"Maternity Services"

Every aspect of myself and my sons care throught my pregnancy and afterwards was littered with failures and the impact this has had on our family has been vast. 

I discovered I was pregnant in June 2018, at about 8 weeks pregnant I had some spotting and attended EPAS where I was delighted I was expecting twins. At the time it was reccomend on my notes that I be scanned earlier than 12 weeks to monitor growth of my twins, this did not happen. Devastatingly at my 12 week scan ( done at 13 weeks) we were told that one of our babies had not made it. At this appointment I was ensured I would be contacted by a specialist nurse for blood testing as the normal tests would not work following the loss of a twin, however again this did not happen. I wrongly assumed that I would be offered extra scans following a loss but was told this was not done, resulting in us paying for private scans to offer us any reassurance that my remaining baby was ok. I never seen the same community midwife throughout my pregnancy, there was no consistency in my care. 

My stepdaughter has a rare genetic condition that my partner is a known carrier for and when I expressed concerns with regards to this at appointments this was wholly dismissed. When I enquired about the specialised test I was supposed to have, I was informed that "Its too late now". I suffered from hyperemesis throughout my pregnancy and was hospitalized several times for this due to dehydration. On one occasion towards the end of my pregnancy my bump was not measured due to lack of a tape measure resulting in my next appointment being informed that my baby had not grown in one month resulting in me being sent for an urgent scan the following day to be informed my baby was fine, and weighed 9lb.

At no point was my birth plan discussed or completed my wishes were never considered. I was induced following an admission due to reduced movement at 6 days overdue. After 16 hours of labour my son had became stuck and I had a surgical procedure to deliver him. Due to retaining both placentas I bled excessively after this which left me very poorly. My son was thankfully born healthy and well which I am grateful for.

On the maternity ward later that evening I was delighted to overhear a conversation between 2 care assistants complain about the noise earlier in the day from the induction suite, one of which was me and this same care assistant when I was attempting to breast feed my son barked at me that I "was doing it wrong" then left. The following day I was informed I required a blood transfusion that I refused as I just wanted home with my son due to the difficulties I had throughout.

On my discharge I was told I would be referred to a physio as my son was 9lb 4, once again this has never materialised. My care in the community was much better with the exception of my sons health visitor visits. His first health visitor was fantastic but after she moved areas the visits stopped and my son has not been seen since he was 4 months old, he is now 2. This in itself is alarming, but I'm fortunate that he is thriving. All of this has resulted in physical problems that are starting to materialize for myself now. However the greatest impact my pregnancy and birth experience has had is on my family. Due to the lack of care, communication, understanding and negligence we have decided as a not to expand our family further. This has been devastating and difficult to come to terms with as the inaction of multiple others has impacted on my families life in a massive way. 

I do not wish my story to be used as a "learning experience" as it is clear that my issues were widespread and require more action than that. I have written this as I hope that after 2 years something that I am only just coming to terms with, finally someone hears my voice, and actually listens.