Talk to CQC about your maternity care experiences and you could win a £200 Love2Shop voucher. NOW CLOSED!

[AngelieMumsnet]

We’re working with CQC (Care Quality Commission), who would like to encourage more women to share their experiences of maternity care.

Here’s a video of a few Mumsnetters talking about their experiences of maternity care:

CQC say "We are the independent health and social care regulator in England. CQC inspect and rate maternity services, including antenatal services, pregnancy units, maternity assessment centres, labour wards, postnatal services and neonatal services.

There are nearly 700,000 live births each year in England, and having a baby is the most common reason for a hospital admission. Our 2015 Maternity Survey found that most expectant and new mothers are experiencing better maternity care when compared to the results from previous years, however, we know that know women will have had varied personal experiences.

If you are pregnant or recently used maternity services, we want you to tell us about the care you are receiving, good or bad. Our inspectors can’t be everywhere at once and your information will help us decide when, where and what service to inspect. By telling us about your experiences, you could stop poor care happening to someone else.

We want to hear whether you think your care is safe, effective, and caring. For example:

• You should feel that you are fully supported by staff to make informed decisions
• You should be able to ask questions if you don’t understand what is happening
• Staff should take all practical steps to make sure you receive the support you need to cope emotionally with your care"

Please share your stories of maternity care on this thread. Whatever your experience, CQC would love to hear about it

Everyone who adds a comment to this thread will be entered in to a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 Love2shop voucher*.

Thanks & good luck,
MNHQ

PS: CQC will also be asking women to share their maternity care feedback on Twitter (@carequalitycomm) from the 15 February using the hashtag #YourMaternityCare. CQC want to hear about your experiences, so please tweet them using the hashtag.

• provided by MNHQ

The worst part of my maternity experiences both times has been the aftercare on the ward. Once baby has arrived and is ok then the staff are too over stretched to care well. My hospital doesn't do menus for women on the ward and from 24 hours after Caesarian I was expected to walk to the kitchen and stand in a queue of men to collect what meagre food there was. Some days I barely ate as there was so little on offer. I wasn't given much advice on looking after my section scar and how to move around. I thought it was quite unfair expecting section mum's to climb in and out of bed to get their baby as they didn't have any side car cots.
On the day I was discharged I waited 8 hours to have my discharge completed. During this time they forgot to order my prescription meds and then gave them to another patient. They forgot to check my iron levels and had to rerun them as they lost them.
I was under a mental health midwife team that was disbanded during my pregnancy. The midwifes I saw were hard to contact and severely over stretched. I had less support this time than from my normal midwifery team in my previous pregnacy.

With my first baby the care I had pre birth was great. What I found hardest was because she was little she was put on a "blood sugar protocol" and at the outset no-one sat down with me to explain precisely what was happening, why, and what that meant for my stay in hospital. I had to insist that someone explain to me what was happening, but I was feeling very fragile and upset post birth and I really would have valued some discussion at the outset. That said, there was also a fantastic doula who came and helped me settle the baby when I was too tired to know what to do.

Second time round, great care beforehand and I was out of hospital within 12 hours. The community midwives were good, though the HV wouldn't weigh my son saying I had to go to the clinic to do that (seemed unnecessary - and didn't encourage me to go to the clinic!)

all the care i was given before birth with my 3 was great, very helpful midwives but found after care lacking so much so was out and home after 5 hours with my 3rd

2 children at Kettering general in the last 3 years.

Antenatal care was excellent. Especially the vbac clinic - can't recommend them highly enough, they enabled me to have a successful vbac.

During labour midwives were OK. I was really calm for most of it and the midwives were very young. At the end I needed someone to take charge, tell me not to panic etc. They didn't do that and stayed back. I think more experienced midwives would help.

Postnatal ward - staff amazing. Ward needs a huge update. It's pretty stanky.

Postnatal care - amazing. Such a lot of support. I found much more experience midwives who had some fab feeding advice.

I recently delivered at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
The midwife who actually delivered my baby was brilliant but when I arrived I was chucked in a corridor for over an hour as they had no free beds, when I eventually got a room I was made to get on the bed to be examined despite me asking if this could be done differently. The birth itself was fine and the midwife contacted the relevant people needed to assist me as my baby had pooed on way out - this was done in a calm and controlled way I did not feel worried at any point as she had explained what had happened and what was going on.
Post natal care I felt was poor - my baby was taking to NICU without me being told and I wasn't allowed to see him for hours (if someone had explained why he had gone etc this would have been much easier) because I was then stuck on a ward with woman and all their babies.
I also noticed a lack of support with women who had their baby by C Section and mums who wanted to breast feed - the midwife explained to me they did not have time because they are always so understaffed . One young girl was in tears as they sent her partner home, she was recovering from a c section and couldn't get her baby to latch on so her and her baby spent all night crying and no one would help!

