"Pregnancy and Labour"

Our baby was born at Osborne Park Hospital late last year to first-time parents. I wanted to take a moment to share with the public the incredible experience we had at Osborne Park and the dedicated staff who ensured the safe delivery of my baby.

My experience with Osborne Park Hospital started with the antenatal classes I attended with Physio Naomi who helped me understand the changes my body was going through to carry and ultimately deliver my baby. She assisted me with my strength and flexibility and pelvic floor to ensure my body was in the best possible shape to do what it needed to do and recover as quickly as possible. I attended every class from about 12 weeks and these were definitely a game-changer.

I met Jennifer the lactation consultant prior to giving birth and she armed me with all the knowledge I needed around breastfeeding and answered my many questions. Even once my baby was born I was able to call Jennifer to ask questions and she always took the time to guide me through any problem I was having.

I first met Dr Josh at one of my antenatal appointments and he was the one who explained to me that due to my age, the recommendation was definitely that I be induced. He knew that I wanted to deliver naturally and he never told me what to do but armed me with enough information for me to make an informed decision on my own - that waiting for my waters to break naturally came at a cost - what a crucial decision this ended up being.

We met midwife Jess and midwife Meegan and Doctor Clare when we arrived into hospital. My induction was not a smooth process as I had bleeding and dilated very quickly. Each of the above staff made critical decisions at that time which could have had a very different outcome. If Dr Clare had decided to break my waters on the spot the medical team would not have been in place for the emergency c section that in the end, I needed, and we possibly would have lost my little baby. Instead, she waited a little later in the day when everyone was in place just in case something went wrong, which it did.

Following the breaking of my waters, midwife Jess made the crucial decision to call for an epidural as I had stated full-blown labour but was only 5cm dilated. Unfortunately, I had a toxic reaction to the epidural drug which meant my baby went into distress and the emergency c section was called.

As I had already had the highly skilled and experienced team, I was on the operating table in super quick time. Dr Josh cut me open and delivered my baby into the world but it was still not smooth sailing. My baby was distressed and had to be put under heat and on oxygen and I had a litre of blood in my uterus from a placenta abruption which Doctor Josh had been worried about in the first place.

He issued a pint of blood and ensured I was given drugs to reduce the effects of the epidural which had not agreed with me. Eventually, I was back on the ward with my baby on my chest. We were both a little shaken but we were alive and happy and we had each other.

The five days that followed were simply incredible. We met Doctor Jade and midwife Leanne and Physio Melissa amongst many others and the ultimate care and guidance was given to ensure we were happy and healthy and had the best possible start. There was no stone left unturned and there was no question too small that someone would not answer for me.

The cleaners and the catering staff were amazing. Always friendly and always prepared to go the extra step even when I requested milo outside of hours.

We were in hospital for five days in the end and I cried when we left. I am experienced, qualified and world-travelled but the care I received during those five days was second to none. Not only was it professional but we were treated as people and it touched my very core.

I feel that Osborne Park epitomised what it means to be alive - simply look after your fellow human being with every power that you have and that is exactly what they did.

My baby is a few months old as I write this and is thriving in every possible way. They were given the very best start by a team of dedicated professionals who I believe care deeply about the impact they have and who have trained tirelessly so that in the event that a complication like ours does arise they are prepared to meet it head in and make the critical decisions when they count.

I cannot thank the staff mentioned here and so many others that made our experience and our stay at Osborne Park Hospital as warm and as positive as it could possibly be under the circumstances. I hope these staff are acknowledged and I hope the public understands what an incredible facility I feel this is. I thank everyone we dealt with from the very bottom of my heart.