"No one came to check on me"

Awful experience. I had to have an emergency induction before my due date, so was not prepared mentally for birth, or all the interventions that came with induction. When I got on to the induction ward I was overwhelmed, said I didn’t know if I could do it to the midwife after their horrid explanation of how induction works, and they told me to ‘have a think’ and left me there crying my eyes out.

The midwives during labour were a lot better, although I did suffer a birth injury.

After labour, I was wheeled to theatre, and then once finished in there to the maternity wards. I had a catheter in, couldn’t move my legs due to having had a spinal, and hadn’t eaten or drank anything all day. I was left in a dark room all night with my baby in my arms, three other sleeping women on the ward, and no one came to check on me, tell me when visiting hours were, when I’d get food, pass me my phone, nothing. After this I had problems breastfeeding, asking a midwife for help then was like getting blood out of a stone. I’m sure it was worse than prison in there. I feel scarred for life.