Mum felt ‘like an animal’ after birth in hospital

A maternal mental health expert is calling for the Government to bolster funding and support for new mothers giving birth under lockdown.

This comes after a Porirua woman told MPs on the epidemic response committee yesterday she felt ‘‘like an animal’’ after giving birth in Wellington Hospital a month ago.

Rebekah Burgess, 39, became a first-time mum to a baby girl but was left traumatised after losing her midwife before the birth, and the support of her partner afterwards. Hospitals have a no-visitor policy during the lockdown, but women are allowed a support person during labour, and up to two hours after birth.

‘‘My biggest fear was being left alone after birth with a newborn I can’t take care of,’’ she told the committee.

Kristina Paterson, from Mothers Helpers, an organisation that works to prevent perinatal depression and anxiety, said there would be many more women with similar stories to Burgess’.

‘‘There are 6000 women who have given birth under lockdown and to this day I am not sure what [support] is being offered to them.

‘‘We are very aware giving birth under the circumstances of a pandemic is likely to increase birth trauma. We are starting to see increases in women saying they had a traumatic birth in lockdown,’’ she said. ‘‘The Government has dropped the ball on this.’’

She called for more support for maternal mental health services and consistency in approaches to visitor policy across district health boards.

Burgess had planned for an athome water birth but her midwife pulled out. She found another midwife at short notice but had to go to the hospital to be induced after her waters broke.

‘‘I was terrified to go to Wellington

Rebekah Burgess

Hospital because I knew my one support would be taken away,’’ she said.

What happened next made her ‘‘feel like an animal’’.

‘‘Shortly after Trinity was ripped out of me, my partner was also ripped away. At the most vulnerable time in my life, bleeding and sobbing, I was wheeled into the postnatal ward and there I received substandard care.

‘‘I asked for help from the midwife in the hospital with feeding, and she said there would be no midwife to help me at home, and I would need to do it myself.

‘‘I hadn’t been able to attend any breastfeeding classes before the virus hit.’’

The first two days of her daughter’s life were a blur. ‘‘I don’t know how many times I cried in the hospital. I resented Trinity as they wheeled us away from her dad. I didn’t want to touch her. These feelings passed when I discharged myself.’’

Her experience made her feel like she had no worth as a mother and wasn’t capable. ‘‘I am still angry and I feel like I never want to see another midwife again, or set foot inside a hospital.’’

Burgess called for consistency across the country around how long support people can stay.

Birthing rights and postnatal support should be safeguarded and include face-to-face meetings.

‘‘You can’t say, ‘look I am having this problem with breastfeeding [over the phone] and how do I do it’,’’ she said.

Capital & Coast DHB director of provider services Joy Farley said she was unable to comment on individual patients, but the novisitor policy was adopted under level 4. ‘‘We were concerned to hear of this woman’s experience. We invite her to contact us and . . . would be more than happy to meet with her to discuss her concerns.’’

The College of Midwives was concerned Burgess did not feel supported, chief executive Alison Eddy said. ‘‘We appreciate these are unusual times, but we would encourage any woman who has concerns about their maternity experience to contact the relevant DHB or the College of Midwives.’’

‘‘I don’t know how many times I cried in the hospital.’’