New mum Lucy praises 'amazing' maternity team at Queen's Hospital Burton
A new mother has praised her colleagues at Queen’s Hospital Burton for making the birth of her first child as easy as possible, despite him being born in the midst of the COVID pandemic.
28-year-old Lucy Harrison said giving birth to her son, Archie, was as normal as she would have expected and paid testament to the staff who showed her great kindness and compassion.
Lucy, who is a surgical Nurse in the Treatment Centre at Queen’s Hospital, said: “I had a good pregnancy and everything was normal apart from the usual anxieties that come with having your first child.
“Then, just before lockdown started and I was at around 33 week’s term, I had to self-isolate for a week as I had COVID symptoms. Because of this and how far along I was, I didn’t end up going back to work and so I couldn’t say goodbye to all of my colleagues which was hard for me.
“It was also a little sad that I’ve missed out on baby showers and all the other things that come with being in your third trimester due to the pandemic, and it was already a scary time because of everything that was going on in the world and in the hospital.”
Lucy also explained that there was a worry that her husband, Josh, wouldn’t be able to with her during labour due to visiting restrictions, but these fears were allayed by staff prior to Archie’s birth.
Lucy, from Tamworth, added: “That was really important to me, it was a massive deal to be able to have Josh present at the birth.”
With Lucy five days past her due date, her midwife sent her to Queen’s Hospital on 16 May with the plan to induce her on 18 May, but at 3pm on Sunday 17 May, baby Archie was born.
Lucy said: “The midwives were just so lovely and kind. They had their PPE on but other than that, you would never have known that I was giving birth during a pandemic. Nothing was different.
“I was in labour for 14 hours and the staff were brilliant. I know what it’s like to wear some PPE for far shorter periods of time, so for them to wear that for so long without moaning, appearing even slightly flustered or uncomfortable at really put me at ease and they got me through the birth.
“The whole experience was amazing.”
Archie weighed in at 7lbs 15oz and mum and baby were discharged home on the same day.
Lorraine Purcell, Head of Midwifery at UHDB, said: “We know that it has been an uncertain time for new and expectant mums during the pandemic, so it is extremely heart-warming to hear that Lucy had such a positive experience with our team at Queen’s Hospital Burton.
“Our maternity teams across the Trust have worked hard to ensure that mothers and babies have received a safe, positive birth experience so Lucy’s words will be very reassuring.”
Lucy said that she chose to give birth in Burton after hearing such good things from friends and colleagues about the maternity team, and is extremely grateful to the team who helped bring Archie into the world:
“Despite driving nearly 30 miles to get there during labour, which didn’t seem like a great idea at the time, I’m so glad I chose to have Archie at Queen’s Hospital!
“I just want to say a massive thank you to all of the team, especially Deb Pullen, Rachel Machin, Claire Prince and Amelia Jennings.
“They’ve made something really scary into something really positive.”