Your say / Health
‘My experience giving birth at St Michael’s’
Bristol24/7 Books Editor Joanna Papageorgiou gave birth in St Michael’s Hospital last month. As the city comes to term with the death of Charlotte Bevan, who walked out of the same hospital with her newborn baby, Joanna writes about her own experience in the maternity ward and why mother and baby staying safe is always staff’s number one priority.
The CCTV images of Charlotte Bevan walking out of St Michael’s Hospital while holding her tiny four-day-old baby daughter seem both foreign and very familiar to me.
She walked out on my due date but it was my daughter’s early arrival by three weeks which meant we probably shared the same ward for mothers who need extra care.
We weren’t there at the same time but we shared the same space at the hospital and maybe a lot of the same staff.
There were four beds to a room and I saw up to 10 different members of staff including doctors, midwives, students and nurses.
We needed extra care and while for me it was physical, one woman opposite me had help to figure out how best to get somewhere safe since she was having problems with her boyfriend. The midwife sat and guided her at least three times during the day.
My daughter Lois and I were checked every two hours for physical issues as were the remaining two women in there. Midwives visited day and night and it was hard to sleep even past lights out because they would be chatting or talking to patients.
During visiting hours, the threats felt external rather than health-related. Friends and family seemed to be everywhere and the security was in place to protect all patients including babies.
At night you could briefly leave your child to go to the bathroom but I would never have done so during the day.
Hormones, love and every core instinct as a mother make separation from your baby a physically stressful event. I understand completely why Charlotte took Zaani Tiana with her on Tuesday evening.
Leaving St Michael’s consists of following protocol and a whole host of checks and tests before you can be discharged.
When Lois’ new godfather came to drive us back home, we weren’t allowed to even leave the maternity ward until the car seat had been checked and adjusted by the midwife in charge.
The rules are for the safety of babies and mothers. I didn’t question any of them because there was no reason to do anything but follow procedure.
Getting in to the maternity ward at St Michael’s Hospital is not the easiest and after hours, it’s impossible. To get out though, all you need to do is press a button and keep walking.
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