"Loss of bladder control after the birth "

My daughter had her first baby in October 2009.

Before the delivery she was in a lot of pain so she asked for a epidural. They got a young student to try and insert the tube to the spine, after so many attempts she could not get it right, my daughter was in agony, so they went and got a senior anaesthetic from the theatre to insert the tube. When it was inserted they could only numb one half of her body, so what they had to do was to keep topping the serum up.

Since that day my daughter's bladder has not returned to normal. For the first few months she had to have a catheter inserted as there was no feeling that she needed to pass water, apart from her tummy swelling and she was in constant pain and I mean pain.

Then my daughter and myself had to be shown how to insert a catheter. She had a constant infection even to this day she needs medication.

Then they decided to give her a minor operation to have a pubic catheter inserted into her belly just above her pubic bone. With this she had to turn a small tube on just like a tap when she thought she needed to go to the toilet.

My daughter is 25 years old.

She is always on antibiotics. She had the pubic catheter removed after about six months, but to this day she still has the same problems. The registrar told her she would never be able to have a epidural again. I really think the problem started with the student not being experienced and not being supervised. When my daughter asked was the epidural the cause of the problem, she said she was not certain.

She still has to wear pads. When this first happened my daughter and myself had to sit in the antenatal ward all day drinking a jug of water and then what she passed had to be measured then have the catheter inserted to relieve my daughter's bladder. There was no one there to help us, we were left on our own right up until the early evening, this went on for quite a few days. And you must realise she had a baby to look after.

The staff do not seem to communicate with each other. Plus some of the staff we could not understand, which is very frustrating.

I know this story is not as upsetting like the other poor girl's, but I think these stories must be told. My daughter is in constant pain and she now has the bladder of an old lady.