W Channel would love to hear your stories/experiences about being on the maternity ward

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Childbirth can be an incredible time, filled with a host of different emotions for all involved, including the midwives who help many get through it all. Each person’s experience on the maternity ward is unique to them, which is why to celebrate the launch of the second series Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, airing Mondays at 10pm, W Channel would love to hear your heartwarming midwife stories from your experience being on the maternity ward.

You can watch the trailer at the top of this thread. App users please watch the video here

Here’s what W Channel has to say about Emma Willis: Delivering Babies: “Last year television presenter and mother of three, Emma Willis, spent 10 weeks working on the frontline of a busy maternity unit. Now, in a brand new eight-part documentary series for W, she’s been given the chance to return to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex to complete her training.

Over the course of 16 weeks she will immerse herself in the role, supporting the hospital’s charismatic midwife team. From elective caesarean sections to natural births, complicated theatre procedures to water births Emma will share the pressures, the fears and the joys of bringing new life into the world.

Don’t miss the return of the award-winning series Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, new and exclusive to W - Sky 109 | Virgin 125 | BT 311 | TalkTalk 31”

Perhaps you have a funny story about your partner’s reaction to you giving birth? Or perhaps you are the partner and have a story to share about being on the maternity ward, watching your loved one give birth? Or maybe your midwife did something that really put you at ease or had you uncontrollably laughing?

Share your stories on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnet user will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

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All I can remember about the birth of DS1 as my midwife thick thick glasses, after 3 hours labour and 40 minutes on gas and air, seeing her peer 'down below' and her bottletop glasses - I was in fits of laughter, her eyes looked so huge - it seemed surreal and it took my mind off the pain and situation somewhat. She was so calm, and very firm with her instructions which I liked, and delivered my baby with competence and professionalism.

My first labour was an awful, over-medicalised cascade of unwanted doctorly intervention in a London teaching hospital, and when I got pregnant again I was bloody terrified of going through the whole thing again. The community midwives convinced me that a home birth could be a good alternative so that's what I went for, even though I was bloody terrified of that too. What kept me calm was knowing that there was a good chance my antenatal midwives, who I knew well, would probably support me in labour.

When it came to it, the midwife who turned up was a complete stranger and I was horrified that it was all going to be a disaster, except that she turned out to be the most completely, totally excellent support anyone could imagine. She kept me calm and focused, let me do things my way but also knew when to intervene, and was totally unobtrusive until the moment it all went a bit tits up, when she asserted herself in the most confidence-inspiring way and basically made me make a success of a labour that could have gone horribly wrong. I ended up being transferred into hospital after the birth (just for obs, and everything was OK) and she came and visited me there so we could talk through everything that had happened. I will never forget her or stop being grateful to her.

I learned afterwards that she had lost a child of her own and thought that she must have thought about them and their birth every time she attended a labour, and that it was an incredibly bighearted thing to do and keep doing, when it must have felt like salt in the wound - or perhaps it helped her, who knows. Midwives - the good ones at least - are extraordinary people, with a deep well of emotional strength they share over and over again with other women.

My first was breach and wouldn't budge so I had to have a c-section. My DH was with me and I asked if he was going to be okay - he looked at me and said "I gut fish for a living, of course I'm going to be okay". Nice... Then when they started he exclaimed "Urgh, your blood is all over the floor!". Not exactly what I needed to hear...

The two midwives who looked after me and DD were amazing. Unflappable, encouraging and so kind. I will never forget their support.

The only thing I found weird was how stiflingly hot it was on the maternity ward! DH and I were sweating the whole time and it was December! At one point DH stood near a window which was open a tiny crack with (clothed) DD in his arms, only for one of the ward midwives to bark "if you're going to hold that baby near a window she needs to be wearing a hat!". We were because it was absolutely sweltering!

Loved the last series, can't wait for the new one to start next week.
My community midwife care was on the whole great. Care during labour was good. The post natal ward was poor- so massively stretched in terms of staff, little/dubious breastfeeding support, poor pain control.

In my most recent birth all of my care providers bar one were exceptional. Caring, personable, working hard for longer hours that I would want to.

The one who wasn't exceptional set me up for a day of worrying and anxiety when in my pre-op she made me feel like a big inconvenience for my preferences. Turns out all of the other staff were very happy to accommodate me and didn't bat an eyelid. Seems so small but one negative staff member had a big impact on my mindset and thankfully the other staff remedied that quickly.

ds was born very quickly, so quickly that they didn't have time to put me in the delivery suite and he was born in triage 🙈

when being stitched up, the midwives planted the needle where there wasn't any anesthesia, so she apologised. DH said don't worry, no need to apologise... I may have offered to plant a needle in his manhood 😂

Couldn’t fault the care I had for my C section. Midwives were lovely and really helped me when I struggled with feeding afterwards. Even let me have a nice stodgy pudding after they’d already discharged me and I was waiting for my husband to come and get us .

