Share your maternity care experiences with CQC - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

We are working with CQC (Care Quality Commission), who through a current campaign #yourbirthplan would like to make the public more aware of their inspection reports and ratings which can help women make informed decisions about where they give birth. With this aim in mind, they would like to hear your experiences of maternity care.

Here’s what CQC have to say: ‘’While women may have the choice to have their baby at home, in a midwife led unit or in hospital – we know that many are not aware. We believe that all women should be fully informed about the options they have regarding their choices over where they give birth – it is important that expectant parents are fully informed about the options they have available to them throughout their pregnancy and understand the benefits and potential risks of any choice they make – be this at home, hospital or birth centre.

There are multiple sources of information to help make a decision and our aim is to raise awareness including our inspection reports and ratings – as one of these sources, to help ensure they are fully informed of all the options available to them and have the best possible birth experience.”

Perhaps you want to share your experience of maternity care in hospital? Maybe you gave birth at home or in a midwife led unit? Or perhaps you want to tell us about your experience of how you chose where you gave birth?

Whatever your experiences are, share them on the thread below and everyone who comments will be entered into a prize draw, where one lucky winner will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

The CQC is responsible for inspecting all hospitals, including private hospitals, GP practice, dentists, care homes and home care in England. Its maternity service inspections include all services for women that relate to pregnancy, including ante and post-natal services, labour wards, birth centres or units and theatres providing obstetric related surgery.

Each inspection answers five key questions: Is the service safe? Is it effective? Are the staff caring and responsive to people’s needs and is the service well led?

My 1st birthing experience was pretty awful - waters ruptured but hospital sent me home, and I had to return almost immediately. Had too many midwives giving me conflicting info. I ended up having an epidural and the dr giving it to me touched a nerve that made my leg spasm and I ended up in terrible pain for 24 hours after the birth. So much so, I couldn't do anything for my new born for over 12 hours after her birth! Ruined the experience for me. DD2 I was adamant that I would keep it as natural as possible, and it was a brilliant experience (at a different hospital!)

Have to admit i had a dreadful time on the birth of my second baby. The Midwife in charge was older and had obviously lost any love she once had for the job. I remember giving birth and was in so much pain because i hadn't had time to be given any painkillers. I grabbed her hand during a contraction and she pulled it away saying 'not so tight'. She also said that as it was my second child i shouldn't be feeling much pain etc. She really made the whole experience a horrible one. My third child was born at home because i refused to go into hospital. It was calmer, i was less anxious and the whole experience was 100 times better.

all our DCs were born in a maternity hospital and all births were straight forward thankfully.

Midwives all seemed to really care about each and every mother/baby, unfortunately they were run off their feet and often felt guilty because they couldn't do something or hadn't done something for you because they had to do x, y & z. It was really sad to watch because they had the great staff, all they needed to do was recognise that and treat them well and all would have been great, as it was there was apparently a high staff turnover

I had both of my children at home. The possibility of a home birth wasn't discussed with me at any of my initial appointments, I heard about it through a yoga class. The midwives were exceptional. All appointments except scans were in my own home. Aftercare was brilliant, again the midwives came to us. A very positive experience.

In my area the only choice was hospital or home birth. I chose hospital as I was confident enough to opt for a home birth. As it was I became very unwell with Sepsis and was in hospital. The Sepsis induced labour. I was given a very experienced midwife and a student, both provided excellent care and support as not only was I giving birth I was also seriously ill. I couldn't fault the care of the labour ward and SCBU staff who cared for us. But the post natal ward provided a lower level of care for me. Not that I believe it was the staffs fault. They were terribly under staffed. I.e. When medication/ obs were due it was often given hours and hours late. I felt for them as they were trying so hard but couldn't cope with the demands

I have been lucky in that my 3 children were delivered safely and all in a fairly straightforward and uncomplicated way.

My experiences of the midwifery care during delivery were all great. I had 3 very different midwives in terms of approach and personality for each birth... but all were supportive and what I needed at the time, so to speak.

However - in terms of choice, there wasn’t any. The local hospital is what there is. And on one occasion I was told “we’re closed!” and had to make my own arrangements to get to another town. With no real explanations or apologies.

My first birth I wanted to go on the midwife led birthing unit but after going into labour I was told that I didn't sound very far go along and to stay at home and try and get some rest. My dd arrived an hour later in the bathroom delivered by my husband. Two midwives were able to come out and see me and were fantastic, I was able to stay at home and not go to hospital at all.
Due to this I wanted a home birth with my son but they were short staffed and so I had to go into hospital. The staff were great but there was a lot of waiting around and even there it seemed short staffed.

