"Childbirth and afterwards"

I had my little baby in the Bunbury regional hospital. I started by having an epidural, which was not put in right as we found out half way through my labour when it stopped working and then I got a spinal block. I went through 19.5 hours of labour. The next day I woke up and couldn’t sit up, couldn’t move my neck and I was in agony. I was given pain medication of all sorts, but nothing was working. The nurses were amazing! My ob and midwife were awesome but had to beg an anaesthetist to come and review me after the one who did my epidural refused. After days of being bed ridden I finally got an answer and the next day I got my blood patch which instantly I received relief. Before getting the answer of having a post dural puncture I had an apparent nasty midwife who I recall yelled at me for seemingly not trying hard enough to help my self. I couldn’t even move my toes, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t even get out of bed to go to the toilet I was in agony. They had me in tears the minute their shift started. My milk supply was greatly affected as I was so unwell. I had my child feeding off me while I was laying down, 45 mins per boob. And they were bellowing. I ended up giving my child a bottle of formula and they were out like a light! The, in my opinion, nasty nurse then came in to scream at me and told me I over fed them (which I then bawled my eyes out because I was so upset that I had risked to put my baby in harm). Little did I know, as I understand it, babies will never take more then they need and if they do they will spit it back up!

Then wrapping my head around breast feeding I was struggling to understand. I said to the nurse my baby has been on me for 1.5 hours and they are starving I think I need to pump my next feed and bottle feed to them so I can atleast get an idea of my supply- I recall the nurse screamed at me again because that’s not right. But I felt neither is a screaming baby after being fed for supposedly 1.5 hours.

Later that day my parents came to visit and I believe the nurse screamed at me in front of them because I wasn’t pumping.

After being in hospital for a week, I was left to feel so upset I ended up demanding to go home despite my pains.

Lucky I had a bottle of expressed milk and some spare colostrum I expressed to feed my baby, as turns out I was only letting out 5-10ml per boob of breast milk.

After a stressful first night at home, having no milk, (enough to get us through the night) vomiting all over the kitchen floor while my fiancé was out buying formula, my mum driving from an hour away with them both walking in on me with my baby trying to sooth them in one arm while I was leaning over the kitchen table spewing, I decided that the stress of breast feeding just was not worth the distress it had caused me all because of one person.

As a first time mother, I tried my best, I did what I can despite how unwell I was.

But I feel this experience should never have happened. And what was worse is that I had the most amazing caring nurses and drs. And I felt one person ruined my first few days of motherhood!

In my opinion, nurses are there to help us, care for us, and guide us in the scariest but most amazing times of our lives. Non the less, I’m blessed with the most beautiful baby, and I’m so thankful for the nurses (that were amazing), my drs, my ob, my parents, my fiancé and the amazing gift of a healthy, happy, baby!