Care for both deliveries (in Leeds) was brilliant. I felt safe and listened to and the midwives were just fantastic. Aftercare with dc1 was appalling. I had had an epidural but was expected to go the loo (with obligatory jug) and make my own breakfast unaided. I was literally abandoned. Aftercare with dc2 (at the same hospital) was much better, was helped to the loo, brought toast and tea by a lovely, friendly nurse. I'm not sure if I just got lucky or the hospital had increased staff no.s on the post-natal ward.

What really shocked me though was how little postnatal care I received after I left hospital with dc2 (in the Bradford area). Only 1 or 2 home visits. I barely saw the midwives. Very little attention paid to me as a mother eg no one checked my abdominal separation (as they did first time around) and at the six week check with the gp there was no internal exam and very little discussion of my health. I'm pretty certain I now have a prolapse which, if I'd been aware of it, I would have taken much better care of and could maybe have avoided it getting worse. I would really advocate for better care and education for postnatal women.

I am currently pregnant with twins, one of which has potters syndrome and will not survive. My care has been unbelievably good, lots of scans for both medical and reassurance, long conversations with consultants at St Michaels in Bristol to help us make an informed decision.

My only gripe would be that I had my 12 week scan done locally and at this scan it was picked up that there was something seriously wrong with the baby. There was no consultant around or available, it was Xmas eve and we were sent home distraught, with no diagnosis and no one around to tell us what this could mean for baby a or b. We were given an appointment in 3 weeks at Bristol. It was only because I called up, still distraught 5 days later that I got to see a consultant sooner. This consultant was still unable to diagnose my baby and the subsequent wait to see Bristol meant that I missed the safety window for a termination of the poorly baby having major implications for my health, both physically and mentally.

I believe that a consultant should be on hand to view any anomalies discovered on a scan there and then to prevent something like this happening again.

On the whole I had a great experience with my pre and post natal care. I ended up being induced at 40 weeks due to excess amniotic fluid. I was in a lot of pain for three days due to DD1 being back to back and the midwives were so sympathetic on the ante natal ward. Nothing was too much trouble.

The midwife and student midwife who were with me during labour and delivery were amazing. I felt completely comfortable with them and in the best hands. They emergency team were called in during delivery due to foetal distress and reduced heartbeat and myself and baby were cared for perfectly.

The negative side of my experience was the post natal care. I felt that the midwives were less sympathetic and gentle. When a midwife came in to wash me down she took DD1 off me and handled her far too roughly for my liking. Another midwife trying to help me feed grabbed my boob and kept shoving it into baby's mouth resulting in an upset baby and cracked nipples.

I also had the infant feeding team come to my house because I said my boobs were sore when feeding. She told me it shouldn't be sore so the latch mustn't be right. She spent two hours getting me to try different positions all of which hurt (because of cracked nipples) which she insisted must be because the latch was wrong despite looking absolutely fine resulting in a hysterical baby and mum and a massive knock to my breastfeeding confidence. Because of these issues she said DD1 was "a challenge ". Turns out there was nothing wrong with my baby's latch from the moment she was born and as a result I still feel really unconfident breastfeeding nearly four months later.

Care was good in the main part and I had good support from most people after loss of DD1 (DD2 survived). I got my own room (important as DD2 in NICU). When it comes to DD3, I would reiterate the importance of being sensitive to mothers who have lost a child previously. It's hard being back in hospital surrounded by happiness when last time your world was ending. At points, staff could not appreciate how hard this was for me.

