Back in January I wrote a fairly emotional blog post about how I almost missed Danger’s* birth. To summarise that original post, I was unceremoniously booted out the delivery ward when visiting hours finished, which also happened to be half an hour after wifey had been induced. It was a long drive home in a bitterly cold January and basically I got home only to leave immediately because her labour was suddenly very advanced. I wasn’t there for my wife during her labour and only managed to get into the suite just as the little fellas arm came out- this definitely wasn’t part of our birth plan.
Today I got a really long comment from the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust which you can read in full here.
The paragraph that stood out to me specifically were:
Back in January, we agreed with you that your experience of not being allowed to stay with your wife overnight at the Lister’s maternity unit was not acceptable. Thanks to your feedback, this led to the unit’s policies being changed.
I’m not about to puff out my chest and strut around saying I got the situation changed for future parents because I’m sure I wasn’t the first or last person to complain but I do think it is worth highlighting that unless you make a stand, nothing will ever change. Add your voice to any existing voices out there, or be the first one to say something; if it’s an issue, others will join you.
*it’s his middle name.