AIBU to be angry with the hospital?

[laurenwiltxx]

I had my LO in July,FTM, the birth wasn't straight forward she had pooped in the water (meconium) was 15 days over due and waters had burst to start labour, so the waters seemed yellow so I took myself to the hospital and showed them the waters, (in a toilet I wasn't even examined!) they said they were fine and told me to go home,(as she was so overdue, her heart beat should have been monitored from the beginning of labour) I got home and couldn't handle the pain and straight back I went, the shift had changed over and a different midwife saw me, examined me and recognised the meconium straight away and kept me in and got me a room any way had the epidural put in wrong and it was leaking un noticed for 6 hours, so had baby and she wasn't breathing properly so they gave me a quick cuddle with her and took her to NICU. As I'd had the epidural I couldn't walk so couldn't get there and repeatedly asked for a wheelchair but they never sent one, so nearly 16 hours later I managed to go up there (2floors) they told me she had just swallowed some meconium and would be out in 12 hours, then next they said she had an infection and would be out in 3 days, then 5 then seven, then 10 days later we was allowed home after her anti biotics had finished. All I was told was that she was doing well and the infection was from something called strep b. So I've researched it now and realise how dangerous an that infection is 1 in 10 babies will die from it and 2 in 10 will be left with permanent damage such a cerebral palsy. To top it all off they told me I would have to come back in 2 months to for a check up, when I went there they checked her reactions to things her reflexes eyes etc the. I received a letter to discharge on this letter it said she has sepsis, and this was the first I had heard and that the check up was to check for permanent damage from the group b strep sepsis?!? Why was I not made aware of the severity of this infection? I'm so thankful that she is okay but I can't understand why I wasn't told and why the NHS doesn't routinely test women for group b strep?

Sorry for going on

The reason I understand they don't test for strep b is because you can be negative one day and positive the next so the test would only be valid if done immediately before going into labour

Can you ask for a debrief at the hospital and ask them these questions? I'm not saying your situation is the same but when our dad was in nicu we were told lots of things that one of us would forget or misunderstand due to stress/tiredness. Otherwise, try to remember doctors and nurses are humans, working long long hours, and aren't perfect

That sounds awful. I'd complain.

Try to stay off google! GBS is dangerous... if not detected and adequately treated with 7-10 days of IV antibiotics. The fact that they detected something was wrong and acted immediately and treated your baby has saved her life. GBS is a bug carried in the vagina, it is not routinely screened for for reasons previously mentioned. If a baby shows any signs of sepsis this is the main concern and treated for. Your management pre birth seems more the issue and I'd suggest asking obstetrics for a debrief of delivery etc. It is highly likely that you were told about diagnosis but due to shock, exhaustion and confusion you didn't really take it in fully.

oh this will get me on my favourite soap box!

ds (now 15months) had group b strep related meningitis, sepsis and pneumonia, we nearly lost him several times. he has been left with deafness and possibly learning difficulties (to young to tell)

the nhs were amazing treating him BUT it should be a routine test. our stay on nicu cost thousands, as im sure yours did too. repeated spinal taps, iv antibiotics, breathing assistance, feeding tubes, my residence in the hospital, the follow up consultants, hearing and speech appointments etc etc could have all be prevented by a simple cheap test. I was in labour for 36 hours, there was plenty of time to do it.
Ive done some fundraisers for group b strep support because they were v helpful.

However I agree with pp and it sounds more likely that the before birth bit is the issue here, and should definitely be raised with a review board of some sort. every hospital has a feedback type thing for this reason.

be grateful you have a healthy little one, cherish every moment. congrats on the baby!

Ds was born after a pretty traumatic induced labour, multiple failed epidurals, emcs, he wasn't breathing unassisted for 25 minutes after being born. I also never got to go see him until the epidurals wore off. Shocked and exhausted we eventually took our baby home after 7 days.

6 months later we got a hospital appointment and assumed it was routine, I went alone and was horrified when I was told it was to check him out for any damage caused due to the lack of oxygen when he was born. Dh and I honestly can't remember if anyone told us he could potentially have long term issues.

