"Experience of maternity services"

On Tuesday the 25th July 2017 I gave birth to my daughter, Heidi, at Warrington Hospital and I am writing to express my gratitude to and admiration for all the staff who cared for us during the four days we were in hospital.

I went into the labour ward on Monday 24th of July and it was decided that I’d stay in and have my waters broken rather than waiting for the induction that had already been scheduled later that week, so I was admitted and taken to a delivery suite.

Unfortunately, labour didn’t progress as we had hoped so, on Tuesday morning, I was taken for an emergency caesarean section and Heidi was born at 10.54 am.

Because of the caesarean we were then kept in hospital until Thursday the 27th of July.

During the actual labour, my husband and I were hugely impressed by all of the staff we dealt with; we spent a very long time with one midwife in particular, who put us at ease as well as explaining each stage of labour and all of the options as things progressed; The midwife’s calm and caring manner kept us both feeling relaxed in what could have become a stressful situation.

Alongside this midwife, we were seen by many other members of staff and everyone was friendly, polite and professional and took the time to explain what they were doing and why.

When it was decided that I needed to have an emergency caesarean section everyone was very calm and I continued to feel relaxed throughout the procedure; there were lots of staff, all of whom had introduced themselves and explained why they were there and they checked throughout that I was feeling ok and whether there was anything I needed.

After Heidi was born we were then taken to the ward where the excellent care continued.

I was on the ward from Tuesday until Thursday so both Heidi and myself were cared for by a number of midwives and I couldn’t fault anyone at all; from the cleaning and catering staff to the paediatrician, everyone took the time to ask how I was feeling and ask about Heidi which led to a very friendly, supportive atmosphere.

One midwife in particular went above and beyond what I would have expected, who was a student midwife at the time.

This student was approachable, caring and patient, they took the time to show me how to bath Heidi and to suggest ways to encourage her to drink more milk on top of all of the other duties she was carrying out, and everything was done with a smile.

I feel very lucky that we received such fantastic care from the minute we arrived until the time we were discharged, and even afterwards with the midwives and health visitors we’ve seen since going home.

I just wanted to express my heartfelt thanks and to say that I think the NHS is amazing, particularly everyone in the Maternity unit at Warrington Hospital.

Again, thank you so much for the work you do and the services you provide.