"I felt immediately at ease"

I gave birth at the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital in July 2021 and I cannot praise the staff there highly enough. It was my first pregnancy and after beginning labour on the Monday night, my partner and I arrived at AMH around midday the following day, by this point I was in tears as I was a lot of pain,tired and quite scared. Instantly the staff rallied round to comfort and reassure me,  they really took the time to listen to me and they were so warm, genuine and empathic that I felt immediately at ease because of their warmth and kindness. They didn't rush us and they explained all my options and everything they were doing clearly and reminded me that I was in control of all the decisions and always checked that i felt informed enough to make them. They made such a huge effort with my partner too who was quite anxious at times, explaining things and reassuring him as well as taking care of us both and reminding us to eat, drink and rest. The facilities were amazing (we used the birthing pool and there was soft lighting and even aromatherapy oils were provided!) and the atmosphere was relaxing and comfortable.     

It was a lengthy labour and baby was the wrong way round so we had to change the plan, which was again my decision, that they supported me through. I had a c-section and baby was born in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Again the people in the surgical team were amazing- they kept my partner and I calm and chatted to us throughout to keep us distracted and they gave me the opportunity to ask questions after the delivery when I was in the recovery area. One of the midwives also accompanied us to the recovery area and showed me how to do our first breastfeed even though her shift was over and we were visited by one of the ladies who was with us during the labour when I was in the ward the following day where she imparted lots of wisdom and took the time to help me with breastfeeding, they really went above and beyond any level of care we would have expected. 

If it hadn't been for the people at this hospital I think we could have easily come away from this experience feeling very negative about the birth but because of their professionalism and genuinely caring manner, my partner and I felt respected, empowered and nurtured and that overall that it was a positive experience where we were supported by wonderful people. 

I was fortunate to be under the care of team violet throughout my pregnancy. Having friends that were pregnant at the same time as me who are under the care of other health boards and comparing our experiences I feel like I was able to build a stronger relationship with the midwives and that we were very lucky to have had them come to see us at home for appointments which allowed both my partner and I to attend as we were both working at the time. I was also given two sweeps in my own home which made the experience much less stressful as I couldn't drive at the time and my partner couldn't get the time off work. We were able to contact them at any time and we actually messaged our midwife in the wee hours of Tuesday morning when we were unsure about whether to go to hospital or not and even though she wasn't on shift she arranged for another midwife to come to our house as soon as they started their shift. Knowing we had support like that available helped us get through the night. One of the midwives also came to our house for aftercare appointments following the birth- seeing someone who shared the journey with us in those days immediately afterwards was invaluable. We were given time to ask questions, shown how to do things that we were unsure of and given lots of positive feedback which was hugely reassuring when you're feeling a bit vulnerable and adjusting to life with a baby. I really looked forward to those appointments as it was just like chatting with a friend who was extremely knowledgeable about babies! 

We would like to say a huge thanks and that we are eternally grateful to the team that supported us throughout the birth- Ame, Emma , Helen, Kera, Lydia, Nicola and Rachael, as well as the surgical team who delivered our boy safely, and to team violet for all the support during and post-pregnancy (including Stacey who saw us for our earlier appointments). You are all amazing and we are in awe at your dedication and professionalism working in such a high pressure environment that was made all the more difficult with covid restrictions. Thank you all.