To be terrified of this news?

[scaredmum2b]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/maternity-care-nhs-hospital-unit-cqc-b2615232.html

I’m currently 34 weeks pregnant with second DC. I had a traumatic birth with my first (emergency section due to heart rate dropping and position). I’ve woken up to this report all over the news and I feel terrified. I’m really trying to hold back the tears but I’m so scared now.

I'm sorry this worries you, but it's been like this for an awful long time, 15 years ago it was the same. It's the same for schools, care homes, children's homes not enough money to go around. I expect the Lucy Letby case has highlighted things too. Please try not to worry, choose the best hospital you can and have someone to advocate for you. Xx

Thank you. I’ve just checked both my local hospitals are green “good” for pretty much everything apart from maternity where they are both “requires improvement”.

In what area do they require improvement? Our local hospitals are good for maternity care, but RI for things you wouldn't tend to worry about actually giving birth like organisational issues.

I think the positive now will be that all of this is in the spotlight.

My top tip is make sure you have someone switched on and assertive with you in hospital.

But remember even at the worst of the care - most babies were born fine. In fact a lot of babies practically deliver themselves

Just wanted to send a hand hold. It IS really scary reading things like that but remember the news stories don't really affect what happens to you as an individual.

Fwiw, I had a baby in summer 2023 and my experience was positive.

I'm sorry op. It should be a national scandal and it isn't. As someone who has suffered birth trauma, i wish id known the following in advance.

Research as much as you can about what options end risks are acceptable to you, and put them in your birth plan, then make sure the staff know - for example if you really, really don't want induction/forceps etc and would rather a C section, if any of those things look likely, you may need to put your foot down. Obviously in an emergency that goes out the window but chances of an emergency seem lower if the mother is treated with respect and listened to. I prepared and researched but they didn't listen so:

Be prepared to strongly advocate for yourself. Make sure your birth partner is someone who will stand up for you, and question things if you can't. If your partner is a quiet mouse who you know wont speak up for you, consider taking someone else.
Ask plenty of questions.
Go prepared with food and drink for yourself in your hospital bag.

The chances are everything will be fine but make a plan, talk it through with your midwife/midwives before you go into hospital and once you're in, make sure you understand all of your options and what risks you are most happy with and then be prepared to stand up for yourself. It's awful that the last needs to be said but that's the state of the NHS.

There are some organisational issues but both are down as not doing enough to minimise infection risks and not having enough equipment to keep women and babies “safe”.

Thank you this is really helpful.

My DP was totally lost last time and didn’t really know what to say or how to help. I think we were both a bit naive to the risks. I’m thinking of taking my mum with me this time. She’s much more vocal.

Sending you a handheld.

Just remember, the staff will do everything possible for you and your baby.

If nothing else, preparing yourself for all the possible eventualities will help you to deal with the anxiety over it. It was my first real experience of hospital care and i hadn't realised how strongly i would have had to advocate for myself - i assumed i would speak and the drs would just listen. So i would definitely think about taking your mum - or at least preparing that option for yourself, or talking to dp in advance about needing to get outside his comfort zone and be prepared to speak up - which is very hard to do, but it's not harder than giving birth!

I would view this as a positive - this has been identified and the hospital will have had to come up with a good action plan to make sure those issues are dealt with. People's jobs will have been on the line, and you can be sure their insurers are all over it. I'm prepared to bet their equipment budget went up immediately so they could fill in the gaps and they did a major anti-infection audit and training round.

I understand how you feel OP. I've got two children and not planning any more but I felt very similarly anxious when I was pregnant especially with my youngest. With DS1 I had a traumatic birth, heart rate dropped he was too far down by then for c section and it was really touch and go. Had emergency forceps with episiotomy and thankfully he was ok after a bit of monitoring. The experience terrified me - the hospital were very understaffed that day and had a few emergencies all in one evening so I had been left to it a bit at the start. When trying for my second baby I then unfortunately lost three babies to silent miscarriages. All three times I still had symptoms and tested positive and all three losses were after healthy heartbeats had been detected previously (late first trimester). I had a long journey to find the cause, was fobbed off many times. Eventually found an amazing private doctor who found a rare thyroid disorder was the cause and prescribed me some treatment. It was as simple as that and I went on to have a healthy pregnancy but the experience unfortunately caused me to loose some trust in NHS medical care. Not because I don't think all the doctors are amazing at what they do, they are and I truly appreciate it. But because of lack of resources, it's impossible to give everyone everything. I wonder if my thyroid condition had been caught earlier would my other baby/ies have survived. I was one of the lucky ones where there was a reason and a treatment leading to my rainbow baby but I really had to self advocate over and over again. I was told numerous times over the course of a year by countless nhs specialists that the cause of my losses was categorically not my thyroid as nhs backed research didn't support that. Only through my own insistence and not giving up was it discovered to actually be that after all. I then had an elective C section with my rainbow baby as I just couldn't bare the thought of labour and any uncertainty, I kept imagining the worst and it was affecting my mental health. The hospital staff were fantastic and supportive with my pregnancy after the losses. I had loads of extra scans. I support and love the nhs system I just feel it's complex due to not enough money. Although I would love more children, I honestly couldn't handle the stress and anxiety of another pregnancy!

Having said all that, I am certain you will be absolutely fine. My journey left me with some scars but I truly believe that some worrying during pregnancy is just motherhood and is natural. In a way it's trying to protect them, keeping in mind all the risks and bearing that burden so that they have the best chance to be welcomed into the world in the best possible care. If the anxiety gets overwhelming though then please do reach out to your GP or midwife team for support. Sending hugs and wishing you a healthy happy last few weeks in your pregnancy :)