"Giving Birth"

At 39 weeks my waters broke and I headed straight into Triage as instructed by my consultant. I had polyhydramnios (lots of extra fluid) meaning that I was classed as high risk. My contractions were no where to be seen so I was sent home for 24hrs to see if things got started on their own. Unfortunately they didnt so back in we went 24hrs later to be induced (this was not my ideal as I was hoping to do things as naturally as possible). It was a long process taking 14hrs before I was in established labour and then another 17hrs of active labour before finally getting to 10cm. However after pushing for 1hr30 my heart rate started to spike and baby's started to drop. I ended up needing an emergency forceps delivery. This resulted in me being taken to theatre and having a spinal (something I was keen to avoid as much as possible) my gorgeous little boy was finally here but I ended up losing over a ltr of blood. As a result I was at Stepping Hill for almost a week and had to have 2 blood transfusions before leaving to ensure my Iron levels had started to increase.

It wasn't the labour I'd hoped for and it all got a little scary towards the end but the midwives at Stepping Hill were fantastic! 

From start to finish they gave me the highest level of care both during delivery and on the ward. I felt supported, listened too, seen and that mine and my babys care was paramount to them. I had 3 sets of midwives throughout my labour and each one was exactly what I needed for that part of my labour. They were professional, friendly, excellent at their jobs and I felt like they genuinely cared (one of them even visited me on the ward the following day with a knitted hat for my little one). Equally the midwives on the ward were wonderful. As I'd had the spinal I couldnt even lift baby out of his cot during the first night and I was still losing some blood but whenever I rang for assistance (which I did alot during that first night) they came with a smile on their face and eager to help.

I would wholeheartedly recommended  the maternity unit at Stepping Hill. The staff are amazing at what they do and I genuinely feel like I could not have received a higher level of care!