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Childbirth

midwifery care

19 replies

mumfor1sttime · 20/04/2005 10:32

Hi all was just wondering how people rated the care they had from their midwife? Mine was poor.

OP posts:

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CarolinaMoon · 20/04/2005 13:06

hi, MFFT - do you mean antenatal care? i'm asking because i saw your post on the cs and vaginal birth thread where you mentioned poor antenatal care - it sounds like you had a pretty traumatic experience with the birth tho. hope you are feeling better about it.

charleepeters · 20/04/2005 13:15

mine was brill my midwife was great all through couldnt of done it without her help as i had the worst pregnancy she was there all through and even changed her holiday dates to deliver ds!

mumfor1sttime · 20/04/2005 15:48

Hi Carolinamoon, yes I suppose I do mean antenatal care, I have just noticed how different other peoples care is depending on which area they live. I didnt see same midwife on each appt,which made it awkward.I do feel much better now, thanks. Enjoying what is left of my maternity leave!!

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flic23 · 20/04/2005 15:54

i found ante natal care overall rubbish they werent all bad but in 5 weeks on ward they missed my DVT and then messed me aound on discharge twice. Some of them where lovely but one went mad at me because DP had phoned me on mobile ward phone. This annoyed me as it was needed because i was in agony with my DVT so couldnt walk to phone and my requests for mobile payphone where repeatedly ignored. I know i would want private care if i had the option but unfortuanately not available

Kelly1978 · 20/04/2005 15:55

I personally had terirble antenatel care, with no continutiy and an arsey consultant, but I found the midwives were very sympathetic and great all round.

flic23 · 20/04/2005 15:56

meant to write postnatal blonde moment my antenaal care was good but it was on the other side of the country to where i was delivered

zubb · 20/04/2005 16:09

excellent - same community midwife for all appointments for all 3 pregnancies (did see one other MW a couple of times when mine was on holiday and she was lovely as well), great hospital midwife delivered ds1 (who I had never met before but personally that was never an issue for me), community midwife attended when ds2 was born, and will be delivering next one in a homebirth.

CarolinaMoon · 20/04/2005 16:10

glad to hear it MFFT!

i think you're right about the varying care in diff areas. i was living in hackney while pg (have since moved) and had a diff mw at nearly every appt. even when i saw the same one again, they obviously didn't remember anything about me. i had a really uncomplicated pg tho, so prob not much else for them to say.

i was a bit suprised tho at how little happened at each appt - just a quick prod of my bump and listening to ds's heartbeat and that was it really. i suppose being my first pg it seemed like such a big deal, when it's just another busy day's work to them.

hope you don't mind me asking, did none of your MWs notice your LO was breech?

mumfor1sttime · 21/04/2005 14:51

Hi cm, nobody realised babe was breech. Was even told that head was engaged! Didnt see a midwife at all in last 2 weeks of pregnancy-had appt on due date, he came day before this. my pregnancy in general was very text book and had no sickness at all. I also noticed how little was done on each appt, quick prod and blood pressure taken-that was it for me too!! Oh yes, this is weird-I too was born breech!!

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mamadadawahwah · 21/04/2005 15:48

I cant glom all of my midwives in the same boat, but basically i would classify them as mere handmaidens to the medical system. I tried to have a homebirth and had 8 midwives. Out of all of them, 2 were fine, the rest were rubbish and very ANTI home birth. Were vocal in this and were manipulative in trying to get me to go to hospital.

After care was rubbish. I was told i was TOO HAPPY after the birth. That I was a candidate for depression, etc etc. What a thing to say to a first time mom. Talk about trying to fulfil prophesies. Anyway, i didnt get depressed and am still very happy at being a mom, though very unhappy at them. They only come round for about 10 days after baby is born. After that you are on your own. I had a particularly nasty caesarian and wasnt able to move for a few weeks. I figure it was their fault i ended up with the caesarian, so they should have helped me a bit more. Had they not pressured me and got me into such a state, i am sure i could have had baby at home like i planned. However, best laid plans and all that!

mumfor1sttime · 21/04/2005 16:13

Glad I am not only one who had rubbish care, I found it hard for first couple weeks because of c section too, and kept thinkin of time in hospital,which was awful too as it was dirty, noisy, understaffed and very hot. Noone helped me to bottle feed- they fed him for me- which annoyed me, if I was breast feeding you can guarrantee they would have helped me to do it.I was visited twice whe I left hospital by 2 midwives, and twice by a health visitor.

