"My Baby's Birth"

I was admitted to Aberdeen Maternity Hospital for Induction of Labour due to problems relating to an underlying health condition. When we arrived at the hospital we were warmly welcomed and were shown to our room. We were quickly seen to by a midwife who explained the process and started getting things moving. We were there for over 48 hours before being taken to the delivery suite and during this time we met so many amazing members of staff who done their utmost to look after us despite obviously being very busy.

When we were moved to the delivery suite things started to move very quickly so lots of it are a blur however what I do remember is how friendly all the staff were and they took so much time explaining what was happening and what they were going to do next. 

As time went on and various things happened it was decided I needed an emergency c-section so very quickly I was being  wheeled down to the theatre. It was early evening at that point so the staff who were finishing their shift said their goodbyes and we were introduced to the night shift staff and they started the procedure. There was lots going on however I was mainly focused on the Consultant Anaesthetist as this member of staff was giving me the epidural. I was asked many times if I still had feeling and despite the fact I did, and I could still lift my legs, they said they were "95% sure I was ready to go" so gave the go-ahead for the operation to begin.

Unfortunately my worst fears were confirmed when I could feel everything that was happening, and as soon as I said I could feel it I was told I needed a general anaesthetic and my husband was removed from the room. We were both absolutely devastated about this as we both missed our long awaited first born's arrival in to the world. We are obviously grateful that she arrived safe and well however I just feel that if I had been listened to about still having feeling, things might have turned out differently. My daughter was taken to the Neonatal Unit as she was affected by the general anaesthetic so I didn't get to see her until she was 7 hours old and I'm still finding this very hard to deal with as that's time we will never get back and I missed out on her first cry, first feed and also getting her cleaned and dressed for the first time. 

I woke up in the recovery room and after a short time I was taken up to the ward. I had to wait a few more hours before my baby was brought up and when she was, she was literally just wheeled in and left beside me. This is where I also feel a little bit let down because as first time parents we really could have been doing with a bit of support here. It was my first time meeting my baby and nobody suggested skin to skin or I was never asked if I needed any help with feeding etc. I stupidly didn't think about this either until a few days later so my baby was 3 days old before we had our first skin to skin contact.

I would like to say that while on the ward all members of staff were very friendly despite it being so busy and we were particularly grateful to the Dr who delivered our baby, when they took the time to come up to the ward to chat to us about what had happened. Having been put to sleep I had lots of questions about the whole process and the Dr sat with us and answered them all and explained things to me in a way I would understand. It was clear that this Dr genuinely cared about us and we were very appreciative of everything they had done for us.