"I was refused a growth scan by a consultant...My daughter was born on the 1st centile"

A mother's experience of Oxford University Hospitals Maternity Services in 2023:

I gave birth to my daughter via a category 1 emergency caesarean section following seven days of latent labour.

During that week, I was admitted to Spires and then spent three days on Level 6 awaiting an induction. Induction was presented as the only option, and a caesarean birth was never discussed with me.

In the weeks leading up to delivery, I had experienced repeated episodes of reduced fetal movements, and the community midwife had noticed that my bump had stopped growing. Despite raising these concerns, I was refused a growth scan by a consultant. 

After three days of waiting, I was finally taken to delivery suite for my induction. Over the following 14 hours, I repeatedly asked for a caesarean section.

After seven days of labour, with very little sleep and significant physical and emotional exhaustion, I knew I was not in a fit mental or physical state to endure an induced labour.

My requests for a caesarean were refused on four separate occasions because there was no "medical reason" to proceed. Eventually, my daughter's heart rate dropped to 30 beats per minute, and I was rushed to theatre for a category 1 emergency caesarean.

I am confident that a lot of the trauma associated with the birth could have been avoided if my wishes had been listened to earlier. I had to reach a point of medical emergency before I was taken seriously. 

The day after giving birth, I requested to speak to the doctor involved in my care. After I requested my notes, I read the documentation from that discussion, and I had been described as being scared of a caesarean and that I lacked understanding. This was particularly distressing because I had spent hours explicitly requesting one.

My daughter was born on the 1st centile and was likely growth restricted, yet this had not been recognised or documented at all in my notes.