Midwifery staff
- Thread starter Jadie
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I couldn't have had a better bunch of ladies look after me. My midwife in labour was wonderful, so lovely. I did hypnobirthing and she happened to be familiar so encouraged me. After the birth and the end of her shift she came and gave me and oh a cuddle!
Then I was transferred to my local little MLU and seriously amazing. I get quite emotional thinking about the ladies there. Midwives down to the cleaners were all fantastic. I was so looked after, all had different ways but all great. They sorted my bf out, looked after me and even took my lo for a few hours at night to give me some rest! I also had a meltdown a few weeks after and I rang them upset and they invited me down. They set me up with a drink in a nice comfy chair and talked to me for about two hours. Helped with some bf issues and generally just reassured and boosted me.
I think I was very lucky.
Then I was transferred to my local little MLU and seriously amazing. I get quite emotional thinking about the ladies there. Midwives down to the cleaners were all fantastic. I was so looked after, all had different ways but all great. They sorted my bf out, looked after me and even took my lo for a few hours at night to give me some rest! I also had a meltdown a few weeks after and I rang them upset and they invited me down. They set me up with a drink in a nice comfy chair and talked to me for about two hours. Helped with some bf issues and generally just reassured and boosted me.
I think I was very lucky.
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I had mixed experiences, the first midwife I had was lovely, although she also tried to push an epidural on me as I had been induced. She did explain that being induced can cause contractions to be very intense and too difficult to maintain a controlled birth (this was how she explained it to me but I didn't want it). I did end up getting it and telling her I wish I'd listened lol.
Then the second midwife was really nice and she was concerned about LO having decels and persuaded the doctors to monitor more closely which I appreciated.
But then the third one I had was horrible. She kept telling me I wasn't pushing hard enough and when I pushed she kept telling me to hold my breath. Now I'm sure I have read that you actually SHOULDN'T hold your breath and that it's actually not the way they do things now! I was feeling like I would pass out from dizziness with each push but she kept telling me off for not doing so!!
Then don't get me started on the doctors! They were pretty cold and ignored me, didn't even say hello but in a way I can understand that because they have to get in and do what's necessary quickly in case there's a problem. Anyway one doctor examined me and was sticking her arm up there like I was a Christmas stocking, it was horrible but again I'm sure it was necessary. However she then got a trainee to assess me, told the trainee off in front of me and hadn't even had the decency to ask me if I minded if a trainee assessed me!! The trainee herself looked apologetic!
The doctor then said I was fully dilated and to push which was when the horrible MW began telling me off etc, and after an hour I was assessed again by another doctor who said I wasn't quite fully dilated and had a rim around my cervix which was blocking baby (at which point I glared at the MW who had been saying I hadn't pushed and enough). That's when my LO became seriously distressed and they had to rush me for a c section (during the rush one MW kept pulling me away from the drip which was still attached to my arm and yanking me almost pulling the cannula straight from my hand!!).
Some of the things I can understand like the problem with the drip because they had to rush, but other things I just found rude.
I do not think that the MWs approach of "be cruel to be kind" was very helpful, and insisting that I hold me breath whilst I push was just out of order and was making me actually lose concentration as I felt I was going to pass out!
Next time I will know to stand up for myself better though and will just ignore anyone like that, but as for the doctor getting it wrong that I was fully dilated, maybe if she hadn't been so busy telling her trainee off she might have done her own job properly and my baby may not have ended up in distress due to me pushing when I wasn't actually ready to!
Then the second midwife was really nice and she was concerned about LO having decels and persuaded the doctors to monitor more closely which I appreciated.
But then the third one I had was horrible. She kept telling me I wasn't pushing hard enough and when I pushed she kept telling me to hold my breath. Now I'm sure I have read that you actually SHOULDN'T hold your breath and that it's actually not the way they do things now! I was feeling like I would pass out from dizziness with each push but she kept telling me off for not doing so!!
Then don't get me started on the doctors! They were pretty cold and ignored me, didn't even say hello but in a way I can understand that because they have to get in and do what's necessary quickly in case there's a problem. Anyway one doctor examined me and was sticking her arm up there like I was a Christmas stocking, it was horrible but again I'm sure it was necessary. However she then got a trainee to assess me, told the trainee off in front of me and hadn't even had the decency to ask me if I minded if a trainee assessed me!! The trainee herself looked apologetic!
The doctor then said I was fully dilated and to push which was when the horrible MW began telling me off etc, and after an hour I was assessed again by another doctor who said I wasn't quite fully dilated and had a rim around my cervix which was blocking baby (at which point I glared at the MW who had been saying I hadn't pushed and enough). That's when my LO became seriously distressed and they had to rush me for a c section (during the rush one MW kept pulling me away from the drip which was still attached to my arm and yanking me almost pulling the cannula straight from my hand!!).
Some of the things I can understand like the problem with the drip because they had to rush, but other things I just found rude.
I do not think that the MWs approach of "be cruel to be kind" was very helpful, and insisting that I hold me breath whilst I push was just out of order and was making me actually lose concentration as I felt I was going to pass out!