I had a great experience giving birth in hospital. I had 2 elective c-sections and the whole medical team couldn't do enough for me. I'd love to do it all again but sadly, hubby says no!

I had my daughter at my local hospital, the pre-natal classes did explain options but on the day it felt like the only 'easy' option was going to be available due to lack of resources/staff at the hospital. The first midwife was lovely but due to long labour the second who took over wasn't as good. Felt very basic, Doctors intervened after too long and pain relief never offered. The ward I stopped on overnight was terrible, no advice or help given just left alone on a ward. The toilet on ward was dirty, towels had blood on them. No drink left for me, no food after nearly 3 days labour/overnight stop. Nurses very rude and hardly left their desks. Was glad to leave. Reading a lot of comments, this isn't uncommon which is quite sad to be honest. To be able to afford private medical care eh!?

I had dreadful care in my local hospital, emcs after failed induction then no bf support
Care at current hospital for this pregnancy a world apart they could t be more helpful and they are just as busy

I had a very straightforward birth in a hospital. I was given an epidural without any fuss, and my baby was delivered smoothly with no other interventions and no stitches. I was given a room of my own afterwards - not entirely sure why, but it was very welcome!

Had an emergency C-section with DD2. Unfortunately it was on my DD1's birthday! Maternity couldn't be faulted during my rushed admission. Took care of everything and really put my husband and I at ease.

Absolutely awful first experience in hospital. I had an emergency section after 3 days Labour and was treated like some schoolgirl who made a mistake. I was 29. After being awake more than 48 hours and then having my section at 1am my husband was ordered to leave whilst I cared for my newborm absolutely shattered. I asked a nurse if she could watch my son for an hour whilst I got some rest to be told it's not a hotel. 6 hours later I was ordered to get a shower I was so afraid my stomach would split open, my legs were unsteady I had no idea what to expect after a section and i didnt want to leave my son alone. when I wasn't out of bed 10 minutes later i was shouted at and taken to the shower. Without my son. On return I was scolded because I hadn't removed my pad covering my stitches properly. The midwife who stayed with me before and after my section was vile. She couldn't have wanted to be there less of she tried and made sure I knew it. On the other hand my community midwife who was there through and after my pregnancy was the most amazing woman ever. A real asset to the nhs and many mum's to be. My second pregnancy was also a section but this time the nurses on the ward were amazing. I was scared right up until going on because of my last child but they were the complete opposite and I thank them every day for that xx

For my first two births I had community midwife care, with a team of 6 lovely midwifes working from my GP surgery out of my local hospital, including one named midwife who did my midwife appointments at home. I gave birth to my first in my local hospital labour ward but with my community midwife team there with me and my wonderful named midwife delivering my baby. When I was pregnant with my second child two years later I had the same team, the same named midwife and the same home visit care, and because of this I had the confidence to have a home birth, something I would never in a million years have thought I'd even consider. Giving birth at home is a personal choice and not for everyone but is something I am proud to have been able to do, and it was my named midwife and my relationship with her and her knowledge of me that gave me the opportunity to do that.

I felt cushioned and cared for with the community team; both at the birth and for two weeks afterwards I knew exactly who to call if I had a problem and knew there were 6 kind professional respected ladies advocating for me. The whole experience of those first births, and the community midwife care I received during my pregnancies, at the births and afterwards was the most amazing thing, helped me bond with my children (especially my second child) and meant I breastfed when I probably wouldn't have otherwise. It was so supportive.

With my third baby we'd moved and I had DC3 in what I think is a normal system, seeing a midwife at a mix of my local hospital and my GP, and then a birth in another hospital labour ward with whoever was in at the time. I considered a home birth but even having done one before I was too scared to do it again without the reassuring known support in place. It really emphasised for me how important the 9 months before the birth is in giving you support and confidence for your birth. I was lucky in labour ward (I went alone) to have a nice midwife for the whole of my shortish birth but it was such a gamble and it shouldn't be. In the postnatal ward care was absent completely and I felt abandoned, depressed and self-discharged in tears, and after the birth the care at home was sparse. Basically it was okay standard care generally with the midwives both in hospital and at my GP (except for postnatal), but felt quite impersonal and it really highlighted the Amazing experience I'd have the first two times round in another area.

Even going forward, the longer term experiences of feeling empowered in the hospital and the medical system the first two times have given me confidence to stand up for myself and know what I'm capable of. On a relatively minor level I'm aware if I'd had my first baby in the area I live in now I don't think I'd be breastfeeding at all.

I wish every woman had the opportunity to experience the community care midwife system with small teams working out of a bigger hospital, coming to homes and bonding with mothers. It makes such a difference short term and long term and I feel privileged to have experienced it.

