"Aftercare and support"

The girls in the labouring suit were so supportive funny and kind they made you feel involved in all aspects of decision making and helped you to make informed decisions.

Unfortunately after a very long labour my baby became distressed and I needed to have an emergency c-section. again all staff involved were amazingly supportive and kind and explained each part of the process with care and attention.

Unfortunately when we were moved to the ward after giving birth the staff were not so helpful. The staff were severely understaffed the staff made you get up on your feet and were really condescending and didn't appear to understand the traumatic labour you had just been put through.  I felt they were really rude when my baby wouldn't settle and told me to 'deal with it'.  they offered no support for breast feeding and no support in caring for a newborn, which ultimately lead to me discharging myself against their advice and recovering at home. Which again also lead to me formula feeding due to the lack of support available.

Later on my discharge I noticed that midwives had been signing to say I was happy with breast feeding, confident in bathing my baby and that midwives had checked how my mood was and had supported me through feeding my child all of which was completely untrue. In the future I would definitely be pushing to go to a different health district as I do feel that although the care and staff in the labour ward were fantastic the aftercare and support just wasn't there and for a first time mum I found this really discouraging