Share review of Leeds General Infirmary

Leeds General Infirmary 2017-04-09 Person 1 5 0

My experience of the post-natal ward was a negative one in many respects. - Cleanliness - I was in hospital for 4 days and my sheets were not changed. There was blood on my sheets from the first night and I was not offered a change, I did not sleep inside the bed for this reason. - Hygiene – I had to ask to use the shower, this was not suggested or recommended. I was too tired to do this proactively over the first couple of days but I feel I should have been encouraged daily. My stitches were infected once I left hospital & I feel this could have been avoided by more showering in the early days in hospital. - Decisions & information- I was not involved and barely consulted about the discharge plans. I had to repeatedly ask about discharge & decisions had been made about us and we were told we were staying another night on 2 occasions but quite late in the day. This caused me to feel totally helpless and by the 4th day I would have discharged myself if they had not agreed to a discharge. I was not told that my baby's respiratory rate had dropped, I found out when a Paediatrician visited our cubicle which was a shock. A HCA must have reported that my baby was slightly Jaundice but I did not know this until later that day when a midwife mentioned it. - Breastfeeding – The way breastfeeding was broached overall made the whole breastfeeding experience a negative one for me & contributed to breastfeeding being short-lived. Breastfeeding is forcefully pushed which totally overshadowed my enjoyment and appreciation of having a new baby. My baby struggled to latch on thus did not feed well and lost 9.5% of birth weight quite quickly, a simple suggestion of nipple shields would have resolved the issue but this suggestion was not made. Midwives repeatedly said ‘everyone can breastfeed’ – I really do not think they should say this as it is simply not true. I physically could not breastfeed without the aid of nipple shields but I listened to the midwives which made me feel like a failure. I was supported by 2 fantastic Student Midwives – MOLLY AND ANNA. I cannot speak of them highly enough! They were great but they simply did not have time to help me like I needed, they were rushed off their feet. On the 2nd night my baby was constantly screaming (I think she was starving in hindsight) and I called for assistance as I was really concerned. A lady (I think a HCA) attended and flippantly said ‘ well you need to feed her love’ – this is not what I needed since I would have loved to have been able to feed my baby successfully! I explained the feeding issues & she said ‘I don’t know what else to say love.’ I didn’t buzz again that evening and instead sat sobbing alone in my cubicle with my baby screaming. No one came to see me until early morning. By the 3rd night a midwife promised INTENSE breastfeeding support to progress the situation. Intense support entailed one visit where the midwife helped me feed successfully and then left me to it all night. When I was unable to feed midwives promoted skin to skin contact, we did this but then the midwives would not return for hours and I was laid with baby on me unable to move or sleep. Due to my birthing injuries I could not shuffle off the bed with baby to dress and place her back in her crib so I could sleep. It was impossible to put baby on the bed and shuffle off too, it was not safe. So many new mum’s have had a similar breastfeeding experience at LGI so I know I am not an isolated case. I was discharged with midwives knowing I had only breastfed my baby once independently. When I got home I immediately gave baby formula since I did not have a great milk supply and she would not breastfeed, my child was starving! She immediately settled having had formula. - Dignity and respect – One Midwife Apprentice answered my call and assured me that we would resolve the breastfeeding issues and I would be able to go home. I wanted to believe her so I trusted her confidence – please note she was pleasant in her manner throughout, her attitude was not the issue. She proceeded to ‘manhandle’ me and my baby and we did not successfully breastfeed. I was in a vulnerable state and allowed her to treat me in this way as I just wanted to be able to feed my baby & then go home. The Apprentice bruised my breasts which was observed by a Student Midwife who I believe reported this back to my Midwife. They said they would speak to her manager and address the way she had behaved. If I have another child, I would consider going to another hospital because of the poor post-natal care I received.