"Spires MLU Delivery- mixed feelings"

My birth at the spires MLU was overall okay, baby arrived safely with no intervention or complications, but after sharing my birth story with friends and family, I have realised that looking back, there were quite a few things that could have been better. The unit itself was lovely, calm and more homely than a delivery suite. The MW respected my choices and birth plan and made sure it was a calm environment as I had wanted. They were very nice and encouraging through the birth too, but I do feel I was just left to it with not much guidance.

I arrived and was examined, and was 7cm. This was the only time I was examined, and therefore believe I potentially tore unnecessarily, as my birth partner doesn’t think I was fully dilated when I started pushing. Being a first time mum, I wasn’t really sure and just went with what I thought was right. MW never checked I was fully dilated and just left me to push as I pleased, and didn’t talk me through panting when crowning, so I just went for it.

The birth itself was as I had wanted, in the pool, calm and with no pain relief however, one of the midwives did keep dosing off whilst sat behind me next to the pool. When baby was born, he was wrapped in a towel, which obviously became wet being a pool birth. He was left in this wet towel for quite a while, and wasn’t given a blanket or anything. When my mum asked for a dry towel, the midwife got quite funny. (In the craze of it all, it didn’t occur to me or partner).

The cord was cut in the pool, then I had to walk from the pool to the bed with the cord hanging and pulling down after the injection, with blood going everywhere. I know the whole thing isn’t pretty, but I don’t feel my dignity was respected either. I was left with everything on show during transfer to be stitched and was made to switch beds with everything hanging out as they had put a gown on me backwards (front open).

Baby was born with ‘grunty breathing’. During stitching the MW said they would monitor this, but their shift finished an hour later and we never saw them again. It also wasn’t checked by anyone else before we left which resulted in us having to visit A&E later than night. (Again overwhelmed so wernt thinking to ask before we left). When I phoned the spires in the evening to see what to do they weren’t interested, so we went to A&E.

After being stitched, we were shoved in a side room, and the MW I had had never retuned again. A new MW came to introduce herself, but clearly hadn’t had a handover as knew nothing about me, my birth or the baby, we had to tell her everything. At this point, I felt forgotten about, wasn’t advised I could get up to shower or anything, just shoved in the room and left until discharge.

All pre birth visits to the MAU were great experiences, everyone was really helpful! Maybe it was just a bad shift for the MW I had that night, and I understand they are stretched, and that the NHS do a great job overall. It may have just been a one off?!