"Very commited maternity staff"

What I liked

I had my baby at the end of October at St Helier and I was very impressed with the commitment of most of the staff. I chose to go to the birth centre and as this was my first baby I was very nervous about the delivery. The facilities were clean and comfortable and the midwives were very caring and patient. I cannot praise them enough and also the person who helped with breastfeeding on my first night in hospital.

As my baby was not feeding properly I was transferred to the maternity ward (I spent 5 days in hospital in total) where I stayed for another three days. The night staff were not as helpful and some seemed even impatient when I needed help feeding my baby, but the day staff were brilliant. I was very tired and stressed due to my baby not feeding properly and the noise in the ward so I asked to go home (where I would probably end up bottle feeding even though I had always planned to breastfeed). They reassured me and spend a long time helping me to try and feed my baby. With her support, I managed to get my baby to feed properly for the first time. The following day the maternity assistant also tried to help me and even though my baby did not take the breast at all on that day, her support and her telling me about her personal experience with breastfeeding kept me going.

There were other staff who took care of me and my baby but unfortunately I don't remember all the names. I probably would not be breastfeeding now if it hadn't been for the midwives and maternity assistants who cared for me and my baby and I cannot thank them enough for this. I would definitely recommend St Helier Hospital to anyone who is having a baby.