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Miaou · 21/04/2005 16:26

I wonder if there is any correlation between poor care and being in an area of high population? Obviously this wouldn't explain the poor attitudes of some midwives but may help to explain the lack of continuity and communication. (Not excuse it, though!)

I had my two dds in a rural(ish) hospital in Yorkshire, and my antenatal care in my village on the edge of the Leeds/Bradford sprawl was excellent. Both births were attended by great midwives and the consultants I saw were nice people too.

I now live in Scotland in a VERY rural area, have a great midwife who offers to come out to see me at home, and tells me to ring at any time if I am worried about something (they are on 24hr call). I have plenty of time at each appointment and nothing is too much trouble. However I am very aware that because of the relatively small number of people they see, they have more time for each patient, and there is no reason why they can't offer continuity of care.

Miaou · 21/04/2005 16:28

I should add, I am hoping to have my baby at the midwife unit in my nearest town (where I go for my antenatal care), and do not want to go up to Inverness (nearest main hospital) because I have yet to hear ANYTHING good said about it in terms of care!

mamadadawahwah · 21/04/2005 16:29

Ooh lets continue this. For me, even though its two years ago, its still a bugbear for me. Whilst in hospital i could smell tobacco smoke from the "smokers room" on the same ward, not 15 feet away from my door. As a non smoker, it made me ill. Dare i complain? i thought? Yes, i did. What a shock i got when i next went past the smokers room and saw the midwife i complained to, smoking in the smokers room. Couldnt believe that all these brand new babies were breathing in smoke!!

Went to the toilet and there were bloody sanitary pads and towels all over it. It was a "communal" ward bathroom. There was even blood on the toilet. I couldnt hunker so i just peed my pants. My catheter had just been taken out and i was told to go, so i did!!!

Told to take a sitz bath 24 hours after c-section. Saw the state of the bathroom and decided not to. I would have caught something!! Why would they suggest a mom who has just had major surgery go into a bath with an open wound and soak up germs from everyone else, particularly with rampant MRSA about?

My list is long.

mamadadawahwah · 21/04/2005 16:29

should add i left less than 48 hours after c-section. They didnt encourage me to stay either!

mumfor1sttime · 21/04/2005 16:41

You sound like you had really ruff time, no wonder you still think about it. The hospital I was in sounds like a holiday camp compared to yours!! I just found it so bloomin hot, I left hospital after 3 days[they wouldnt let me go early]with a heat rash!! Was told by midwife that they cant turn down heat on maternity ward. I had shower with my epidural needle in my back!The smoking thing is real bad, and shouldnt have happened. Think that population does matter to how your care is and which council you have maybe?

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Pruni · 21/04/2005 16:54

Message withdrawn

sphia · 24/04/2005 10:33

mine was awful after my first child,10 years ago. I was covered in blood and sick for 2 days and didnt get offered a wash.They were all horrible, I was in pain and traumatised and had NO care. I cant believe, i think it was you mamawahwah, that they were smoking on the ward! Things are getting bad..That is awful with all those little babies around.

flamesparrow · 24/04/2005 10:39

My first one was lovely, and believed in listening to a mother (and herself) when it comes to due dates... unfortunately she moved at 20 weeks, and I was left with a midwfie who hadn't heard a heartbeat for herself at 11 weeks (7 by scan dates), and refused to believe that I KNEW when I concieved, and that scans could possibly be wrong.

I was left feeling stupid and very young (was 21).

Hopefully next time will be better as I am in a new area, that is a slightly "better" area (less drug adicts and 16 year old mums), so I might be treated like I have an ounce of intelligence.

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