To sue the NHS over my birthing experience

[boomitscountginula]

Now before I get flamed to death. I do appreciate my birth story isn't as bad as some but, I now refuse to have another baby unless I can get assurances that this won't happen again, and the only way I can do so is to go private, I think.? It was traumatic to me.

I had a quite easy birth, in terms of how long it took "officially" but I wasn't listened to and have a couple of long lasting injuries I think could of been prevented if they believed I was in labour to begin with.

My birth story: I woke up the day after my due day and had lost my plug over night. Went for a stretch and sweep at lunch, (planned as it was my first) with my midwife said I was 3cm already.

Fabulous, no pain at the minute, now 3cm easy birth.. so I thought.

Went home had a nap, woke up with contractions near tea time. By 9pm they where regularly 6 minutes apart so rang the maternity ward, had a phone assessment and went in.

Got into maternity triage, in absolute agony, had a physical exam and the triage said:

"Your only 3 cm, you need to come home and come back."

I said well as you can see, I am contacting every 6 minutes and less now, the pain is overwhelming and I feel like I need to push.

She tutted and said in all her experience she had never been wrong and I had hours to go, so needed to go home.

I was in bits at this news and crumbled. I never wanted an epidural and chose pethidine (sic) and gas and air. So agreed I would go home but I needed some kind of pain killer, that I could have with my chosen birth plan. I really put my foot down and said I will go home but only if I can get a pain killer stronger that the 2 paracetamol I had taken already.

She said she would find a doctor, but never came back.

Meanwhile I then go into the advanced stages of Labour. Bare in mind I had two paracetamol and my waters haven't broken. It's like trying to birth a gym ball.

I am literally screaming in pain in a side room in maternity triage, pushing and effectively giving birth myself. My partner and my mum (both birth partners) took it in turns to find anyone. But no one came for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes a junior midwife came in and said "oh my god your in labour".

Me and her literally ran to the deliver ward, where I was given gas and air.

I took a massive gulp of it, and was told off, because I should only take it when I am in pain and contracting..... never mind the two hours I have just been in hospital alone labouring, without a monitor on my baby or any pain relief.

I am still not hooked up to monitor, the only medical intervention is gas and air right now. My waters still haven't broken, 4 minutes later I was given the pethidine. 2 minutes after that I crown, baby in sack. Midwife broke the waters and my son was born. My official record shows that I was in labour for 9 minutes.

I had pain relief 4 minutes into my 9 minute birth and at no point was I on any kind of contraction monitoring machine. Nothing monitoring baby's heartbeat etc etc. I might as well have birthed in the woods.

I also split my right labia in two during the birth. The midwife didn't want to stitch it because it wasn't that bad.. yet I couldn't pee, unless in the bath for 3 weeks, and now that side is an inch longer than the other. Causing me, well you can imagine.

Start to finish I was treated like dirt, I was left labouring in a room alone, I was belittled and injured without proper treatment. And now I am afraid to be pregnant again.

I love the NHS, but they have let me down, massively. I am permanently injured (labia) and mentally scarred. But hate the idea of sueing the NHS on a theoretical level...

I would complain about not being listened to as that is a basic. But the lack of pain relief and monitoring isn't really a sue-able issue as it is very standard in a normal birth. Why did you want to be hooked up?

And sadly tearing is a common part of birth. I could understand more if you had ended up with a 3rd or 4th Deg tear and all the long term side effects that go with it.

But you feel how you feel, and should ask for a review if it helps you feel better about it.

*tumours

You should complain and your complaint should be sent to the CEO copied to the consultant obstetrician in charge and your MP.

For as long as we continue to regard the NHS as a sacred cow, continually being grateful for suboptimal care it will get worse. Complaints are needed. The NHS is not free it's funded by the people for the people.

I had similar (worse I believe, 22 years ago, when half a dozen midwives had time to chatter and still complained about being overworked). There were more midwives that night than women.

On reflection I think I had PTSD, certainly PND relating to that birth and post natal period. I complained about the latter and improvements were made. I didn't realise how traumatic the birth was until my dd was born 3.5 years later and experienced a good and cared for birth. It was cathartic and made recovery overall possible.

However, during dd's pg having learnt from previous experience I was robust in my demands. I checked and corrected my notes, I drew attention to blood tests that were ordered but results not returned, if a midwife chatted shit, I asked to see a more senior one or a Dr. There was a nice Dr who looked after me. DD was breach to the last and he was going to perform the ECS and then she turned. I agreed to a vaginal delivery on the basis that i would have 1:1 with a senior and exoerienced and nice midwife and got it.

Women have to be much more assertive. They need to question the slip ups the inefficiency and the too frequent rudeness. I found it very helpful to stand firm and say "I'm sorry but I'm not happy with your opinion based on might be, think about it next time, or oh the lab do that sometimes, etc, I'd like to see the Consultant please either now or by appointment." The consultant was always able to provide an answer, sort out a missing blood test, book a scan or confirm the lie of the baby. It isn't acceptable that midwives can't or won't or Don't but women sadly have been the architects of poor care because we feel we must be grateful because it's free and it's the NHS. It isn't free, it's ours and only we can make it better.

