"Barnsley maternity"

I had my baby here in January and my experience wasn't as I'd hoped. When I got in during labour, I was taken straight to the assessment room where I was told what was going to happen rather than having someone explain to me that I had a choice with invasive exams etc. I was too far gone in my labour to articulate my wishes effectively and when my partner tried to get staff to look at my birth plan they said it wasnt needed yet.

The different midwife who was there when I gave birth was lovely despite quite a difficult birth however the care I recieved postnatally was not good. I was waiting over half an hour for assistance into the shower after birth with different staff members coming in and then leaving without explanation or assistance. Staff were not very respectful of privacy and at one point left the door wide open to go and fetch other staff members when I needed assistance in the toilet in the postnatal ward. I had some intimate issues that were not dealt with in a sensitive way. I saw too many different members of staff and felt like I was a burden being passed along a conveyor belt. I felt like I kept having to explain myself and my needs to different people. I had been crying when my partner wasn't there to offer support and none of the staff members who saw me showed concern. I was left feeling vulnerable and upset and a bit scared at times and felt I couldn't stay on the ward so went home earlier than I had wanted. It took a long time for me to feel I was recovering mentally after the birth of my baby and my very short stay on the postnatal ward definitely didn't help.