"By the time I had my son it had been 90 hours since my waters had broken"

A mother’s experience of Oxford University Hospitals Maternity Services in 2025:

I’ve recently had a very poor experience at this hospital giving birth to my son, my waters broke on the 30th of April at 8:30am I spoke to the MAU throughout that day and the 1st of May and waited for my contractions to get closer.

They didn’t and so I went to the hospital on the 2nd of May as they called me in to be induced at 7:30 in the morning, I was then left me in the waiting room until 11pm that night. My legs and hands were swollen and I was tired as I’d been up for 2 days by that point having contractions.

When I was finally taken into the room in MAU and was told me I had began showing signs of infection so rushed me in to be induced this was at 12am on the 3rd of May. I was then given antibiotics though I was told I was supposed to have the antibiotics earlier on that day and they never bothered.

I was then in labour from then until 1:59am on the 4th of May as I was then taken in for an emergency c-section as they told me my son was in distress and I had to go in as my body wouldn’t progress to vaginal birth.

By the time I had my son it had been 90 hours since my waters had broken which was not recommended by their so called guidelines. I had to be given more antibiotics due to infection and as my uterus had been contracting for so long I haemorrhaged after he had came out and I lost 3 litres of blood and requiring blood transfusions etc and surgery.

Whilst in the hospital for the days after I had many department leads at my bedside asking me how I was and if I needed support but it seemed like damage control after what had happened.