I was induced due to high blood pressure the day before my due date. The triage midwives were just fabulous but I was admitted onto the prenatal ward and had a hideous experience. I was given a pessary and was told that as I was a first time mum I wouldn't go into labour for a few days. My contractions properly started that evening and I felt like I was pretty much ignored. I'd sent my husband home about 10pm thinking it would be a while and sent him a text half an hour later saying I wish he hadn't gone because I was in pain. I went up to see a midwife to say I was in pain and I was just offered paracetamol. I hadn't felt my baby move for a while so I asked one of the midwives to monitor for a bit and they saw the regular contractions on the screen and asked if I could feel them which I said I could. After that I was ignored. I was howling the place down in my cubicle and no one came to see me. I texted my husband begging him to drive back to me. He came back to hear me screaming the place down and still no one had come to see me. He went up to where the midwives was sat and he said what's happening. She replied that she was timing my contractions whilst doing her paperwork. He insisted that she came to check on me. She decided to examine me and all I remember is her telling me I was fully dilated and I couldn't have any pain relief. I was put into a trolly and I can't remember anything after that until my last few pushes - I think I must have gone into shock. My DS was a very much wanted IVF baby and the treatment I received in the labour ward and after the birth was fabulous but I feel very scarred by the way I was treated on the ward.

My antenatal and care during labour was fine, I wish I insisted on going home earlier as staying longer made no difference to helping establish feeding.

Postnatal care was patchy. There is a lot lip service paid to breast is best but little physical support in reality at least where I live. My baby was tongue tied and was told I would have to be referred via GP and it would take up to 3 months for it to be snipped. The midwife gave me the details of the private Breast feeding consultant who did the snip herself. I know others have had the tie diagnosed and snipped within days via NHS services. The random nature of services available depending where you live particularly annoys me.

I've had very mixed experiences. Where we live you have the option of a midwife led unit within the hospital or the hospital's own delivery suite. I was very keen to have a water birth in the midwife unit.
I found the pre natal care with the community midwives fantastic. Then w I went into labour I went into the midwife unit and was told I was mistaken and sent home. This bit was really hard as I felt like I couldn't trust my own instincts. Anyway, ds arrived not long after I got back home and I ended up hemorrhaging and tearing quite badly. At the post birth debriefing, I felt like it was just an for them to explain why it wasn't their fault more than anything.
Once ds was born however , I was transferred back to the main delivery suite in the hospital for surgery, blood transfusion etc and the care I received there was amazing. The midwives were supportive without being pushy and I can honestly say I was really well looked after and listened too.
I would really recommend that ward to people in our area who are having a baby and I find it ironic that people are encouraged to go to the midwife unit because it's less medicalised with more focus on the mum's experience when actually the midwife who triaged me completely dismissed anything I had to say.

Unfortunately I felt the care I received was poor.

Antenatal, my son was breech. I was given no option but a c-section. When I asked about alternatives I was dismissed. After that my husband accompanied me to ante natal appointments as I felt I was not being listened to and questions not answered. In my pregnant hormonal state I found it difficult to be assertive, and wondered how many other women felt the same but their partners could not attend meetings for support.

Post natal was generally unpleasant. I recall someone coming into my curtain to wash me a few hours after the c-section. I don't recall them explaining what they were going to do before they started and I was surprised.

A couple of midwives were very supportive, others were rude and appeared to want to be somewhere else.

The morning after my c-section I still had my catheter in and could not walk yet, but the support staff told me I had to get my own breakfast. I was starving by the time my husband was allowed on the ward at 10 to help me.

I had a twin vaginal birth. I was induced but only required my waters breaking. All of the healthcare professionals from start to finish in my pregnancy and especially my labour were brilliant. They listened and allayed my fears (previous induction ending in forceps delivery and pph). When it came to giving birth, they allowed me to listen to my body and take control of the situation as far as they could, and believed me when I said I was bearing down, despite not being due another examination for an hour or so (I wasn't progressing as they thought I would so were preparing for epidural and synto drip). After both twins were delivered, they were quick to identify that DT2 was struggling and whisked them to NICU to sort them out, allowing me and DT1 to join them asap (thankfully DT2 was only kept there for a few hours).

Back on the ward, although it was busy the midwives really showed they cared. The only criticism was one midwife on a night shift, not assigned to me but responding to the call bell, didn't help me to tandem breastfeed the twins, leaving me to try and figure it out myself using a very thin pillow. A cleaner also insisted on cleaning my room while I was trying to change a maternity pad, despite it being obvious I needed the privacy for a minute or two. These are the only two things which were less than ideal; everything else I am extremely happy with.

