"within my story there is evidence of a lack of training and discrepancies in care across the board"

A mother’s experience of Oxford University Hospitals Maternity Services in 2019 and 2024:

My experiences are somewhat mild to those I have read on this website, however, I do believe that within my story there is evidence of a lack of training and discrepancies in care across the board. If I applied these to a more serious situation, they could be life threatening.

My firstborn was born on spires - we had a couple of concerns during pregnancy but it was straightforward. The midwife on spires was knowledgeable and kind and the student she had with her acted appropriately. My issue came on the ward where my son was admitted for jaundice.

I was breastfeeding and my son was latching well, however he was not tolerating lying under the lights - although I was very persistent. The maternity support worker who had not assessed my latch or watched me feed advised that babies are jaundiced because they are not feeding. (My baby was latching and feeding).

In front of another HCA she spoke about how she hated breastfeeding her own babies, she advised that feeding a newborn every 2 hours is too much as it is making the baby too tired. She suggested expressing milk and then said that a midwife could come and take the baby and give the baby a bottle, stating "first time mums are often too gentle with their babies and we can rough them up a bit". She suggested that if I don't top my baby up with a bottle, he will end up in the neonatal unit and they will give him formula.

When I highlighted that my baby had only lost 3oz since birth - surely that would indicate he is feeding, she could not answer me. This level of misinformation and divulgence of information to vulnerable mothers is not okay. None of this information was backed by evidence and it is only with the privilege of being a health care professional that I was able to question the information being given to me.

My second little boy was born on spires. My first little boy was under investigation for a genetic disease that if my second had, he could die in the first few days of life. The genetic disease meant that I would be unable to breast feed my second because breast milk contains fatty acids that the baby may not be able to use for energy.

With this in mind, no one wanted to claim us. The midwives appropriately referred us to foetal medicine who essentially said that as it was under investigation with the children's team, they were not going to see us. This is with the knowledge that the genetic disease could kill my baby in the first few days of life.

My baby fortunately was born healthy. I have to say the midwife who was providing my antenatal care was fantastic and kept me completely in the know.

Each of these situations I believe show a lack of education and a lack of standardised care across the board.