Similar to previous posters, was told to not come in, I had been in a couple of hours before and I was 2cm along, they were so sure that things couldn't possibly have progressed, that when I went back because I just knew things had changed, they didn't want to examine me. After insisting they examine me, I was 9/10 cm and they quickly got me in the pool in the nick of time. I felt that got us onto a bad foot and the midwife was a bit defensive after that. I think they thought my birth plan was a bit OTT too, ha. They should listen to women more, my contractions weren't textbook but turns out that they aren't for everyone!
Next time, home birth hopefully!

Aftercare was mixed... we didn't get great breastfeeding support and I feel it contributed to feeding not working out for us in the end. Some lovely ones though.

Ive just been watching the first series of this as it's being repeated and am enjoying it. I'm not sure it's very realistic though....supportbworkers aren't normally even in the room when a baby is born apart from in theatre.

The episode I just watched Emma passed out in theatre when she was watching a tear being repaired.

My hubby passed out when I had the epidural sited! . I nearly fell off the bed as I was leaning on him at the time!

I felt very well looked after until I actually gave birth, then I felt incredibly abandoned. I was in a private room (not complaining!) which meant that I was quite isolated and I felt forgotten about. I was told I'd be discharged on a certain day, but then a doctor couldn't be found so I had to wait another 12 hours and subsequently ran out of clothes, milk and nappies. It was a difficult time.

My midwife with my firstborn was German and I was one of her first unassisted deliveries. I chose a water birth and she was very against pain meds or intervention. I was 22 and always very unasseryive in medical situations, so it neveronce occurred to me to ask for medication when I struggled with the pain. Instead, I found myself trying to push with every contraction in hopes of speeding it up. At one point a doctor popped hos head round the door to offer assistance and she growled at him like a possessive dog! He scarpered. Meanwhile I tried locking myself in the bathroom in hopes thst I could wish myself out of the whole birth thing, bit she broke in and coaxed me out.

My birth did not go brilliantly. I was squatting by the bed, clinging on to my husband while I pushed. It felt horribly wrong and I was screaming "I'm ripping, I'm ripping!" And she assured me I was stretching. Not ripping. At this point I pooped into the poor midwife's open arms. She dealt with it swiftly and was able to grab my daughter and wrestle her out of me as fast as possible. I couldn't even face looking at the baby at first, I was so sore. I hobbled to the bathroom and had a very bloody shower. Climbed back into bed and our midwife showed us the placenta she uad spread all over the floor. "Isn't it beautiful!" She announced, and I swear she thought the placenta was cuter than my baby (she might have had a point, as the photos show a rather squashed tomato looking thing not at all the vision of perfection I saw at the time). We gazed in hirror at this... meaty looking liver octopus, spread out on the ground. So gross. Meanwhile some doctors came to examine me and when they pressed on my tummy I felt like I was peeing myself. Then there was a flurry of activity and I was wheeled off for several hours of stitches to sew me a new asshole as apparently I pooped my baby out.

As soon as I was wheeled out and my hisband was left alone with the baby, she turned into the child from the exorcist and began projectile vomiting thick black meconium everywhere. He didn't know if that was normal or not, but there was nobody to ask.

The next day my midwife came to visit me on the ward and was a bit tearful about my bad tearing, as she hadn't realised it was going badly. She was lovely really, and I don't blame her at all.

For the first week after giving birth, despite all the blood loss and the painful stitches, I felt like super woman. I couldn't believe I had made it through a drug free birrh experience that was so painful. I felt invincible.

I had c-sections fornthe next two because the scar tissue was bad and I had been traumatised so much by the first labour. The doctor used the term "permanent anal seepage" to describe what might happen if I tried anoother natural birth, and those weren't words I was willing to live with .

I had two sections, but the midwives who looked after me during we’re fantastic.

Aftercare was woeful. No support, no care, the last place you want to be when vulnerable and needing help.

I have had 2 experiences of midwifery, one when I was 19 in 1999, and the second 2 years ago in 2017, and the changes were very significant. The first stay was caring, I was able to stay in hospital for 5 days (I had no complications) I had my own room, 'home made' meals and midwifes who came to see me and help me bond, latch on and rest.
The 2017 experience was so different, in and out of hospital (with stitches to my perineum) within hours, the care was good but the midwifes were robotic, professional, but there was no bonding on either part. The whole midwifery experience has changed, you are no longer a person, just a NHS cost centre.

I had a lovely midwife and student midwife during delivery. They really put me at ease and answered all my questions, even though I'm sure I asked the same questions at least 5 times
I was really annoyed at DH for some reason, and everything he said would piss me off, but the midwife/student midwife was saying the EXACT same thing as DH, and I couldn't have thought any more highly of them, nothing they said annoyed me in the slightest

When giving birth to my son, I overhead a loud scream of "my husband is a fucking wanker!"

