"Unhelpful and rude phone call from the birth..."

A few weeks ago I rang the birth centre number to ask to arrange a slot/ appointment to look around the birth centre. I asked if I could make the slot for a specific day as I already had an existing appointment with a Doctor to perform a scan. I was advised that Calderdale didn’t do slots or appointments and I would have to ring up on the day. Which is fare enough, and that’s what I did today.

I rang up today at 8.20am and explained that I had an appointment at 12pm today and asked if it would be possible to come down before the appointment or after. The midwife on the phone informed me that I couldn’t come down to the birth centre this morning as every room was full, and that I would have to ring again after my 12pm scan. Again fare enough.

I went on to say that my due date is Monday (3days away!) and that I could do with coming down at some point as I didn’t know where it was, I didn’t even finish what I was saying before I was very rudely interrupted and spoken over by the midwife on the phone who said ‘the rooms are all full, you can’t look round rooms in use’. She went on stating she can’t change the rooms being full

For starters it would be appreciated if I wasn’t spoken over, and also i don’t need to be patronised and ridiculed on the phone. It obviously goes without saying that you can’t look around birthing centre rooms that are in use.

What I was saying/ asking before I was interrupted, was that as my due date was so soon even if the rooms were full could I still come down and discuss my birth plan with any available midwife. Find out how many birthing pools there are available,the layout of the birth centre itself and speak to some of the midwives to put me at ease. Find out visiting hours, is there a limit of how many visitors I can have etc. I didn’t get chance to ask as she was trying to get me off the phone and end the conversation.

After I got of the phone I was shocked,extremely upset, frustrated and disappointed with the conversation. When you go to a hospital you want to feel at ease and know the staff actually care, nobody should be made to feel a nuisance.

After my 12pm scan, my Doctor informed me that I didn’t have to have my baby in Halifax anymore but I could choose what birth centre to go to. It goes without saying that I chose HUDDERSFIELD. I rang them up straight away to book an appointment for 3pm on Monday, and she was so helpful the phone, letting me know that if I go into labour before hand to call them and come down to the birthing centre. Their tone and genuine concern was completely different to the midwife from Calderdale birth centre.

That 1 bad experience will stick with me, and I’ll always have a negative perseption of the birthing centre. I suggest going forward that the phone calls should be recorded for training purposes. I would hate for any other pregnant, nervous or scared person to have this type of conversation, feeling unwelcome is not what you need when phoning a hospital / birth centre for help