"Traumatic Birthing Experience"

My wife was pregnant with our first child. We went into the induction suite at the Victoria hospital at 9pm on the Wednesday night after it had already been pushed back that day. My wife’s waters broke during the night after contractions started. She was very sick after pain medication and never slept at all through the night. The staff just kept giving her more pain meds and anti sickness even though she couldn’t keep down any food or water. After no sleep the next day her contractions were getting closer but they refused to move her as she wasn’t dilated enough, contractions were too far apart and the labour unit was apparently too busy.

During the day on the Thursday my wife and I were asked to leave the room whilst two people could check the mattress, we were absolutely shocked by this that people in her condition were expected to move aside so that mattresses could be checked. We were disgusted that this seemed to be normal practice. My wife was then examined by the dayshift midwife who told her she had a bulging bag and that her waters had burst at the top and the bag was causing a sort of ‘plug’ and that we couldn’t get moved until she was dilated enough and the bag had burst. Shortly after, as soon as the shifts changed to night shift she was examined and the midwife was amazed that she was 7cm dilated and the bag was still not burst. The midwife on nightshift immediately arranged for us to move to the labour unit after a few tests.

Once we arrived in the labour unit my wife was again examined and told that she was yet not fully dilated but they burst the bag manually. After contractions were getting worse throughout the night in to Friday morning the midwife with us kept leaving the room and sat on her tablet the majority of the time. My wife had not slept since Tuesday night and had not kept down any food or water after being continually sick, she was exhausted. When my wife was dropping in and out of consciousness between contractions and using the gas and air the midwife would simply tell her she was doing great whilst staring at her tablet whilst she was sitting down next to the bed! This continued all through the night.

When my wife made her aware that she felt the need to push she was told to push and follow her body, then hours later when she was examined again by this midwife and a second midwife as a second opinion she was told she was not fully dilated and not to push. This was hours later after pushing continually! Also when this second midwife examined her for a second opinion my wife was in so much pain she had to repeatedly ask the midwife to stop before shouting at her to stop before she actually stopped what she was doing. Even after my wife told me something was wrong and she couldn’t do it I was made to reassure my wife to continue.

When it hit roughly 6 am a doctor/surgeon appeared from nowhere frantically telling us time was against us and we needed to make a decision. This was the first of us being made aware it was going wrong. When the anaesthetist asked the midwife when my wife last ate etc she couldn’t even answer and looked at me.

My wife ended up having an emergency c-section as baby was the wrong way. After waiting more than 30 hours after her waters had broke. From there I must say was like night and day, the theatre staff and after care was great and we could not fault it. But I must ask why it was so different? Luckily everyone came out the other side healthy but I dread to think how wrong it could have went. We are both mentally scarred in different ways from what we found as a horrific traumatic experience. The birthing experience haunts us and has ruined what should have been the happiest times of our lives. We have now both agreed we don’t want to go through it again and will not have any more children because of this. We are both massively let down by nhs Fife and the care we received.