"Makes me feel sad and embarrassed"

I went into altnagelvin hospital to be induced with my 4th baby early November. I opted for the balloon foley method of induction which was inserted at midnight they day after arrival as inductions were put on hold shortly after I had arrived due to staffing issues and how busy the labour ward was. I went to sleep but was shortly woken up with contractions around 1:30/2am. I rang my bedside emergency bell and asked for pain relief and a heat pack. By 3:30 contractions were getting intense and I rang my bedside bell 3/4 times to tell the staff member I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes and they were really intense which again the staff member came but told me each time I was ok and the balloon has not fallen out so maybe it’s just the balloon getting ready to come away. I told them I couldn’t do this and needed stronger pain relief. It got to 4:30 and I rang my partner to come into the hospital as I wanted to leave the ward to be with him as things were intense and nobody was listening to me, I felt really scared and vulnerable. I was crying and labouring on the ward with 3 other woman sleeping next to me.

I left my bed and stood in front of the desk bent over crying in a lot of pain. The two staff member stared at their computer screens continuing whatever they were doing and didn't acknowledge me. My partner came through the antenatal ward doors and found me screaming in pain to only then one of the staff members got up and offered me a tens machine. I got the tens machine on and again was told the balloon has not came away and walking would help. I walked out the antenatal ward doors but only got a few steps before I was stuck contracting again at this point every 40-50 seconds. I came back in the antenatal doors crying that I needed gas and air. My partner questioned them that it had been 5 hours without being seen to and clearly I was in a lot of pain. They asked me to come back to bed to be monitored to see what’s going on and they would have to look up the hospitals policy.

I got back to the bed with the staff members and I told them I could not lay down to be monitored due to how intense my contractions were. One of them then asked did I want the balloon removed I replied yes. Once removed they asked me was the pain better I replied no. They didn’t seem to think I was having real contractions. One of them examined me said I was 3cm generously 4cm and told me to stop pushing multiple times as they examined me but I was not pushing it was my body labouring and doing its own thing. The staff member who inserted the balloon then came to my bedside (I did not see them since midnight, when they inserted the balloon) they then asked could they examine me, I replied yes. They examined me jumped up told me to put my night dress on while they grabbed a wheelchair for me and ran with me to the labour ward.

I was in the labour ward for 10 minutes and my baby was born, it was too late for stronger pain relief which I told antenatal I needed from around 3am, my baby was born a few hours later. The staff in the labour ward were amazing! They asked me why I was never rang over sooner, how long was I in pain and what time did I get the balloon inserted. I felt completely robbed of my labour experience with my 4th and last ever baby! I felt so uncared for some staff in antenatal, they just did not care at all. If I hadn’t of rang my partner myself he definitely would have missed our daughters birth or I could have possibly had our baby in the hospitals hallway!

The first week of healing after birth was really rough mentally and physically for my 4th baby I've never felt the way I did before. I struggled to get upstairs, to stand, it felt like I had pulled muscles in my stomach and legs from rolling around in pain, it was really traumatic. I spent the first week of my daughter’s life struggling to process what happened, I couldn’t really come to terms with my labour it was a real whirlwind. My daughter is a few weeks old now and I’m still really struggling to come to terms with how my last ever birth went and my whole experience with some staff in antenatal, it makes me really sad and embarrassed as I laboured majority of the time by myself with 3 other woman hearing me cry, scream and labour, it was a really vulnerable experience.