"Presumably not entirely", I said to my husband. I was quite proud of that for a woman in labour!

Sorry but in Greater London I very rarely saw the same midwife twice and some were just awful and barely gave the time of day. There were often uncaring and dismissive and quick to see the next woman. I felt Ignored and dismissed when trying to talk about severe back pain I was feeling and kept being told it would go away after baby was born. I ended up having a large back to back baby and it made my back worse. 18 months later it was finally realised I had 2 slipped discs, and a trapped nerve and required surgery. I should have been giving options regarding birth. For nearly 2 years I was in severe pain and midwives and doctors kept fobbing me off and telling me it was just SPD.

I did get better care the second time round. The hospital I have had both my children had terrible press about serious lack of care around the time my eldest was born so by the time I had my second there were significant changes including better trained staff and partners could stay on wards. One of the major complaints about the hospital was lack of staff on nights hence why I think they now allow partners to stay on wards. The head midwife really went over the changes with me because I became really anxious about having my second there, especially as I was having a c-section after my back issues.

The maternity support workers were really nice and don’t get as much recognition as they should. There were the ones willing to bend the rules a little to support women and often that’s needed and got to know the women on a better basis. There was a woman next to me who was absolutely knackered, she too had a c-section and her baby would not settle. By day 3 she told the maternity nurse she was going to try a dummy. The maternity nurse very quickly said they was not allowed to recommend them but then quietly said “but I used them with both of mine so if you want to try one, go ahead.”

My actual birth was pretty awful with late onset preeclampsia, back to back baby, failure to progress, and then a big blood loss once baby was out.

The thing I remember making me laugh though was the anaesthetist doing my epidural was a very tall, broad man. The midwife was very petite and a I had them either side of me in my bed at one point. The anaesthetist made a comment about how tiny the midwives hands were, she said they only looked tiny because his were huge. They then compared their hand sizes over me, and the anaesthetist (who did have huge hands to be fair) looked at me, laughed, and said “I bet you’re glad it’s her that does the examinations and not me!” In all the worry and pain I was in, for some reason it really made me laugh! Looking back it probably wasn’t the most professional of them but it made me laugh at the time so I didn’t mind!

Not really what you want but my husband brought a thank you card in for the postnatal ward midwives and I told him that he was definitely not to give it to them! 😀

MY DD was born by EMCS towards the end of August, when new Drs are unleashed unto the world. When back on the ward, the MW kept checking DD and getting me to do skin to skin, to warm her, checking her blood sugar, which was dropping and her colour. She was getting bluer and bluer.

I heard her chatting to the DR outside the bay and she said 'We need to get this baby to SCBU' the Dr replied he wanted to leave her to see how she gets on. The MW said 'If we leave her, we will lose her' She fought for my baby and got her to SCBU, then she was taken to a hospital 60 miles away for their more expert treatment.

If she had not done this and just obeyed the Dr, my baby would have died. She is now nearly 14, her next karate exam will be black belt and she is full of life!

Midwife with my first was a trainee, and she was lovely. Even though when she was examining me, I farted in her face!
She popped her head up and said 'thanks, I had my mouth open and everything!'

@Thorilicious that’s gross, not something to be boasting about.

Some of the stories are so exaggerated. “Buzzing lots of time but no midwives ever came” well who turned the buzzers off then because they don’t just go off on their own?

“My baby was left in its own poo all night”. It’s your baby, why not change it yourself?

Sigh. Maternity staff are not your slaves. Women have laboured for thousands of years, stop acting precious.

@Zebraaa I'd had an epidural, and had no control over the bottom half of my body.
My midwife was lovely about it, even though I was embarrassed. I'm sure she's had much worse.

Like many on here - mixed experiences....

1 switched on midwife who queried if DS was jaundiced on Day 3. The junior paediatrician took a brief look at him and declared she didn't need to do a blood test, he was fine. When the midwife came back on shift she asked me what had happened. She wasn't happy so took it to the most senior midwife on the ward who took bloods herself. They came back with a bilirubin level of 389 (the guidelines say exchange transfusion for levels over 350). He was rushed to SCBU and started treatment. Thank you that midwife - and thank you to her boss who trusted her judgement over the paediatricians.

On the negative side I overheard 2 midwives talking (couldn't really avoid overhearing as they were yelling at each other down the full length of the bay) about the baby with super high bilirubin levels. 'Never mind orange he must have been practically radioactive' said one as the other laughed 'yeah he must have been glowing'! Not v professional and yes I did complain.

Zebra the buzzers stop buzzing when you take your finger off them. No one comes and 'turns them off'.