"Pregnancy, Labour & Breastfeeding Journey"

My husband and I are very thankful for the care we received in the Family Birth Centre (FBC) and the main hospital King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH). Our midwife Samara from FBC was excellent. She was so loving, caring, knowledgeable, and definitely went above and beyond to care for our pregnancy, delivery, and the postnatal period. We felt so blessed to have her! 

The antenatal classes from FBC were excellent. We found it much more helpful in preparing us for labour and also breastfeeding than classes run by another health care provider. FBC antenatal classes gave women the confidence in trusting their bodies for pregnancy, labour and breastfeeding, and I am certain that the classes contributed toward the success of our breastfeeding journey.

Unfortunately, I had an undiagnosed frank breech which was only found when I went into the Maternal Fetal Assessment Unit (MFAU) at 39 weeks after I couldn't feel the baby movement for 24 hours. Because the baby was frank breech, the baby's bum felt like the head, therefore the breech position was never picked up prior to 39 weeks. I'm glad that I went into MFAU for a check as I would probably have received emergency caesarean otherwise. 

The elective caesarean the following day went really well, everyone in the whole team (including the theatre orderly, nurses, O&G doctors, anaesthetic team) were super friendly and comforting. We definitely had a really good experience during the caesarean and recovery period.

I was then admitted to Ward 5 for about 4 days. The midwives were really lovely and so helpful, especially since I was in a lot of pain from the caesarean. Loved the breastfeeding class and the lactation consultant. I had a milk supply issue at the start and the doctor suggested trying to give the baby one formula feed to see if it will help settle my baby (she had unexplained episodes of shakiness). 

The strange thing is that the midwife who was on duty gave the baby a large amount of the formula (from memory around 35mL?) even though the baby was only 2 days old. The same midwife also told me to stop breastfeeding the baby for too long as "she's only using you as a pacifier" by this stage. I remembered feeling very confused and becoming unconfident with my breastfeeding as a result, especially since I was experiencing inadequate milk supply which more breastfeeding would only help. Furthermore, during Day 2 of my caesarean, I was still in a lot of pain and I relied heavily on the midwives to help me care for the baby. However, whenever I press the bell, this midwife seems like she was not happy and didn't come across as willing to help. I remember feeling guilty for calling her and unsupported during this midwife's care. I do recognise that perhaps it was a busy night and therefore the midwife probably needed to rush. Or perhaps I was in a bad mood since I was in pain and probably from the lack of sleep that comes with a newborn. However, I definitely felt a lot more support and care from all the other midwives. 

Other midwives and the lactation consultant gave me back that confidence to breastfeed later on. I especially found Jocelynne (the night-shift midwife) so supportive, caring, and empowering. Maree, the lactation consultant, was so knowledgeable!

Overall, we really loved the care we received from FBC and the main hospital.

I'm not sure if there is a way to prevent undiagnosed breech since ultrasound is not routinely done late in pregnancy. We were very fortunate to get it diagnosed prior to labour and therefore avoided the potentially stressful emergency caesarean.

Breastfeeding education and help was wonderful at KEMH. Perhaps a clarification on the appropriate volume of formula feeds and a way to improve the consistency in breastfeeding advice to new mums, especially during the stressful first few days of the baby's life would further improve the already excellent service.

Thank you FBC and KEMH for the wonderful experience and for delivering our baby safely!