Next time I will know to stand up for myself better though and will just ignore anyone like that, but as for the doctor getting it wrong that I was fully dilated, maybe if she hadn't been so busy telling her trainee off she might have done her own job properly and my baby may not have ended up in distress due to me pushing when I wasn't actually ready to!
tinkerbelle93
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I really didn't like most of the staff at the hospital 
I had a picotin drip shoved in my hand then gas and air taken off me so I was 9cm dialated with picotin contractions and no drugs whatsoever whilst being wheeled into theatre and got shouted at to 'Stop the screaming, we've all had babies we know it hurts' Lots of tutting and eyerolling, them knowing best, not being told what was going on etc., nothing done to give me a little extra dignity when it wouldn't have been any extra effort.
It's horrible because if you do get eye rolls, or sarcastic comments then those are the things that forever stay with you when you look back on your birth experience. I suppose the midwives are very stressed out and there aren't exactly enough of them to cope with busy wards but I wish I'd been treated differently xx
I had a picotin drip shoved in my hand then gas and air taken off me so I was 9cm dialated with picotin contractions and no drugs whatsoever whilst being wheeled into theatre and got shouted at to 'Stop the screaming, we've all had babies we know it hurts' Lots of tutting and eyerolling, them knowing best, not being told what was going on etc., nothing done to give me a little extra dignity when it wouldn't have been any extra effort. It's horrible because if you do get eye rolls, or sarcastic comments then those are the things that forever stay with you when you look back on your birth experience. I suppose the midwives are very stressed out and there aren't exactly enough of them to cope with busy wards but I wish I'd been treated differently
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Tinker bell I was also told to stop screaming (my thought at the time was wtf?? Are you seriously telling a woman in labour to stop screaming!!) but I can't believe they said "we know it hurts we've all had babies"! How awful!! As MWs they should know that every woman's experience of labour is different so how would they know how you feel?
Jadie sorry yours ended in a c section too, it annoys me sometimes because I feel like if they hadnt made me push too early it might not have turned out that way.
Jadie sorry yours ended in a c section too, it annoys me sometimes because I feel like if they hadnt made me push too early it might not have turned out that way.
tinkerbelle93
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Yeah I really do regret not complaining about it, at the time I sort of dismissed it but whenever I tell people about that one comment in particular they're always shocked and say it was inappropriate.
I can maybe understand telling me to stop being so loud because everyone rushing round but the way the woman said it (I'm not sure who she was, I think a delivery nurse or something) was just so patronising and like she was really smirking at me and how ridiculous I was being at handling labour.
I was 9cm with no bloody pain relief whatsoever and it wasn't even like I could try and relax and breathe my way through the contractions because I was being rushed down a corridor then lifted onto a bed. I'd asked for an epidural or something stronger when I'd arrived at the hospital 40 mins before and they'd discouraged it going 'oh are you sure you can't manage without? We'll have to move you down to a different bit and it'll be a lot of hassle' and I had felt inclined to have to say no, then for them to yell at me for not handling the pain well xx
I can maybe understand telling me to stop being so loud because everyone rushing round but the way the woman said it (I'm not sure who she was, I think a delivery nurse or something) was just so patronising and like she was really smirking at me and how ridiculous I was being at handling labour.
I was 9cm with no bloody pain relief whatsoever and it wasn't even like I could try and relax and breathe my way through the contractions because I was being rushed down a corridor then lifted onto a bed. I'd asked for an epidural or something stronger when I'd arrived at the hospital 40 mins before and they'd discouraged it going 'oh are you sure you can't manage without? We'll have to move you down to a different bit and it'll be a lot of hassle' and I had felt inclined to have to say no, then for them to yell at me for not handling the pain well
xxTinker belle that's awful I'm sorry you went through that! It's totally not ok!
I found a website called improving birth, they are striving to bring evidence based births into action everywhere, they're in the process of doing a rally at the moment, I'm hoping to get involved with bringing one to Perth! We sure know its needed xx
I found a website called improving birth, they are striving to bring evidence based births into action everywhere, they're in the process of doing a rally at the moment, I'm hoping to get involved with bringing one to Perth! We sure know its needed xx
tinkerbelle93
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I think at the end of the day the attitude and friendliness of the midwife and staff involved can make a huge huge difference to the way you view the experience, even if it didn't go to plan in other ways. I know it's just another day at work to them but to the women giving birth it's a memory they're going to hold forever, and having stroppy, patronising staff can potentially ruin it. xx
I had my daughter nearly 3 weeks ago and cannot fault the service I got off the midwives. I had to be monitored for 6 weeks before she was born and even those midwives were great.
For the birth I was induced, I had 3 different sets of midwives over the day and ended up with a midwife I'd met when I'd had my first loss. She was the one who helped deliver my little one - I went from 2-3cm to fully dilated within an hour with only a shot of pethedine for the pain. The delivery was so quick it was 3 pushes and she was out.
My midwives were supportive, they explained things and couldn't have been nicer.
For the birth I was induced, I had 3 different sets of midwives over the day and ended up with a midwife I'd met when I'd had my first loss. She was the one who helped deliver my little one - I went from 2-3cm to fully dilated within an hour with only a shot of pethedine for the pain. The delivery was so quick it was 3 pushes and she was out.
My midwives were supportive, they explained things and couldn't have been nicer.