Sorry for the long (repetitive) post, I know that community midwife care isn't really the point of this labour ward/birth centre/home thread, but I think it's the bigger point; it's more important and if more women had this localised community care they would have better experiences, better choices and feel more nurtured and cared for at such an important time, wherever they give birth and afterwards.

I had my son in hospital. I felt safe in the knowledge that if something went wrong (and it did), there were experts on hand to help. I found it to be a traumatic experience and would have appreciated the chance to discuss and talk through the events!

Wonderful.

I loved my midwife appointments. I loved the midwives whilst I gave birth, both times, and I loved the aftercare.

Very happy memories

We had a home birth and it was a wonderful experience, much better than a hospital

Had no choice of where to give birth (specialist hospital led unit due to medical condition). Antenatal care was great, and both actual deliveries were good (2 cs - one emergency and one elective). However post natal care was more patchy. Food terriblebin hospital, way too hot, and felt i was bothering the bothering the midwives asking for help. Felt bf support was useless with dc1 - tongue tie was missed until he was 3 weeks which really derailed us. No one really helped, just told me to use formula. We had moved area by time we had dc2 and bf support was so much better - tongue tie was picked up on day 3, cut same day, and access to specialist clinic which was great. It made all the difference and still bf at 15 months

We were so fortunate to have our last daughter at home and were left in peace to get to know her. It was am hour before we realised she was a girl...perfect!

I had a birth in the midwifery led unit and any worries I had over whether the staff would be nice or not, I needn't have had. My midwife Pip was just amazing and I had a student midwife in there too. I had a hypnobirth so it was all very calm and chilled and they followed my birth plan notes to a tee. I can't rave about the labour or the staff's care enough as it was all so wonderful. I didn't even have any pain relief and would recommend a hypnobirth to anyone! Things took a took when it came to the afterbirth though as it wouldn't come out so after trying everything I had to go to theatre to have it manually removed, a little bit different to the calm atmosphere I was enjoying so much. It was all fine in the end though and the staff again were saying they could see I wasn't okay because obviously with having a hypnobirth I wasn't planning for that and they said they would look after me and they did. I am 31 so it wasn't like they were saying it because I was really young and terrified. I really appreciated it, my husband was sent home because with the whole me going to theatre etc he was sick and staff saw and had to send him home to be on the safe side. I felt at ease all the way through me being at the hospital to leaving and I couldn't thank them enough. I wrote my midwife a card and sent it to her afterwards.

My two births have been relatively straightforward and the care received was somewhere between ok to good.

I’ve been pregnant 3 times, consultant lead, a missed miscarriage & finally consultant lead until the birth which was with a midwife.

The during the 1st birth there was an one point around 10 people in the room as I was an interesting medical case.

For the miscarriage, my husband & I were treated with care and sympathy. Not rushed and thoroughly informed and, most important for me, not false hope was given. As devastating as it was I was extremely thankful to the staff.

My second birth I had to attend hospital appointment once a week, but with the help of the midwives & specialist doctors I was able to have a simple midwife lead birth.

Having my ‘ideal’ birth scenario was never an option for me, I still feel extremely positive about the care I received before, during and after.

Very different experiences, but for all of them I was treated with care and respect.

I had my babies at Walsall manor. The first pregnancy was 9 years ago. I went for my family rat scan and I unfortunately the babies heartbeat had stopped at 9 weeks. The sonographer was so lovely and sympathetic. I had tablets there and then (I am not sure why?) then I had to go back two days later for more tablets to have a artificial induction which was really difficult. The girls were amazing who looked after me. I had the choice of if I wanted the baby to be buried-or cremated. 3 years later I was pregnant again with my second. It was a consultant led pregnancy. Mr pepper was brilliant. My little lady and I were measuring small so again I was induced and had a brilliant labour. The after care for Scarlett and myself was really good apart from The breast feeding after care was not the best. In fact I stopped doing it as after 24 hours I was told I was doing it ‘wrong’. I was so disappointed and upset. That is my only critic! Then on to my third. Again she was measuring small, my placenta was not working at all properly. At 31 weeks I had to have steroid injection and I was monitored throughout the rest. Fortunately she carried on putting a little weight on until 38 weeks where I was induced and again I gave birth quickly to a healthy baby girl! I was out the same day.

I wouldn’t have my babies anywhere else nor would I have any other consultant!

I had c sections with both my children. You are expected to just get up and do everything straight after having major surgery. I felt like I couldn't ask for help as they were so busy. Nobody tells you very much and I felt a little lost. I definitely needed more support.