You had a shit experience but YABU to talk about suing. Most of what you describe is actually normal practice. Contractions 6 minutes apart is actuallly quite a long time. 3 minutes apart is usually considered established labour so they weren't unreasonable to question whether you should be at home or not. You aren't routinely hooked up to a monitor during labour unless they have reason to believe something is wrong. Waiting for painkillers is shitty but again it can happen for good reasons. If a doctor needs to prescribe them and they're away on an emergency, then yes it could take a while. I certainly remember waiting for mine! Damage during labour is very common. I myself had some very bad damage 'down there' (brainy children, huge heads , the recovery was terrible and probably didn't help the PND situation. I certainly will never be the same again and I am having a c-section in January.

However, your feelings are valid and your views must be expressed. The way pregnant women are expected to birth in this country isn't ideal but these expectations are changing. You do need to go about it in the right way though and suing isn't it. You need to first go to a debrief session at your hospital (should still be fine after 4 years) and if you feel you still have a grievience you need to contact PALS.

You also need to take control. Your experience has put you off having kids this way again. Understandable. But there are things you can do to make your next experience better, whether it's having the baby at a different hospital, having an elective c-section, choosing to go private. There's options out there but you need to take control of managing your expectations and making those decisions. Suing isn't one of them.

A relative of mine lost newborn baby twins due to staff negligence. THEY sued the professions involved.

Is there another hospital near you, you could go to, or would you consider a home birth? I'd definitely complain, but suing wouldn't achieve anything. The best outcome now is an apology and an admission of their error. That's the only thing that will put your mind at rest about having another baby.

I am sorry you had an experience that left you so traumatised

Put you own needs first before you consider suing - I am no lawyer, but any kind of legal conflict always sounds v unpleasant, stressful and expensive to me...

See your GP.
Get referred to a gynaecologist to see what can be done about your labia - labial reconstruction is really not that uncommon and quite easily done.
Contact the Head of Midwifery where you delivered and arrange a debrief. This happens with a senior member of staff who has your records to hand.
Consider making an official complaint in order for their processes to be looked at. This can help not only for you no to experience anything similar again, but may prevent another woman having a similar experience.
Seek assessment and ?treatment for quite how bad you are feeling even now, 4 years after the event. Perinatal psychologists will deal with birth trauma, even after some time has passed.

All things being equal, would YOU welcome another child to your family?
If the answer to that question is yes, then I'd suggest you prioritise your physical and mental well-being rather than going down a legal route which will have an uncertain outcome anyway.

I think you should complain... that is a terrible experience.
But you won’t get anywhere with suing unless your labia is irreprebably damaged or your baby suffered a disability

I gave birth off two paracetamol and a diazepam as my labour progressed so quickly. A second degree tear and a torn urethra. Don't think I was ever monitored. ( Much preferable to the 24 hour back to back birth of my first).
You need a debrief as a first step.

Sounds exactly like my labour. I was told lots of emergencies had come in and was denied pain relief, stuck In a side room and ignored! My baby arrived 20 minutes after I finally was allowed gas and air, after requesting it several times and having to try and track a midwife down.
Sounds a pretty standard story of our over stretched maternity services I am afraid. I complained in writing and received an apology, there were other issues relating to the care and delays in diagnosing my daughters condition which should have been spotted. I doubt I could have taken it much further, although the treatment I received will stay with me forever.

A quick labour like that isn't usually monitored as there is no time. I met my midwife after delivery for one. a midwife can't always tell if you are in labour or not - in fact I as having a discussion with the medical team whilst I crowned - under the sheet, nobody realising. Including myself.

Everything sounds very normal OP except they should have set you up in a bed in the prelabour ward, maybe with some pethidine. Other than that everything sounds standard for a fast labour.

My first was born at 24 weeks due to the consultant I saw when in advanced labour refusing to believe I was in labour and telling me to go home and stop wasting NHS time. I had already been given cervical stitches at the same hospital due to incompetent cervix, so he really made a massive error in not examining me and not taking me seriously.

My son, as a result, was born 109 days early. He nearly died on multiple occasions. He was in NICU for 4 months. He has had sepsis, pneumonia on two separate occasions, heart trouble, kidney trouble and eleventy billion other issues. He is now 12 years old, autistic and attends a special school. He is unlikely to ever live fully independently.

Did I sue? No. Did I put in a formal complaint about the consultant? Yes, and that did make me feel slightly better and it was put on his permanent record. I would have had no grounds to sue because my son was going to be born extremely prematurely anyway, although I strongly believe that the consultant's negligence cost us days or weeks that my son could have remained inside me.

I have since had another child.

Good luck OP, I would contact PALS and ask to talk about the trauma you've endured. But suing? No, even if you were still within the time bracket to do so.

Quick birth often come with no monitoring.

The main complaint is not being listened to or tended to during labour.

