"I am now reluctant to consider having another child and feel a profound loss of trust in the NHS"

A mother's experience of Oxford University Hospitals Maternity Services in 2024:

On a Monday at approximately 2 a.m., my waters broke (I was entering week 40), and I contacted the MAU. I was told to go and once there a midwife confirmed that my waters had broken after examining my pad. My baby was monitored and found to be in good condition. I was then sent home to await the natural onset of labour.

Contractions began at home but were irregular until they became more frequent, prompting me to return to the MAU around 24 hours after my waters had broken. My baby was monitored again, and I was attended by two midwives. One of them suggested checking my dilation with her finger but failed to inform me of the associated risks, particularly after my waters had broken (I should have remembered about BRAIN and ask about benefits, risks, etc. but I didn’t…).

I thought it was normal to get my dilation checked. However, at a later date I learned that this heightened the risk of infection because my waters had broken. Following the dilation check the midwives confirmed that I needed an augmentation.

I was moved to another ward, where I remained for the rest of Tuesday and most of Wednesday. I was still waiting for the augmentation because the delivery suite was at full capacity. During this time, two other midwives provided consistent care and advocated for my admission to the delivery suite, but their efforts were rejected by the lack of availability.

On Wednesday, I noticed a change in the colour and smell of my discharge/ waters which I reported to the midwives. Despite this, I was not admitted to the delivery suite. At some point I really had the feeling we had reached a wall and that we would never go to delivery suite. I felt very scared for my baby’s health and life.

Finally, in the evening, one of the midwives told us they had arranged for a midwife on call to come and help us deliver the baby. These two midwives seemed as frustrated as we were with the negatives from the delivery suite team, so I am thankful to them. I remember that I practiced the breathing technique I learnt in an online hypno birthing course every time I had a contraction which I think gave the false impression that I was coping great because at some point the midwives commented on how well I was coping. In reality I was in a lot of pain and discomfort!

Late in the evening a midwife came to collect me. I was only admitted after persistent complaining and what worries me is that if I hadn't, I would've been there longer and I have no idea what could have happened to my baby. I was so relieved when she came! She took us to the delivery suite and provided excellent care and made me feel safe.

At my request I was administered an epidural, which helped alleviate the pain I had been enduring since Monday. The anaesthetist was brilliant and explained all risks to me. The augmentation process took about seven hours but it was great because I was half asleep, I could feel the contractions but there was no pain.

The time came to push, the previous midwife left and two other midwives came to help me during the second phase. After pushing for approximately an hour and a half, a doctor recommended the use of forceps. I had a second degree tear. I felt some pain (it was bearable) whilst the doctor was doing my stitches because the epidural had been stopped by the midwives.

My baby was finally born on Thursday in the late morning, more than 72 hours after my waters had broken. On top of this, I retained more than 1000ml of urine during the second stage of labour and was sent home with an indwelling catheter. I had this for seven days to prevent further damage to my distended bladder. We were discharged Friday afternoon.

I recently received a duty of candour letter from OUH. According to it, bladder care in the immediate postnatal period is an area requiring improvement at their trust. I am so frustrated as I realize this could have been prevented… the only explanation I have is that I remember being thirsty and asking my husband to give me water several times. No one asked me to monitor my water intake, or told me not to do it…So far I don’t seem to have incontinence issues but I wonder what the long term effects of this and the forceps will have on my pelvic floor health.

Around ten days following my discharge from the hospital, I passed a large blood clot. I arrived at the MAU with my husband and baby between 1 and 2 a.m. and was seen at approximately 4 a.m. by a registrar. The registrar conducted a speculum examination, which caused me excruciating pain, worse than any contractions or pushing during labour. I wish I had been told that this procedure would be so painful because had I known, I would have requested the use of some sort of anaesthetic.

Until today I think this was not treated in an empathetic way and I am very scared of getting any similar procedures done in the future such as a smear test. The midwife who was acting as a chaperone was kind and held my hand. The doctor on the other hand was cold and didn’t treat me with any empathy. This felt like it just added another layer of trauma to my whole birth/ post partum experience.

The Registrar noted the blood colour and smell were abnormal and performed a bedside scan, which revealed some blood in my womb. They prescribed antibiotics and indicated that I would need an “official scan” within two days to check for retained tissue. They said I might need a surgery but only this scan would confirm it.

However, despite my following up multiple times with the MAU, this scan was not booked. I was given conflicting information about whether such scans were standard procedure, leading to further unnecessary stress and worry. My community midwife also contacted the MAU on my behalf, but no clear resolution was provided. I never got such a scan.

My lochia has stopped now and I seem to have fully recovered from this infection, though. While my physical condition has improved, and while I am in general grateful for the care provided by the midwives, anaesthetist and doctor at the delivery suite, I feel that earlier intervention could have prevented what I see today as one of the most traumatic experiences in my life.

I am now reluctant to consider having another child and feel a profound loss of trust in the NHS. The lack of timely care, clear communication, and empathy in handling my case contributed significantly to my trauma.