Overall my experience was amazing. I felt listened to, empowered and involved in my care. I even enjoyed all of the meals, which I know is many people's bugbears about hospital stays; I was in for 5 days and didn't have a bad meal (the best one was the coffee and toast following delivery - i got double the toast as i had double the number of babies )

Multiple pregnancy so consultant led but never saw a consultant, nor the same doctor twice and no named midwife. Planned section, after 38+0, which goes against NICE guidelines, scans offered were also not in line with NICE guidelines. Wasn't given steroids until the day before my ELCS despite asking if I needed them when it was booked. The midwife who did my pre op thought I should have them and insisted the on call reg prescribe them for me. During the birth they forgot to get my husband. Both girls needed special care but no one let me/us know what was happening. No BF support at all, just let me know I should try and persevere but no practical advice on feeding twins. I was in hospital for 6 days post birth with high BP. I was medicated but never on time so would get a low reading and then by the time a junior doctor came it was up again. I self discharged in the end. I would have to go to the station to ask for meds when they were an hour late to try and keep it down. As soon as I was home it was fine. Because I was always going home 'the next day' they never asked me to choose my food - it was always what was left. 6 days of hell with two babies to take care of, and generally an awful experience end to end.

• You should feel that you are fully supported by staff to make informed decisions

Yes. I have found this.

• You should be able to ask questions if you don’t understand what is happening

Yes, although I would ask if I didn't understand even if I wasn't sure the question was welcome.

• Staff should take all practical steps to make sure you receive the support you need to cope emotionally with your care"

This has improved. After my first delivery I thought the system let itself down. Lots of encouragement about how staff would help you breastfeed, and very little help, even when asked. "Your doing it all wrong," then walking off on day two post an emergency CS is frankly unhelpful.
I thought at the time midwives needed reminding how vulnerable and bewildering an experience this was for a new mother.
Subsequent experiences were much better, and not just because I wasn't a first time mother.

The breast feeding advisers in the community are invaluable. I didn't have one for my first child, they weren't in post, but only sheer stubbornness kept me breast feeding. They are a resource that need protecting.

My midwives were all very nice and helpful. The midwives that delivered my baby girl were really competent and reassuring. The aftercare wasn't so great because I got lots of different instructions on feeding my baby (as in how often I should attempt to breastfeed) and then ended up getting told off for not feeding my baby enough and letting her get cold when I really didn't have a clue what I was doing and could have used some more guidance and basically instead of being told off being told that it's normal not to know what to do and ok to ask silly questions!

A mixed bag really. Appointments with midwife were fine. She didnt go the extra mile and always seemed rushed to get to next appointment but was not rude. Birth a different story. Hospital was heaving, we were put in a utility room to wait and i ended up giving birth in there as no rooms became available. The midwife was between me and another birth and my husband ended up probably doing more than she did to assist the birth!

i had all good experiences

My midwife is amazing. A nice person, who seemed to know what she was doing and I felt confident that she would do the job well. I had quite a lot of questions and she never once had a go and always had time to deal with me.

The scans that she did, she did with confidence and every appointment was on time and she did everything to put me at ease. Very happy.

I have delivered 6 babies - 3 single births and a triplet birth. All my babies were born premature so all spent sometime in the scbu. I have to admit the the scbu staff couldn't have been kinder and more helpful. I was able to visit my babies in the unit whenever I wanted - day or night and they encouraged me to touch my babies, and to express breast milk so I could help tube feed them and change their nappies etc. All my experiences of maternity care was positive.

Being a man I haven't had any but i'm desperate to enter the comp.

I had my baby six months ago in Bristol. The community midwives were OK, I started labour in Cossham MLU which was lovely, had emergency c section in Southmead CDS and everyone was incredible. The aftercare was poor but I think because they are so short staffed. Everyone was working hard but I did not feel looked after and didn't get the breastfeeding support I needed. I had to pay for a lactation consultant afterwards and was lucky I could but there must be lots of people who stop when they don't want to because they aren't supported. If money was spent funding breastfeeding support in maternity wards I'm sure a lot more money would be saved down the line. They also need more nurses or health care assistants with time to reassure you, show you how to swaddle and just be nice when your husband goes and you freak out!

First midwife was really horrible and dismissive but the two who delivered my son were lovely. Saw cockroach in loo so left a few hours after giving birth. I had a lovely community midwife.

First baby was truly awful. The midwives, about 6 of them, sat in their room watching TV whilst we were left on our own. After a few hours I asked one to come and see us, her response was 'I haven't decided if I'm letting you stay or sending you home yet'. 30 mins later I asked again and a different Midwife came, she took one look and said 'This baby is coming'. Baby's head was starting to appear. Experience, awful, midwives were lazy, uncaring and utterly useless. Disgraceful.