"Unsupportive midwife"

I was booked in to be induced in June at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (Maternity Unit). I was given pessaries after a vaginal examination at about in the evening by an extremely nice midwife. She was on the night shift with me and she continued to be helpful and kind as I began to contract throughout the night. Early in the morning she examined me again and advised (after double checking) that I was 3cm dilated. She finished her shift and I was handed over to the care of another midwife

From here until mid-afternoon my morning was spent feeling anxious after hearing how she dealt with another expectant mum who was in a bed across from me.

Myself and my husband couldn’t believe what we were hearing. I felt that the midwife's tone and complete lack of empathy for a woman who was in clear distress was a far cry from what I would expect from a midwife.

The way this woman was treated set more alarm bells ringing for me and I was concerned that I was going to be left to the last minute.

Around an hour later I said to one of the student midwives that I was beginning to struggle with my contractions and she left to get the midwife.

The midwife came in and offered to examine me. Which I though was great as they had maybe realised from other woman that they should examine a little quicker.

The vagina examination I was given was utter agony and had me screaming in pain and trying to get off the bed. When it was finished the midwife said that the previous midwife had been wrong in the morning and I wasn’t even 1cm and they couldn’t get even a fingertip in. After a brief conversation they left the room. I was very very upset at the pain of been put through during the exam and I was still crying and shaking when they came back 5-10 minutes later. I was advised that the midwife needed to have a ‘sensitive’ Discussion, which I felt was loud enough for the rest of the ward to hear. I was advised I needed more pessaries, and also told that if I was refusing pain relief that there was no way I was in labour. I would have been fine with the pessaries if that was the case but the previous midwife in the morning had checked and then double checked.

The midwife did offer me a second opinion as it was obvious from myself and my husband that we were unhappy with how things were unfolding, I also now distrusted the midwife given their treatment of the other mum.

We accepted a second opinion from the doctor who would have been breaking my waters.

The Dr arrived with gas and air for me (given my distress at the last exam by the midwife) although I suspect I wouldn’t have reacted so badly at the next exam by the Dr who I felt had a much better bedside manner.

The Dr  advised that I was 3cm and that my waters could be broken.

I got my things together and went out to the wheelchair waiting for me outside to hear the midwife discussing my exam and the re-exam (and the outcome) with a colleague, which the midwife sounded unhappy about being wrong about.

I was taken to the labour suite and had my baby in 2hours.

The midwife caused me real distress that morning. I did not want pain relief as I didn’t want to slow my labour down and that was my choice. The way the other mum was treated was absolutely awful and I’ve never heard anything like it.

This is obviously a snippet of the goings on that morning and I wouldn’t usually find myself complaining, especially as I know have my beautiful, healthy and happy baby but I really feel that I could let this go and the midwife shouldn’t be allowed to treat other expectant mums this way. It’s a difficult time as it is without adding an unhelping and unsympathetic midwife who should be supportive during these moments.

I would like to stress that the student midwife on the ward was fantastic, as was the first midwife I saw and the two midwives in the labour suite.