"Went above and beyond their role to create a real rapport"

I want to take time to show appreciation for the amazing midwives at Bassetlaw hospital who went above and beyond for myself and my baby.

Through no fault of their own, I was in Bassetlaw hospital for 5 days due to a delayed and partly paused induction and rapid increase in natural labouring mums. I was admitted onto ward A2 for this time where I was treated with great care and made to feel comfortable throughout my stay.

I would like to give a big shoutout in particular to midwives Gemma and Ruth who went above and beyond their role to create a real rapport with not only myself, but my partner. They really did make our wait to meet our baby as stress free as possible, with Gemma even overseeing our postnatal care afterwards. 

Moving onto the labour ward, my induced labour was far from easy and resulted in an emergency section. This was my biggest fear as I am terrified of surgery. I was cared for by midwife Abby and a student midwife who I sadly do not remember the name for. They were both amazing in calming me and holding my hand through labour. The student midwife who I hope can be pinpointed held my hand through my tears, stroked my head and supported me as I experienced contractions for the first ever time. As for Abby, wow. Abby was made for this job. I could not have coped both mentally and physically without her as my midwife. 

My labour lasted a lot longer than hoped, meaning I was cared for by night shift midwife, Kelsey. I was initially scared for the change in midwife due to the excellent care provided by Abby. However, Kelsey was just as great. As the night progressed, my labour took a turn for the worst and became harder both mentally and physically. I was terrified. Kelsey reassured me and advocated for me in a time when I could barely function from both pain and anxiety. She made a challenging night much more bearable and I am grateful for the additional emotional support given. 

Come the morning, Abby was back on shift and took over my labour. At this point, the labour was becoming dangerous and lengthy. I cannot thank Abby enough for how she supported me through the scariest time of my life. Without her hand holding, words of encouragement and dedication to her job, I would have completely dissociated from the birth of my son.

My emergency C-section ended up being one of the strongest and proudest moments of my life because of having someone like Abby as my support and midwife. I have never been more grateful. My fear of surgery resulted in huge distress before and during the section. Abby wiped my tears, spoke words of encouragement and did not let me go through my emotions alone. She reminded me constantly of the outcome and ensured I met my son safely and present in the moment.

Thank you Abby for allowing me to have a vivid memory of the best moment of my life. If it wasn’t for you, I would have not had anything positive to look back on from my baby’s birth. 

I recommend Bassetlaw maternity to anybody.