"Mixed feelings"

Our antenatal care was great – they were fantastic. I’m severely needlephobic and I really appreciated their care and consideration around this.

My postnatal care wasn’t so great. Context: it lasted several weeks, as we weren’t discharged from the community midwives until day 30. Some midwives were brilliant, but we weren’t so impressed by others. One midwife in particular meant we spent Hogmanay in A&E.

– they overfed the baby by a huge degree and then, when he (naturally) regurgitated it all, insisted we go to A&E to have him checked.

Generally, communication could really be improved, both with us and within the team. I don’t understand why the team don’t give a rough time of day for their visit (even just ‘morning’ or ‘afternoon’ would be better than ‘between 9 and 5’) – when you’re under their care for a month, spending days and days in the house, unsure when you can go for a shower or go out for a walk, really takes a toll.

We also had occasions where one midwife would tell us one thing, and this would then not be communicated effectively to others on the team (e.g. being told by one midwife they would not be out on a particular day, and then someone turning up at our door). There needs to be more consideration about how prolonged treatment affects the parents.