Heartbeat: Praise for maternity colleagues as Amy shares her story

August 20, 2020

Amy Village-Free joined the public Trust Board meeting on Thursday 2 July along with her happy baby, Joey, to talk about her experiences of giving birth at City Hospital. Amy actually lives in Walsall but chose City as her maternity unit when she found out she was pregnant.

Amy told Board members: “Although I am from Walsall, I receive my diabetes care at this Trust so knew this was where I wanted to give birth. I am a type 1 diabetic so understood the risks associated with pregnancy and felt I would be well looked after here.”

“I had regular appointments with the maternity team and at my check-up at 35 weeks, my baby was measuring large, which was a cause for concern. They basically said I wouldn’t be going home until I gave birth!

“I can honestly say that everyone I came into contact with was absolutely wonderful. The care I received was brilliant. Being on M1 was like being on holiday – I was so well looked after.

“There were a few scary moments and I had to have an emergency C-section in the end, which all happened pretty quickly, but even then I felt really safe and that I was in good hands.

“Having baby Joey was amazing. Although quite traumatic because it was an emergency, I still think it was the best experience of my life.

“My partner was able to stay with me as I was lucky enough to have my own room. That really helped.”

Board members were able to ask Amy questions about her experience and asked whether she had good continuity of care from seeing the same staff. Amy was pleased that on the whole she was able to see the same clinicians.

Amy continued, “I was told regularly at my diabetes checks that it would be a good idea to inform them if I was considering having a baby due so that I could be well prepared. I talked to my team for about two years before I became pregnant which helped me get ready and take the decision.”

“I want to thank all the staff, everyone who supported me for the care they gave.”