"C-Section birth"

I moved to Warwick late in my first pregnancy when I was able to take my maternity leave from my Nursing job at an interstate hospital. I had been having all my antenatal checks/care at a large tertiary maternity specialist hospital.

The day after I arrived in Warwick, one of the midwives phoned me to attend their midwife clinic that day. I continued my care at Warwick hospital and they ultimately discovered that my baby was breech, something that had not been picked up by the interstate tertiary service!

Warwick hospital staff attempted to manually turn my baby into the correct birthing position, which was unfortunately unsuccessful. Pretty much my only option was to have a c-section. As an Emergency Department (ED) nurse from a capital city, my experience is almost always seeing the worst-case scenarios of what can go wrong, because when things go well they never need ED. So, I was absolutely terrified to have surgery, especially at a small rural hospital that I was unfamiliar with.

I made it very clear that I was hugely stressed and anxious regarding having the surgery, and looking back I am kind of embarrassed that I disgraced myself with my hysteria a bit.

I needn't have worried. The staff were absolutely amazing, In my opinion. I felt that I was treated with so much kindness, empathy and respect. Every member of the healthcare/surgical team came and introduced themselves to me by name. All of them reassured me that I was in control, that if it all becomes too much to tell them and they'll stop and give me a break. I really felt like they genuinely cared about me and the procedure, and my comfort.

The anaesthetist, Sam, asked me what kind of music I like, and linked a playlist on his phone to play in the theatre for me. The surgeon, Dr Catherine, was extremely considerate to place the catheter after the spinal anaesthesia had taken effect. She also listened to and respected my request to delay clamping the umbilical cord for as long as possible after delivery. The midwife manager remained with me throughout the entire procedure along with a junior midwife, who was also fabulous.

After the c-section, I remained in hospital for 3 nights. The staff on the ward were so kind, helpful and considerate. I was consistently allocated the same midwives each day, Candy and Anna were my main midwives and they were both absolutely brilliant in my opinion, so supportive and helpful. I am a strict vegan and the catering lady made a big effort to liaise with the kitchens to ensure that they provided me with food that was suitable for me to eat. The staff were great about letting my partner visit me morning and evening (and sometimes lunchtime as well), despite the baby being born right at the height of the COVID crisis (the hospital had just diagnosed its' only confirmed case the day before my baby was born).

Overall, although I didn't get the birth that I had been hoping for, the professionalism, empathy and kindness of all staff at Warwick hospital made me feel as though I had an extremely positive birth experience. I'm sure that I would never have received this level of personalised care, consideration and kindness in a city hospital, not even in the hospital that I actually work in. I would love to have more babies and I really hope that when/if I do, I can have them in Warwick hospital as well.

Not only did I have a beautiful birth experience as a patient and mother, but I have also learned so much from the experience, which will help me to become a better and kinder nurse when I do eventually go back to work.