"Having my baby at the Royal Oldham hospital"

As I live in blackley my care originally started at north Manchester general. I learned early on in pregnancy I was carrying twins, unfortunately at my 20 week scan I found out one of my babies had passed away at around 19 weeks gestation. I was devastated for the loss of my baby and worried for the health of my baby that was still alive, after speaking to the consultant I was given a lot of information and told that I would see a specialist at the fetal medicine unit at Royal Oldham hospital the following week- Dr Dieh.

The doctor put me totally at ease and explained every step of her scanning procedure and we talked facts and figures- it turned out a lot of the earlier information I had been given was outdated information and understandably my head was in a whirl. I was given the option to transfer all my care from North Manchester go Royal Oldham and have the specialist as my lead consultant, which I accepted and I am extremely happy I did. For my benefit Dr. Dieh scanned me regularly (for my peace of mind) which then transferred to 3 weekly growth scans with a review after each scan. I was always told I would be induced at around 37 weeks for a natural birth or if necessary or I felt like I didn't want a natural there would be the option of a Caesarian section. I opted for the induction of labour.

Once I was on the antenatal ward the induction process was started quite quickly- I had a side room for privacy as I was going to be having quite a lot of checks along the way and this was really important to me. The staff were amazing and kept me updated of progress at every step of the way- it was a very long induction process and at times I was upset or fed up but the staff did everything they could to reassure me and keep me in good spirits.

As I didn't want a Caesarian the doctors and midwives gave me the best information they could to try and move things along and I was finally taken to labour ward for my waters to be broken- again staff was lovely and very informative and seemed era happy which kept me going through those early stages of labour! The only issue I had was with the room where I was as the window was broke. So it was quite cold. My partner used a towel to block the draught out and it did get quite warm thereafter.

Once baby was born I was given the option of seeing my other baby who didn't make it, I didn't but my partner did, I was also asked if other members of staff could see him as it isn't common to be able to see the remains as the placenta usually absorbs any remaining baby I agreed and I was glad to help possible progressing midwifes with something they perhaps would never encounter again.   All in all I must say all the treatment and information I have encountered at my time with the Royal Oldham hospital has far surpassed my expectations and I am grateful to every member of staff who I have had the pleasure of meeting. Morale within the maternity section seems to be at a high and I hope that continues as they all do a fantastic job!