"Treatment received after birth"

I ended up having an emergency c section this week and had to spend a few nights in hospital. After my c section I was left in unbearable pain and given pain relief for this hourly, all midwives and staff were lovely to me except one.

One of the midwives patronised me and made me feel silly for being in pain. The doctor had told me I could stay in hospital until my pain was manageable and this was my plan, however when I told the midwife they told me I was fine and most women go home 2 days after a c section and said I definitely won’t get to stay and laughed at the suggestion. They also said people who take pain relief at home are more likely to rely on it in hospital to which I responded that I don’t like touching painkillers at the best of times - it felt like it was being insinuated that I was just trying to get painkillers. I then heard this same person make comments about me to colleagues! The office was directly across from my room and I heard joking comments being made about me because I said I wanted to stay the extra night.

I found this extremely unprofessional and very disrespectful. Thankfully I am a thick skinned person however not everyone is and this could have happened to a sensitive person with anxiety who would then go home and possibly be in pain and be scared to voice this in fear of being mocked by a health care professional. Midwifes are supposed to be supportive and caring (which most were except this one example). The other midwifes went above and beyond for us and really were lovely, they made our experience nice and nothing was an issue. I felt so angry by this staff member’s remarks to me dismissing my pain and to talk about me to colleagues, I found disgusting.