"Patient centred care and kindness"

I delivered my baby via unplanned c-section in the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital mid December 2024. My waters broke first thing in the morning and I knew I had to call maternity triage because I had group b strep. I was asked to come in straight away. I was taken very quickly and monitored and assessed by a friendly and kind midwife and a student. I was then promptly taken to the labour ward to begin the antibiotics needed via drip.

I was looked after by a wonderful midwife, Anne, who was kind, attentive and made me feel at ease. It was a very long day and Anne looked after me the full time, until the end of her shift. I also have a fast heart rate so this was an additional risk factor to consider when monitoring me. In terms of care, support and empathy Anne couldn’t have done any more. 

My labour was slow to progress and after another long and painful shift the pain became unbearable and I agreed to go with an epidural to try get some rest. The anaesthesiology team were so professional, caring and kind throughout.

Unfortunately my labour failed to progress and there was risk of baby becoming distressed so the surgeon advised a c-section would be an option to deliver baby safely, given my risk factors. I again was met by the anaesthesiologists who assessed me and after 2 attempts with my body reacting to the epidural and spinal, a 3rd time worked and my baby was delivered shortly after.

The care once again was second to none and for someone who has never been in a medical setting, they calmed me and talked me through every step, I had complete trust in the full team. The surgeon also did a fantastic job at my section incision and I am left with a small and very neat scar, she advised me afterwards that baby was in a difficult position which meant I would have needed a section anyway so knowing that gave me peace of mind that we made the right choice at the right time. Maggie our second midwife was also very caring and has a reputation for guessing the gender of unborn babies. She guessed right with ours, glad she could keep that reputation :) 

I spent Saturday and Sunday in ward 68 postnatally and I was glad to be able to have my husband stay with me the full time. It helped me recover and since I was immobile for the first half of the day it helped to have him with me to look after our newborn.

The postnatal ward was very busy and midwives and HCSW were clearly rushed off their feet. It’s clear the staff are working so hard but unfortunately this has an effect on patients. While my baby and I were safe and looked after clinically, I really struggled with latch and feeding my baby, she was extremely distressed and hungry when trying to feed her. I had asked multiple times for support with feeding her but every time I did, I was told it was normal or to let someone know when she was awake again, but as the staff were so busy it was often missed and I felt very anxious and worried about being discharged without having established latch or support. I felt a breastfeeding support worker or infant feeding advisor was really needed at this point, it may have been because I delivered over a weekend though. Again, the staff were great but clearly they are under so much pressure and they can only do so much. 

Overall, my experience was a positive one, with care staff going above and beyond to demonstrate patient centred care and kindness as well as professionalism and compassion. Thank you for your support.