To think that, on reflection, the hospital shouldn't have done this

[PixiePuffBall]

Baby is 2 months old, healthy and happy.

Have been thinking about the baby's birth. Labour started on the Wednesday afternoon and wasn't admitted until the Saturday night. Days of agony.

Once admitted at 5cm I waited 4 or 5 hours for an epidural exhausted and surviving on gas and air. Was only just able to have one as they took so long.

Got to 10cm and my baby wouldn't come through the canal. Blood and meconium. Ended up with EMCS. It got delayed twice due to their lunch break and another more emergency emergency. It later transpired the epidural had not stayed in properly so could feel everything and ended up with spinal.

Finally had the baby on the Sunday late afternoon.

By the next morning, 11am, they had discharged me. I was happy to go home as the "ward" they put me on was actually a corridor shared with two other couples and you could barely walk between the curtains without touching next door's bed.

Considering how horrendous it, should I have been sent home that early and kept in these conditions? AIBU here?

It does sound horrendous. You may have been unlucky with too many babies being born and not enough staff? It would benefit you to talk your experience through with someone, otherwise it could linger for years. I also had a bad birth experience, but my baby survived and I was grateful. But I was upset about what happened for a long time. With hindsight I should have laid an official complaint. You could consider doing that, if only to help improve conditions for others. Wishing you well x

Justifiable complaints are a driver for change. We shouldn't accept shit maternity care. Your care was abysmal. Sorry you had that experience and I hope you can put it behind you

That sounds insane...and yes, I think you should have been kept in for longer. But I'm not a medical professional.
I had DC1 in the UK and I was discharged 12 hours after the birth. It was straightforward, though, without any complications. There were six of us in one room, just separated by curtains. I was glad to get home.
I then had DC2 abroad. It was, again, straightforward. DC2 had a temperature and was kept under observation for the first night (it had been over 40 degrees that day, so no wonder the baby was a bit hot...so was I). I had to keep pushing to be discharged, though, and eventually got to go home two days after the birth. With a c-section (planned) the minimum stay is 3 days and with an emergency one, I'd have expected to be kept in for at least 5 days. Our hospital only have single and double rooms on the maternity ward, though. No beds in the corridor. It's also a comparatively small hospital, which meant it was really calm and there were loads of staff. I had already been there for three days before DC2 was born because the induction took ages.

Thank you. I wouldn't say I feel traumatised or anything, but I'm definitely shocked at how shoddy the whole thing was. Maybe I should complain then. Does anyone have any experience of that?

You should complain - not so much about being discharged quickly as about delays in delivery causing your baby to be exposed to meconium and the misplaced epidural. Sounds like you should have had a section much earlier.

I complained about my experiences in childbirth. I had a phone call from someone and we discussed what had happened. I decided not to take it any further, but it was really good to talk.

I think it's probably worth contacting PALS and telling them about your experience. It sounds as if you have questions that you'd like answers to. It's fine to explore those questions.

My son is 32 now and it was a traumatic birth. I needed therapy to get over it and because I'd left it so long it's still sort of there.

I suspect this was probably the best they could do under dire circumstances but it does sound awful. I wish we had the capacity for all mums to have a good night's sleep in a comfortable ward after giving birth whatever the experience theyve had, but after major surgery even more so...

I do also wonder if this contributes to the high rate of post natal mental illness...

I think it's worth asking for a review of your care. The obstetric team are very used to doing this and hopefully will talk through why stuff happened. You may find you were just unlucky to give birth at an unusually busy time, or you may well have reason to put in a complaint...

Medical negligence solicitor here.

You could write to PALS with the specific questions you want answered or, alternatively, ask for a Birth Reflection meeting with your midwife to discuss your concerns.

How was baby after the delivery? Were they affected in any way from the meconium? You might want to ask for the APGAR scores.