"Very disappointing experience! Relieved when left!"

My experience on both the Abbey Wing and after birth ward was not a good one. Firstly I was left hours in the Abbey Wing before anyone would come to see me. When they say "we'll come back and check on you in a bit" that means 8hrs!

My husband and I weren't made comfortable, we were left slumped on the floor for hours, they didn't tell us about the fold out bed! Because my baby was back to back I thought that extra monitoring would be given.

I couldn't keep any fluid down and had to ask to go on a drip 3 times before the midwife responded with "well you'll have to go upstairs" as if that was a bad thing to do. This made me feel like I had failed in not receiving any help and staying on the "natural" ward. Eventually I was transferred up to the ward and given 2 or 3 bags of fluid.

After a 36 hour labour I had an emergency c-section as my babies heart rate was dropping. The doctors and the girls who looked after us in the surgery room were great.

My experience on the Joan Booker ward after was however the worst. I had to ask for my canular and catheter to be taken out, because they had forgotten about them.

I got no sleep on the ward, it was packed, one lady was allowed about 6 people around her be where guests were playing videos on their phone loudly, however the a nurse did eventually ask them to leave.

When my baby was sick with yellow stuff, because it was the first time I'd seen it, I picked her up and looked for help from a midwife. I was then told by a midwife in a surprised tone "that's the first time I've seen you hold her!" this made me feel terrible!! A guilt that's stayed with me 10 months on.

I had asked for help breastfeeding 3 times with different midwife's as I was really struggling. One of the Midwife's just shoved my babies face on my breast, they didn't let me do it myself, just did it for me. I still struggled after, little did I know she was 80% tongue tied! This also got missed by the doctor who did the physical check, meaning that days after we left hospital I struggled to breastfeed and my baby hadn't fed properly in 5 days. Thankfully my midwife noticed and we went back to have it cut. The feeding midwife that came round before didn't even check!

I heard one midwife say to the woman opposite me "why aren't you breastfeeding!?" When the lady was bottle feeding her baby.

In the end I acted as if I was ok to go home, so that I could. Emotionally and physically I wasn't. I just wanted to get out of there. I was then given a load of tablets to take and injections to give myself without any written instruction. I was so relieved to leave.

This all happened on a weekend, Mother's Day, which should have been an extra joyous occasion.