Personally I'd wait and see how you go for a bit. You have 3 years to sue and they'd probably wait before settling any claim to see what your condition and prognosis is likely to be. That said, if you need a good Med neg lawyer try Julia hurstfield. Not quite sure where she is these days but she's v good - acted for my cousin and I recommended her (I'm a former med neg lawyer)

I almost died from giving birth to my first so yabu. I didn't even think of suing, taking money from an already cash strapped NHS? Sorry you've had a traumatic experience OP but sadly there are far worse stories than yours. What do you hope to gain by suing them? Money? Answers? Peace of mind?

I think it's best to see a councillor and try to get past it as best you can, best of luck.

Haven't read the full thread but:

Your birth matters. It's not enough to be told be grateful that you have a healthy baby. Your trauma is real, and it matters. That does not detract from how lucky you are to have a healthy baby. You can be lucky and traumatised at the same time.

We do women no favours by adopting this 'get on with it' attitude. There is nothing to be gained by minimising or dismissing birth trauma.

Yes you're being unreasonable - how is making the NHS more cash strapped going to help them? Well.....it will help you huh so who cares about other service users. Btw, your labour doesn't sound that bad.... most women end up with "bodily changes" after pregnancy. Complain if you want, but don't try to sue because you fancy an extension on your house or whatever....what would it solve except making your bank balance healthier?

"This. Women aren’t listened to, they aren’t believed and are brushed off as being drama queens. A great deal of misogyny lies behind it, no other service would tolerate such poor care for any other type of patient."
Cherry
That's because maternity services are still in the dark ages based on a medical model of care from the sodding 1950's where all women have to fit into a neat little guideline which doesn't account for the fact that each woman, baby and labour are different and unpredictable.

To the PP who said they don't believe that. midwives are all cute and innocent or that it's too late for pain relief - sadly, you're right that not all midwives are nice, but not all people are nice.

And with regard to pain relief, sadly there are times when women present in advanced labour and there isn't time for pain relief to work effectively.

But in this OP's case, it appears that it wasn't believed that she could possibly be in advanced labour based on a pre-judgement made by someone who wasn't actively taking any notice.
Now I know first hand that the NHS is stretched and I know how first hand how sodding hard it is being the only midwife on an antenatal ward juggling like a mad thing -essentially firefighting and doing the very basics of care - because of staffing and capacity issues BUT for fuck's sake, being dismissive of someone and telling them that they're not in labour because it's their first baby and they were 3cm an hour ago or whatever, is bullshit and no one should have to tolerate that.

Now it may well have been that the unit was full to capacity, staffing was low, the midwife was caring for too many women etc -all operational issues that need to be investigated. However, that does not excuse the fact that the OP's voice wasn't heard, her needs at that time weren't addressed and she's been left with emotional scars that are affecting her future reproductive choices.

On a note connected to this thread, can I just say to add to both my experiences of quick labours, please if you ever ask someone how labour went and you get the reply 'actually it was pretty quick' please don't automatically go 'oh good' or 'lucky you'!

I found that off the back of both my labours where I wasn't given pain relief and was largely ignored by midwives despite repeated pleas for help, that my feeling of being ignored was compounded after birth by people telling me how 'lucky' I was to have a short labour, despite my experiences actually being pretty poor.

MIL in particular made a lot of comments in particular to me having a 'sneeze birth' and telling me how lucky I was to have a quick labour in contrast to SIL who had a 36 hour labour. Now I genuinely don't know if a long labour is worse than a quick labour, only having ever done the latter, but she did always miss out the part in her comparison whereby SIL had an epidural for a large proportion of her labour and was therefore actually in no pain at all for a good chunk of those 36 hours.

Have you had a birth debrief?

The reason you went through this is because the nhs is overstretched and understaffed. You suing them will make matters worse don't you think?

Stop with the cash strapped stuff. Every trust has significant funds already set aside for legal action, whether people sue or not.

Some people opt for no intervention or monitoring or painkillers. Perhaps you could try and see your experience as very lucky, as you birthed a healthy baby completely naturally. It sucks that you weren’t believed but labial tears etc are all part and parcel of the experience unfortunately. That’s not the NHS’s fault... you are a warrior for doing what you did, as are we all.

It's amazing isn't it how many are ignored. Mine didn't believe me either as they checked me at 1130pm (in due to waters going and previous cs) at 2 cm. because it was progressing so quickly I had a continuous contraction so not picked up properly. The ante natal ward was with the post natal one and at 1 am after an hour of this I stood at the midwife station and told them I was going to stand there and make a scene until they took me to a delivery suite. There at 120 I was 6cm. 20 minutes later I had an overwhelming urge to push. They initially did not want to check. So again I lost it and shouted at them. At this point I'm sure they saw me as a complete nightmare. Funnily enough though I was at 10cm and then they lost his heartbeat. Cue panic the surgeon coming in a ventouse delivery and a rather nasty internal tear from me and pph. DS was fine. My OH arrived literally as he came out having been told my the midwife to get a cup of coffee as he was likely to be there awhile

The next day everyone was very nice to me and a midwife talked to me. I got the impression that the two who had not believed me had been told of what might have happened had I not been so bad.

It's both my proudest/most embarrassed/angriest/traumatic/amazing moment. I don't want to think about how it would have been for me had I not lost it completely but also sad as I should not have had to.