Sorry to add a post so much later than the original. I always vowed I would never give birth here. I should have listened to my gut but unfortunately had no choice with such a quick delivery, homebirth team not available and living 5 minutes down the road. My last birth with 3rd child was at home for this very reason, I really didn't want to go in but had no choice.
I called delivery suite just as we sped to the front entrance for assistance because I could feel my body bearing down. I had been having full blown contractions for 2 hours at this point and laying flat on my back desperately trying to slow it down because childcare was taking forever! Was met on the stairs by two midwives who rushed me up.
At this point it's important to note that I had been in two days before for a completely unrelated issue to do with baby being stuck inside my ribs causing the most agonising pain that wouldn't go away and was making me sick. The homebirth team transferred me in from home that day as I panicked as I was also contracting and wasn't sure what was happening to me with this new pain. The pain was so severe that I was constantly on gas and couldn't stop throwing up.
After entering Triage it was clear the midwives on call that day were not interested in anything I had to say. They were so rude and condescending and I'm the least rude person I know, even when I'm in pain. As a result all of the nasty bitter midwives decided to create a narrative about me faking to be in labour, when I wasn't even suggesting it, and "trying to push" for attention when I legit never once tried pushing, I could only focus on the pain in my chest and tried telling the midwives in Triage this over and over again. They put me on an ECG to rule out heart attack, refused me any form of pain relief and neglected me for four hours! They're actually disgusting. I got admitted to the ward with Pethidine by another midwife who accused me of pushing when I was literally pulling onto my husbands hand with my leg in the air to relieve pressure in my chest that I now know was being caused by baby being stuck in my ribs. I told the midwife so many times I wasn't pushing!!! She didn't care and instead went to gossip about me on delivery suite. The pethidine eased my pain and I was able to actually rest and not throw up and writhe around in pain crying for the first time in 5 hours. Note I was also contracting once every 10 minutes but never once suggested I was having the baby. Once the pain was gone from my chest, it was soon replaced by a winding sensation in my lungs and ribs. The baby was well and truly in an awful position. I was soon discharged and went home the Sunday afternoon.
Labour started kicking in early hours of the Monday morning and this is how I ended up on the stairs being ushered up. The contractions had been so forceful that they had pushed baby from my ribs into my pelvis. That's how I knew this was it!
As soon as I came in midwives were rushing me to delivery suite without an examination as I was really bearing down. A bitter midwife came in, examined me, told me I was "only 4cm and my cervix was still thick" that I wasn't in labour and she's heard all about me from the other midwives the other day and suggested that I was a fake because they had all been talking about me since Saturday and I had been caught trying to "push" by another midwife. I looked at my husband in absolute horror. Firstly, I knew my labour was progressing too quickly and I was about to birth this baby very soon, and secondly I was trying so hard to defend myself, not because I had time to care about the malice of it all, and the sheer audacity she had to be admitting that she was gossiping about me, but because I was so incredibly scared I was about to give birth in the corridor if they told me to leave. I cried and pleaded with my husband to help. This nasty midwife stormed out and as the next contraction came my body started pushing and I started involuntarily pooing myself, which told me everything I needed to know. Either she had been lying about 4cm or my body didn't care and was dilating way too quickly. My husband saw the poo, went out to tell her what was happening, only to catch her in the act of openly gossiping about me to all of the other midwives on duty. As soon as he tapped her shoulder, they all went quiet apparently. Anyway, she came in and told me that if I need to poo I should go to the toilet, I groaned back "I'm not doing it on purpose, I'm pushing", I couldn't believe she was suggesting I was deliberately doing it! She must have been embarrassed that she was caught in the act because she sighed, rolled her eyes, stormed out and dumped me onto another midwife immediately thank God she did!!!!!
This young lady was a bloody life saver, she believed me and seconds later my body was pushing out more and more poo, I felt so bad for her. It wouldn't stop and it wasn't solid either 🤢 She examined me again and the head was right there coming down. Within half an hour of pushing and baby getting a little stuck after birthing the head, baby was out. So much for not being in labour and faking it. When it was time to go to the ward less than an hour after the most quick and traumatising delivery I have ever had, suddenly all of the midwives were no where to be seen! Me and my husband wanted to see the looks on their faces. This was baby no.4, I know my body! Labours progress quickly after you've had more than one.
Since being on the ward, I've been waiting 3 days to be discharged for literally no reason, the food portions are so small and infrequent that my breast milk hasn't been satisfying my baby and they never give me more food when I ask. I kid you not, my 6 and 5 year old children would be starving if they were fed what I'm being fed and I'm feeding a cluster feeding newborn at the same time! They don't have any formula on the ward when I asked for a poxy 20ml just so I could keep baby going whilst I found a way to source food and get my milk coming in again. It's 20ml, and the lack of breast milk was down to their neglect!
I'm well and truly done and will not be giving my husband the 5th child we promised we would have to complete out family, because I can never go through an experience like this again. This has ruined the joy of birthing our baby and I'm so depressed and broken after this experience.
Please don't give birth here if you can avoid it. I tried getting to Lewisham instead but there was no way we would have made it in time. I had no choice this time, don't find yourself in my position!
I hope that one day these neglectful and bitter women are sacked from their jobs and have their licences removed! How can they be allowed to be in charge of the care of birthing women when they treat them like this?
We will be writing a beautiful review about the midwife who took over. She saved us and our baby!