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Birthing Experience at the hospital

Posted By venusbf65

"Birthing Experience at the hospital"

About: Fiona Stanley Hospital / Antenatal Clinic, Birth Suite, Maternal Fetal Assessment Unit, Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit, Wards 3B, 3C, 3D, 3DO, Visiting Midwife Service

(as the patient),

Throughout my pregnancy I was cared for through the Family Birthing Centre (FBC) at Fiona Stanley Hospital. I loved this model of care and was excited for the birth of my baby. The midwives were all beautiful natured, caring and took the time to make you feel like your pregnancy was important to them. I looked forward to my appointments with my midwife.

Unfortunately, after a hind water leak at 38w5d, I had to be induced and go through the main hospitals birthing suite. While I still got my amazing midwife Teagan, I was unable to have the unmedicated water birth I had envisioned through the Family Birthing Centre. After being induced and cared for by Kate, my amazing induction midwife, Teagan was called to come in. She stayed with me through the entire labour and birth and made sure baby and I were okay before leaving us in the care of another FBC midwife, Jen, who was also incredible and stayed with us until we were moved to the ward.

While the team were amazing and ensured a safe delivery, it seemed that they often struggled with access to resources they required e.g. my epidural ran out and Teagan called for it to be topped up, no one came. e.g.2 my heart rate was through the roof, an OB was called after an hour of pushing and I was made to push for a total of 2 hours resulting in maternal distress, fatigue and exhaustion before the OB agreed to do an instrumental birth.

The aftercare I received from my midwife and the FBC team was incredible. Home visits every 2-3 days for almost 2 weeks to check on both bub and I, support when my breastfeeding journey ended, and on the days they could not make it to my home, a midwife would call me to check in. 

If I am able to fall pregnant again, I will not hesitate to apply to be part of the FBC model of care again at Fiona Stanley Hospital. Teagan and the midwives at the Family Birthing Centre are amazing and I cannot fault them. 

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Responses

Response from Luke Dix, Acting Executive Director, Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group, South Metropolitan Health Service yesterday
Luke Dix
Acting Executive Director, Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group,
South Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 7/01/2026 at 2:46 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 3:02 PM

picture of Luke Dix

Dear venusbf65,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your birth experience at Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH).

Firstly, congratulations on the birth of your baby. It is wonderful to hear that you initially felt supported and cared for by the team of midwives at the Family Birth Centre at FSH.

I am very sorry to read about the difficulties you experienced during your labour in our Birth Suite, particularly the delay with your epidural top‑up and the length of time you were pushing before obstetric assistance was provided. I can only imagine how exhausting and distressing this must have been, especially when your birth plan had already changed unexpectedly.

In relation to your concerns, I would like to provide some general information about our processes. Epidurals are inserted by the anaesthetic team, and the first top‑up is also provided by them. Subsequent top‑ups are managed by the midwife in collaboration with the anaesthetic team. I apologise that this did not occur in your case. Regarding the timing of obstetric involvement, our usual practice is to allow up to two hours of pushing when the fetal heart rate tracing is within normal range and there are no other concerns. Obstetricians are invited into the room when the primary midwife identifies that additional support is needed. Instrumental birth is planned when it becomes clear that further progress is unlikely.

It is very disappointing to learn that based on your experience some of this information was not clearly communicated to you and I am incredibly sorry for the understandable distress that this has caused.

As this is an anonymous platform, I’m limited in the level of detail specific to your case I can provide. If you would like to discuss your experience further, I encourage you to contact our Patient and Family Liaison Service (PFLS) on (08) 6152 4013 during business hours or via email at FSHFeedback@health.wa.gov.au. This will allow us to review your care in full and address any remaining questions you may have.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience. I am pleased to hear that you would consider the Family Birth Centre model of care again in the future.

Kind regards

Luke Dix

A/Executive Director

Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group

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