were treated with dignity and respect by the sonographers and reception staff.

When there were complications during our pregnancy, under the care of Dr Mathers, we were kept informed about what would happen at the next stage of pregnancy and what the plan was going forward. We knew what tests to expect and when to expect them. We were reassured by the midwives and registrars who saw us in the outpatient setting.

We attended the maternity assessment three times out of hours. Each time, our concerns were taken seriously, and reassurance was given. I would like to thank the midwives who cared for us on these occasions, but unfortunately, I cannot recall their names.

Labour was a challenging experience, and a number of complications were encountered. However, the care from midwives Sophie and Cat helped me feel as relaxed as possible, and we cannot thank them enough for this. Importantly, my wishes for additional pain control and exploration of other delivery methods, when things became more challenging, were respected. I found the placement of the epidural hard, but the ODP Lindsey was incredibly reassuring and was a calming influence throughout; it wouldn’t have been possible without her.

When the epidural wasn’t fully effective, my levels of pain were taken seriously. While efforts to help this weren’t as beneficial as we would have liked, we cannot fault the efforts made by the anaesthetist (we think his name was Ross). When the situation changed and delivery became more urgent, the plan was relayed clearly to us and the rationale explained calmly. While this was a situation we would have liked to avoid, the care we received at the time was excellent. In theatre, once again, the anaesthetist, Ross, and Lindsey were incredible. Their communication and empathy helped me through what could have been a very traumatic experience.

Following the delivery of our little boy by C-section, our post-partum care was once again excellent. While our stay in the hospital was longer than expected, we understood why, and once again, the communication from the team was excellent. In particular, the paediatric registrar Darren. His care and calming presence really did make a difficult situation a little bit easier, thank you.

I’d also like to say a massive thank you to Michaela and Elise, two of the most wonderful midwives we encountered in the ward. No matter when we needed advice or any daft questions answered, we were never made to feel silly or a burden. I also really appreciated their patience with me when I was really struggling with feeding and latching. This was not easy at all.

While our experience was overwhelmingly positive, there were some areas that we felt could be improved upon. I was told at 1 am the day after the delivery of my child that he needed a lumbar puncture. Little explanation was given, and this left me feeling very upset and worried about our little boy. The next day, the rationale for this was clarified, and it was explained that it is a relatively common procedure in neonates. However, at that time, I felt this information could have been delivered with greater care and empathy. While it may have been routine for the nurse, it certainly wasn’t for me.

We also feel the new rules on visiting for birthing partners are overly restrictive, especially immediately after delivery; my husband was made to rush away as it was outside visiting times. When I was feeling vulnerable after learning about the need for our baby’s lumbar puncture, having my husband beside me would have made this much easier to deal with. We feel that these rules should be reviewed as they negatively impacted my well-being as a patient.

We would be very grateful if you could pass on our heartfelt thanks to the departments who cared for us, and the named staff who we felt went above and beyond to help us during pregnancy, labour, and our post-partum inpatient stay.