"Post natal stay after c section"

My experience of staying for 3 nights and 3 days on the post-natal ward after a long labour which resulted in a c-section was entirely unsatisfactory.

It seems completely merciless to me, and in fact a removal of maternal emotional needs and human rights, that our birth partners were allowed to be with us throughout the birth once in established labour, and able to interact with all staff during the course of this time, and yet were asked to leave once we have a tiny baby to look after and are incapacitated due to surgery?

The reason I was given that birth partners weren’t allowed to stay? Because I was on a Bay with four other ladies, and having four partners on the bay would cause too much interaction with staff due to Covid-19. I understand restrictions are needed but where the physical and emotional needs of a new mother and her baby are at greater risk due to the removal of birth partners, this needs to be reconsidered. Birth is not just the part before the baby enters the world, it should be considered the crucial 12 hours afterwards too, especially when the mother is incapacitated due to surgery and the child infant is so vulnerable and needs her mother’s warmth and care but is unable to get it due to the short over-worked staff and the mother and baby are left alone, unable to reach each other.

In my opinion, all c-section mothers should also be given their own private room if possible or at least have 1:1 or priority care. There were numerous times when I was unable to reach my: water / food / baby / pillow / call button / painkillers and I needed someone desperately to hand them to me.

Here is the detail of my care complaints:

I was delirious from lack of sleep and having not eaten for some 36 hours, mainly due to the risk of needing to go to theatre. I asked numerous times for food and drink after the birth, but this wasn’t seen to until the following morning when I was finally given some toast and tea.

That first night was unbearable. It was Sunday night and I had been induced on Friday morning — I had barely eaten since that Friday lunchtime. I have never been so delirious. Aside from the sheer exhaustion, the midwives on duty did not seem able to care for me or my baby properly. I couldn’t move due to my surgery and was struggling to breastfeed her in those first hours, mainly because I couldn’t sit upright or hold her properly. No-one helped me. The midwives also seemed reluctant to change her and change her cot mattress cover when it was clear she needed it, which of course I couldn’t do. That was unacceptable.

Whenever I heard my daughter starting to stir for hunger or needing to be close to me I pressed the ‘call’ button on my bed remote, but it would take the staff sometimes up to 30 minutes to come. By that point my daughter would be crying irately and there was nothing I could do to reach her. That is something no new mother should have to endure at the hands of hospital ‘care’. Where she needed changing I was asked where I kept my nappies to change her but I had no idea where my hospital bag was (it was next to my bed) as I was still completely out of it. Why are there not newborn nappies and clothes available for one-time use until the new mother is able to speak and think properly? At one point in the night, the ‘call’ remote dropped off the side of my bed and I couldn’t reach it. I couldn’t reach my baby and I couldn’t reach the call button to call someone to help me. I was in so much pain due to my surgery and I couldn’t move. I just sobbed into my pillow. I was beside myself with pain, hunger, and needing to care for my baby. Memories of that night come to me in painful flashbacks and I am suffering with post-natal anxiety as a result.

With the staff shift change in the morning I found my situation improved slightly. However over the course of my three days in care I would say the care, particularly by the midwives and consultants was ‘hit and miss’.

Some midwives were wonderful, particularly Karen and Chloe, making sure I had my pain relief on time, and were able to pick up my daughter and hand her to me (and cooed over her and cared for her in a way I would expect) and give me tips and advice on breast-feeding post c-section. (Thank god Karen showed me the ‘rugby ball hold’ which transformed my feeding and meant my daughter was finally satisfied). The breastfeeding team was also brilliant once I realised I could ask to speak to them. I didn’t realise this straight away until someone suggested it to me. I also told another c section lady this who was struggling to feed her baby as none of the staff told her she had to request to see this team.

I have a record of one student midwife who I had to teach how to swaddle a baby, and another who gave me a lecture about dummies and formula milk even though I didn’t plan on suing either but I wanted them to hand just in case as a very last resort to get through that first day. The maternity support workers were unanimously poor in their bedside manner, and often seemed annoyed when I asked them to pass me my water or my baby.

