"Readmission which could have been avoided"

My husband and I welcomed our baby into the world in April 2025. We had a really positive experience with our midwife team (MGP) and the personalised care they provided. 

Sadly, after the birth, our experience changed. My time on the labour suite, was met with constant interruptions from, what felt like, all the staff in the hospital. Invariably, most women, after giving birth would be exhausted, but to then have a constant stream of health professionals visiting the room, providing loads of information (which I wasn't absorbing due to extreme tiredness) and be met with comments encouraging me to rest (how could I?!).

One staff member made an unhelpful comment - when I was very tired and hungry, I had prepared my breakfast and was just about to eat. In came the health professional who sternly advised 'you need to prioritise your baby over your needs'. Baby was asleep in their crib at the time - this was basically, in my opinion, the midwife having a set schedule on the ward, and really indicating to follow their schedule to feed baby at that precise moment over taking 5 minutes to eat my breakfast. I felt this was a judgmental comment and one I could have done without. I of course know to prioritise my child.

As we were nearing discharge, no member of staff advised my husband and I of what our baby needed (feeding plan). As a new mum, I assumed I'd breastfeed and all would be well... I'd gathered several syringes of colostrum in the weeks leading up to birth, and was praised by midwives for this. Our baby was very yellow on discharge. She was screened for jaundice and was just under the threshold so we were discharged. Thankfully, our midwife visited less than 24 hours later. She advised we head back to hospital to check jaundice levels and our baby wasn't as responsive as she'd have liked.

On arrival, we were told bub was dehydrated and jaundiced. I was devastated - not realising that my milk hadn't come in and they were essentially unable to feed. I had no idea this could happen and had we have known, we'd have given formula and the admission would have been avoided. We lacked a feeding plan and sadly, the trauma I feel has resulted in significant anxiety surrounding feeding that has led to numerous engagements with a lactation consultant (who is a great!) and psychologist.

The guilt I now have is debilitating at times and I believe could have been avoided had we have had sufficient guidance from hospital staff as to what is needed regarding feeding. 

Staff in NICU were great. Incredibly caring and updated us when we called the ward to check in. They also welcomed us when we visited (we wanted to spend as much time with bub as possible). 

When bub was well, I was offered 'mother crafting' - I took this opportunity as I felt it would expedite discharge but wasn't sure exactly what it was. It felt somewhat like I was being assessed to determine whether I could care for my child. 

We have mentioned the lack of feeding plan to numerous professionals (child health nurse, lactation consultant, psyc) and all have expressed concern of the lack of information given to us to help our baby thrive.