"first baby born May 2015"

I was referred to the JR after having high blood pressure at a routine antenatal appointment. I had been hoping to have my baby in the midwife led unit in Wallingford but was unable to as I was developing pre-eclampsia.

After being checked by a doctor (after a very long wait) it was agreed that I would be kept in overnight and induced the following day. Luckily for me I went into Labour naturally that night.

There were no beds available for a very long time, so I was labouring in the assessment room on a tiny bed with a sheet of blue paper on it. After almost 10 hours I was sent to a delivery room. The midwife was excellent and so were the other two who were present at the birth and throughout the pushing stage. I do question whether or not I should have been allowed to push for 3 hours though.

After delivery however, there was a changeover of staff and I was left for hours in a blood soaked bed. My mother in law (a nurse) was horrified at the state I had been left in when they came to visit. I was freezing cold from lying in blood. There was blood all over the floor. At the time I was too exhausted to give it a second thought, I just knew I felt uncomfortable. However, in the days and weeks following the birth, thinking back to these experiences made me very tearful and upset.

The following morning I was not given any breakfast. No one was answering when I called on the buzzer and I was recovering from three bad tears and an episiotomy, so I was not up to walking around to find someone. My husband arrived just before 12 and got me something to eat. I hadn't eaten for days.

I am hoping to have a second baby soon and I really hope my next birth experience will be a more pleasant one. I have developed quite a phobia of giving birth.