"I had such a positive experience"

Last month I gave birth in the Unit to my second child.  From my first phone call to the Unit at 3am to being discharged at 7pm I couldn’t fault any part of it, the care my daughter and myself received was amazing.  My midwife during labour was Laura, on meeting her when I arrived I instantly felt calm, and confident that I was in good hands. This was very much needed as I’d been anxious throughout my pregnancy due to previous miscarriages.  My husband couldn’t be with me so it was just me and Laura in the room until moments before my daughter arrived - I’ll forever be grateful to her for getting me through those 2 hours!  There was a staff change in the morning and we were looked after by Susan, Julie and Hayley while we were kept in for observation.  I hadn’t visited the Unit prior to my labour as the Antenatal class had been cancelled due to Covid-19.  It’s a great set up and I’d highly recommend it to others.

My pre-natal care was with Sue who again I couldn’t fault and felt confident with.  Post-natal I only saw Sue on Day 1 which was a bit of a shame as it would have been nice to continue my care with her.  Day 2 and Day 5 I did have Julie and Laura so it was great to see them again.  Day 7 I had phoned the unit as I was a bit concerned that my daughter was being sick and her breathing a bit quick.  Within 2 hours Sophie (I had met her previously when she covered for Sue) was at the door and spent quite a bit of time checking my daughter over and asking how I was recovering - so much more than I was expecting for an unscheduled visit! Day 10 however I didn’t know the midwife and she didn’t seem to know much about us so I was having to go over things that had already been discussed, even where I gave birth and my daughter’s name, so it didn’t fill me with confidence.  All my post natal visits were by different Midwife’s which is maybe something that could be improved on in future.

Being pregnant in the middle of a global pandemic Sue, Laura, Susan, Julie, Hayley and Sophie still made me feel at ease and calm before, during and after birth. I feel lucky that I had such a positive experience and it’s all down these ladies.