"the matron marched onto the ward, flung open everyone’s curtains... stripping away any sense of dignity or privacy."

A mother’s experience of Oxford University Hospitals Maternity Services in 2015:

I was induced with my first child in November 2015. As a so-called “geriatric” mother, I was monitored closely throughout pregnancy and, looking back, felt pressured into agreeing to induction only three days after my due date.

My birth experience was horrendous. I laboured in pain for 12 hours, and after finally requesting an epidural, I had to wait another four hours before it was given. Exhausted, I ended up agreeing to a forceps delivery and an episiotomy. My baby was born just after midnight.

By 7am, I was rushed from the delivery suite up to the ward – literally wheeled while holding my baby and trying to manage my bag on my lap. My husband had been sent away until I was admitted, which added to the distress.

The following two days on the ward were awful. Because my temperature had been raised in labour, my baby was required to have bloods at 4am each morning. She was also meant to receive prophylactic antibiotics, but this was missed and she didn’t receive them until nearly 24 hours later.

I was given codeine for episiotomy pain but at times was made to feel I was taking “too much.” One morning, the matron marched onto the ward, flung open everyone’s curtains, and told us they had to remain open – stripping away any sense of dignity or privacy. I couldn’t wait to leave.

I experienced very low moments afterwards and returned to the JR seven months later for their Birth Reflections Service. Unfortunately, that session felt defensive, more about placating mothers than genuinely listening. I was also told there would be a review into why my baby’s antibiotics were missed, but the information was “lost” and no one seemed to know anything about it.

My experience may have been ten years ago, but it has stayed with me. I am saddened to hear that things have not improved.