"I could choose the room with the ..."

What I liked

I could choose the room with the birthing pool. My midwife was brilliant. She kept my husband and me up to date all the time. She was so nice and supportive. I can't thank her enough for bringing my baby into the world safely. I only needed the pool as pain relief, no drugs or medical procedures. She followed my birthing plan practically to the letter. If she had to deviate slightly from it, she explained exactly why.

I liked the tea, toast and jam I got straight after having my baby. The midwife accompanied us up to the Post Labour Ward and we even got a hug! She was an angel.

I asked for a clip-on cot for the baby, instead of one on wheels, as I was still suffering from PGP or SPD, and got one straight away.

The nurses, the physiotherapist, the hearing test lady and the paediatrician on shift the following morning were all absolutely brilliant. We left exactly 24 hours after my baby was born, just as we wanted.

What could be improved

It seemed to take a long time to see anyone in ANDAU and I was having contractions in the corridor for quite a while. I went in at about 9:30 in the morning, after my waters had broken. We went to ANDAU as the Labour Ward was full. At about 10:30 I was taken from the corridor into a room where I was monitored. The machine turned out to be broken, so I was examined and found to be 7cm dilated, almost there! I was taken down to the Labour Ward at about 11:00. I don't know if this is a normal amount of time from arriving with broken waters to getting into a Labour Ward room, but it seemed like a long time to me.

The Post Labour Ward was very noisy at night and I didn't feel comfortable using the call button, due to the negative attitude of some of the nurses, when one of them finally arrived some 10 to 15 minutes later. I was told I could make myself a drink whenever, but when I did at about 2:00 in the morning, I was asked rather abruptly what I was doing out of bed. I missed the tea-time meal and finally got a salad at about 21:30.

Anything else?

I can't thank my midwife enough for bringing my baby into the world safely. Thank you, thank you, thank you!