"Twin pregnancy experience"

I delivered my twins in this year at Bunbury Regional Hospital. We had an overall good experience through pregnancy.

I initially planned a zero intervention birth and felt strongly about this however everything changed once delivery day arrived. I ended up delivering one baby vaginally with a vacuum and the second via c-section due to some complications. The vacuum birth caused further complications and twin 1 then had to be taken to the special care nursery for further support. Twin 2 was also taken to the nursery however I did not know why as they were healthy. Due to this, I did not get any 'golden hour' or skin to skin time with either baby as planned and also didn't get to attempt breastfeeding for several hours.

It was all a blur after delivery but I wish I was advised on what was happening more as I had no idea what was wrong or when they would be brought back to me.

The next day we were told more about twin 1's complications and that they had to go to PCH for testing and monitoring via helicopter. I was not allowed to go as I was recovering after a csection so my husband drove up to be there with twin 1. The following 2 days were very hard for me. As I had no immediate family in WA, I was alone in a room at night, left to look after one baby, while worried sick about the other.

I was still very groggy and unable to move off my bed so relied on staff to help bring my baby to me and settle them back- however this did not happen. I was moved to Maternity Ward B and it seemed they were very short staffed the first night and took about 30min before my nurse call button was addressed each time.

One midwife who finally came actually made me feel worse that I hadn't changed my baby's nappy sooner and made me get up to do it, as well as telling me I have to agree to give them more formula as they were small, despite them now feeding well and having stabilised blood sugars. 

I was in pain and quite emotional about the whole situation, with no staff to check in regarding my mental health. The second night was a bit better as I was told twin 1 and my husband were coming back to Bunbury the next day to be with me, and there was a lovely midwife on who helped me a lot more over that night.

I had to move back to Maternity Ward A the next day as twin 1 needed to be in the nursery nearby. Although this was fine, I knew I'd need my husband to stay with me to care for them however this was met with a lot of barriers. I had to argue for him to get a pull out bed and a meal for him, knowing we will be there for a while.

We stayed for a few nights but the small room, beeping noises and stress was too much so we asked about the short term accommodation. We were told we were allowed to stay, but no children were allowed, so while staying there for one twin, the other wouldn't be able to stay with us. This made no sense as they were a few days old and couldn't be anywhere else. We decided it was best to return home with twin 2 and visit twin 1 daily. This lasted for a total of 3 weeks. It was incredibly hard visiting everyday due to already having sleepless nights with one twin while trying to recover myself from major surgery.

Twin 1 remained at the nursery mainly for feeding support. We relied on the feeding schedules at the nursery however this was challenging as feeding times kept changing and there was no consistency in the plan my baby was given by the Drs i.e we were told they were having 2 tube feeds followed by a suck feed, but the next day they were given 3 tube feeds then a suck feed, with seemingly no one knowing why. Sometimes the midwifes would ask us which one it was as documentation and handovers seemed to be poor between some staff.

I had also asked to be phoned for any changes or concerns and was contacted once to check if formula was fine to be given (twin 1 was predominantly only having formula while there) however was not contacted before they were administered antibiotics one morning for an infection they picked up in their bloods.

Between it all, I was trying to breastfeed and pump during each visit, with no privacy in a room full of other parents and staff which was initially hard as a first time mum learning how to breastfeed. Discharge plans kept changing with each Dr having a different plan which caused some whiplash of emotions, however some took the time to provide more reasoning and care in their approach to help us understand the situation.

Throughout the experience, we were grateful for the midwifes that were confident and caring in their approach, the delivering Dr who checked in on me following the birth and the staff that acknowledged and supported my husband to get a pull out bed and a meal for his stay while he looked after 2 babies. We believe the system isn't catered to multiples or simply not staffed enough to care for mothers having higher needs both physically and emotionally. I feel it also lacks some rigour in its care and in comparison to the experience at another hospital, is behind. 

My experience is one of many however the combination of barriers and emotions felt over this period has made me want to advocate for a few changes to be made, to support women and their partners to have a better experience and feel welcomed as they bring a new life/lives into the world.