May 6-8, 2018 - I’m a young mom, went in due to leaking at 39 weeks 1 day, they told me I peed myself - I assure you all I didn’t - and they sent me home still leaking. I woke up to a giant gush of coloured fluid on the 7th, blood and definitely the baby’s first poop. I rushed to hospital where they immediately put me in the birthing room, I was told not to moan or “yell”. I wasn’t even swearing, just a nice cow-like moan. The nurse told me I was scaring and stressing everyone out as if they were the ones in labour. The gave me four failed epidurals and continued to give me drugs when I asked them to stop and said I didn’t consent. They told me to suck up the pain that the medication was causing as she was pushing a whole needle of still unknown medication in my IV, it felt like I was going to have a heart attack. My mom started yelling at her to stop as she said I looked like it was killing me. They had me lying flat on my back unable to move or drink for 30 hours steadily leaking poop-filled fluid. After almost 2 days in bed lying flat in labour and they finally said it’s time for an emergency c-section as mine and my baby’s heart rate were dropping fast. The spinal block didn’t take and I remember screaming, “Put me to sleep please help me!” The pain I remember from that moment is traumatic. I woke up to my lovely son and me in a decent state for what I’d just experienced. At his one week check-up, my doctor admitted they should have checked the baby’s position as he was locked in a weird position and it never would have been a vaginal delivery from the beginning. Also after birth my son didn’t eat for two days while I was there. Nobody helped me learn breastfeeding and they wouldn’t get me formula or help. They also didn’t help me learn the diapers. I was basically a 20 year old mother totally unprepared and unhelped (I’m lucky I had family to go home to).
My back is really bad now I have a huge swollen tailbone and nerve damage from the epidurals and surgery.
I was discriminated on being a young mom.
I wasn’t assisted in feeding.
I wasn’t brought lunch on multiple occasions.
I was told to be quiet.
I was asked if I was going to have help raising him as I’m very young
They told me to suck up the pain from the medication that I expressed I didn’t want and I told the nurse to stop giving me it, she didn’t listen until my mom intervened.
I have a history of mental health and I was asked multiple times if I feel confident I’m not going to hurt him.
I didn’t give feedback, but my fiancé did. I don’t even know what he wrote I was terrified to tell anyone what was happening to me (staff, doctors, etc.)
DON’T GIVE BIRTH HERE if you’re a teen/young adult.
Make sure you DEMAND help breastfeeding or for formula.
I cry every time I think about my experience and how I was treated less-than because I am a young mom.
Submitted by Youngmominthegutter
