"I still have PTSD. I am 83 now."
- Jul 1
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 12
A mother's experience of Oxford maternity services in 1967:
My baby daughter should have been born on 10th May. I was two weeks overdue and terribly neglected so she was delivered by vertical caesarean on 28th May 1967.
She was my first baby. I had a 72 hour labour, no pain relief, emergency vertical caesarean which I had to wait 8 hours for.
After 2 weeks in hospital I was traumatised and couldn't eat or sleep. I was forcibly separated from my daughter who I was breastfeeding, sent to an asylum, forcibly dried up my milk, stripped naked, locked in a padded cell. Beaten up, forced into an ice cold bath.
Dragged out of the padded cell after 3 days then into a stinking ward smelling of urine. Had no bed to sleep in. Attacked by mad patients.
Was detained in asylum for a month.
My baby was six weeks old when I was discharged.
I still have PTSD. I am 83 now.