Ds is ok and I'm actually pleased I didn't know about the potential problems so I could just enjoy his first 6 months with no worry.

I had a very poorly baby when she was 7 weeks old. I found out several years later just how poorly she had been when a consultant let it slip but I was actually very glad that I had not known at the time how close it had been.

My twins were both born with group B strep and were in neonatal straight after birth. One was really ill, also with sepsis, and I regularly remind myself to be thankful he's here to be throwing a tantrum.

But at the time the docs and nurses had a gentle, non scary, explanation of what was going on, and tried to reassure me everything was being done and going as well as can be expected. It took a while for it to sink in how ill my boy was.

I think your issue was your birth experience which possible left u at risk of group B strep. Although I tested negative the day my boys were diagnosed, so the test isn't that reliable. Possibly ask for a review or debrief and share your concerns.

Even tho the test isn't totally effective, IMO all women need to be aware of GBS and tested. We are the lucky mums.

I was told they were meant to check for strep bwhen I was pregnant. Not sure what the current guidelines are but I would check against NICE. It doesn't sound professional ay all.

Sorry to hear of your experience I know nothing of StrepB etc but I am amazed that you were allowed to get to 15 days overdue and then were sent home once your waters had broken?!?! Is this in the UK?!

Sorry for the amazingly late reply I forgot about the post tbh, thanks for all your replies, I am really grateful to the staff it's more the situation I was disappointed with and that I had no idea group b strep existed and very little information was given even when dd had an infection from it.

I agree with MeMy that the initial handling in triage sounds like bad practice to the point of negligence - you had multiple risk factors, any one of which should have raised an alarm. I am very glad for you and your baby that you had the good sense to return and that you were admitted then.

There also appears to have been appalling communication post the birth. I would not be too concerned about the projected duration of your child's hospital stay being changed - obviously as her condition changed, they revised their prognosis and so this can't be helped. What can be helped though is communicating clearly with you about the meconium aspiration, the positive strep identification and the sepsis. It could also be that the letter you have now received contains mistakes and that your daughter didn't have sepsis, but mistakes of this kind are not an acceptable level of care. The medical team should not be frightening you to death but they also should not be withholding the severity of the situation from you. Understandably you were stressed and anxious at the time but it was their responsibility to ensure that you understood what was going on

On the question of routine testing for strep, I know there are arguments for and against but I am glad that I'm in a country where a steep screen at 36 weeks is routine. It is an issue of balance between risking over-treatment by giving antibiotics to everyone who tests positive, even if some will have changed to negative by the time of the birth, versus the risk of a baby contracting strep because the mother was not screened and treated. On a population level, I can see both sides but when it comes to me and my baby, I much rather run the risk of side effects of potentially unnecessary antibiotics than of strep.

I think you are right to feel angry but maybe try to put that anger to one side and ask the hospital for a clear debrief of all elements of your and your daughter's care to understand better what went on and why. Then you can consider whether escalating to a complaint or othe Vacation is necessary.

UK here..I was sent home after waters broke as contractions still werent 2 mins apart (which was apparently the requirement to be admitted). Told to come back in 2 days even if contractions weren't 2 mins as at that stage they would have to force delivery. That labour was horrific though and I really think the MW team that were on to begin with just couldn't be arsed. I wanted to die and they kept telling me to bugger off, no pain relief, come back later etc. They wouldn't even check to see how far dilated I was ffs. Once the staff changeover came, they admitted me immediately and it was plain sailing from there (except huge bloodloss and forcep delivery..but that can't be helped). The second team were amazing, the first were horrible.

Second labour hind waters went and had meconium in and the hospital kept me, told me how dangerous it could be. I still can't believe how easy that labour was compared to the first.

OP, it sounds to me like the issue was the delivery and treatment prior. That was simply unacceptable but so many women suffer bad treatment during pregnancy/labour. It really shouldn't happen in this day and age. I do think if I went through what you had gone through there would be certain things I would be better off not knowing..so I understand why some was withheld from you. For example if it was touch and go with my baby, I would rather hear 'we are doing everything we can' and...hopeful messages, than be told that there was actually a 50% chance of serious complications or something..especially given I could not help in any way.