"Delivery experience"

I was scheduled to be induced recently due to a DVT during pregnancy. I was called to go in just before midday and arrived at the hospital about an hour after. Once I arrived, it was quite obvious that the hospital was very busy and I wasn’t taken through to my room for another hour, this was ok, and I understand sometimes there are hold-ups.

The midwife said they could probably break my water but it would be tricky so they decided to use hormone tape and that I should be ok in 4 hours but was again delayed and it was becoming pretty clear that I would have to stay overnight, this is when I started to become very stressed.

I was running off very little sleep already and the room I was in had the cleaners' closet situated through a door at the rear of my room, they were banging and talking very loudly right at my door. My partner was going to have to go home as there was only a tiny chair in the room and there was a possibility I could go into labour overnight.

I ended up in tears after asking the midwives multiple times if I could be moved. I was ready to just go home and became so upset at the whole situation. I told the midwife I was leaving at about midnight and was eventually moved. I only got about 4 hours of sleep as I was so distressed.

In the morning I was moved to another room and my induction was again delayed and my partner and I waited until late in the afternoon that day expecting to be induced as the hormone tape they were using could only be left in for 24hours. I feel that this process was drawn out due to a busy labour ward and I was caused unnecessary distress.

Once the tape was removed we waited 3 hours on a decision whether they were going to go ahead. All started off well until there was a staff changeover and the new midwife handling my induction appeared to be not confident on their own and had people checking on them throughout the process. I think everything went wrong when the hormone drip was turned down. I think this because when the midwife had checked on again, the supervising midwife said that there was no need to turn it down and I had been progressing ok. But I believe the drip needed to be turned back up. This is where everything went wrong.

I stopped dilating and after a further 9 hours only achieved 1cm, my baby became distressed and one of the senior doctors came in and took over, I ended up having a caesarean. There was one particular doctor who was my only saving grace and was made to finally feel comfortable and at ease with what was happening. I don’t know how it all went so wrong having had 2 natural births previously and am so upset that my whole experience was an emotional nightmare.

I believe I now will have permanent scarring and have been unable to care for the other children in my household as I recover. I truly feel that if my care had been managed better my experience would have been a different one.