3 months on from the birth of my child and I finally feel able to write this review. There were several niggly things which made my labour unsatisfactory but the main issues came post birth, specifically with breastfeeding. I would say that within 1 hour of the birth I was being advised to hold off on trying to breastfeed ( he had problems latching on) and to express instead using a syringe to feed the baby. I carried on trying to breastfeed and expressing throughout the night. The next day baby was taken to neonatal due to grunting. When his feedtime came one of the nurses tried to help me breastfeed for all of 2 mins before suggesting expressing again. They gave me 15 mins to express and then told me I didnt have enough milk (im sure I did but found the syringe v fiddly to use) and then said I should use formula. I burst into tears but gave in as I was a first time mum and absolutely exhausted. The nurse told me not to use the syringe but a teat instead - terrible advise for someone hoping to breastfeed. I spent 5 miserable days in the maternity wing constantly crying as I tried hopelessly to breastfeed. Many of the staff tried to help but I never got continued support from anyone and they all had conflicting advice. I really feel that the hospital are far too quick to suggest expressing and formula and thats a major reason for our setback in breastfeeding. For other reasons that I wont go into I got the impression that form filling and covering their backs was more important than patient care. Oh and one person at the desk blatently ignored me and my several polite "excuse me"s, just kept their head down and pretended I wasnt there!
"Still upset about postnatal care"
About: Kingston Hospital Kingston Hospital Kingston Upon Thames KT2 7QB
Posted via nhs.uk
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