"I was left alone, scared and in pain"

I had a c-section in the Southern General Hospital. It was my second c-section and I lost a lot of blood, felt dizzy and quite unwell in the following few days. The room I was in had 3 others, all who had had c-sections. The treatment we received was very poor (with the exception of one young member of staff who cared). We were treated like inconveniences, we were scared to press our buttons and were constantly told they were too busy.

On one occasion, a mum who was upset in pain and struggling to change her babies nappy asked for help, she was told they were too busy and she should do it herself. My husband then saw the nursing staff sitting sharing out malteesers. On another occasion, at 11pm, a member of staff took my temperature then walked out. I called to her to ask why and she said (while walking off), you may have internal bleeding.

I was left, alone, scared and in pain, not knowing what the outcome would be. I believe my experience there was a contributing factor to my difficulty adjusting to looking after my baby following the birth. A maternity ward should be warm and supportive and I didn't experience this.