 When I was induced and clearly in established labour the overnight midwife refused to let me go to my private room in delivery suite or the birth centre so my husband could join me. She kept wanting to consult the registrar but then would forget about me, I found after speaking to a midwife my contractions would slow down. But when I spoke to my husband they would start up again. I desperately needed my own room and privacy to get into a good labour environment where as the induction ward was noisy, busy and bright. I feel this was partly the cause of my ‘slow progress’ which lead to more interventions.

- I was told my waters needed to be broken.The first midwife, was very heavy handed with me and resulted in a very painful examination and inability to break my waters. This midwife had to get another midwife to re-try, who also failed to break my waters. I was howling in pain and had to ask for gas and air. The third attempt was semi successful but later in the delivery suite after another examination I was told my waters were still partially there and had to be fully emptied by another midwife. These procedures were intrusive, painful and I had to always ask the medical staff to stop what they were doing.

- On my second day on post-natal ward my bed was not changed. I didn’t realise this until the third day when I could stand, so I stripped the bed myself in order to force it to be changed. One of my family members who is a nurse tells me it is a fundamental right to have your bed sheets changed once a day.

- I was constantly being disturbed by people asking me questions — I often was sitting with my hospital gown round my ankles and both breasts out, crying and trying to feed my baby. If I had my birth partner there I would never have been so undignified.

- Being told I need to be on ‘light meals’ but no-one actually knowing what that meant, including the dinner ladies, who just gave me mashed potato, white toast, and yoghurt a sufficient meals. How is one meant to heal on these ‘meals’ which lack essential nutrients? Thankfully my husband was able to drop off boxes of food with soup and fruit and as soon as I got home and was able to eat healthily I found my healing and recovery rapidly improved.

- A junior consultant who would take a long time to assess me only to tell me they needed to check everything with the senior consultant who would then come to do the same assessment

- IN a Bay with 4 ladies often the over-head lights are left on well into the night and there is no ability for the mothers or babies to get any sleep since there is constant loud talking from the staff as well as the other newborns all waking each other up.

- I was also shocked to find my notes were removed from my maternity green folder when I went home. Throughout the labour I saw multiple people writing in these notes and I remembered thinking I would look forward to reading them when it was all over so I could fully inform myself of what actually happened. Not having my own notes about what was done to me is also a fundamental right and I will be requesting my own personal copies as I was told the original notes have to be kept in the hospital.

There are, however, some plus sides to my birth experience at Treliske. Dr Parveen, the consultant who eventually performed my c section was direct, empathetic, upbeat and even cracked a joke to put us at ease. He was the most straight-talking person in my entire birth experience and he was incredibly professional to boot. I much preferred him doing my examinations in the end too and trusted him completely. My anaesthetist Ed was wonderful in theatre, and Ben who also saw me earlier in labour. The entire team doing our c section were understanding, professional and created the exact atmosphere we wanted. Having wanted to originally have a home birth, we asked for our own music to be played, for my daughter to be placed on my chest right after birth, and all the staff were jolly and congratulatory, as well as respectful. They made our birth the positive birth experience we had wanted, despite being the opposite of where we planned it. I love that each staff member had to introduce themselves and my anaesthetist Ed kept me informed and cognisant at all times.

Roughly an hour after giving birth I was told my husband would have to leave the hospital and wouldn’t be able to visit the following morning. I pleaded for them to give us a private room to be together as a new family just for an hour and at first was told this wasn’t possible but after more discussion we were given a little peace for a short while before he had to leave. Thank you to the recovery midwife who found us a room for this short time.

I particularly want to thank the following staff who I have only praise for and who eventually made my experience a positive one: Midwives Chloe, Lou, Karen, Becky, Hannah, Alex & Sam. Consultant Parveen. Aneastherists Ben & Ed & Katie from the feeding team.