Maisy Flint-Foster
May 2022
Maisy
Flint-Foster
,
RM
St James's Delivery Suite
Leeds Teaching Hospitals St James's University Hospital
Leeds
,
West Yorkshire
United Kingdom
Maisy took care to calmly explain everything to me ahead of time and answered all of my questions. I felt really listened to and empowered.
Maisy was our midwife when I was in labour and delivering our son. I am moderately deaf and autistic, so have additional needs that needed to be met during my time at the hospital. Maisy was incredible - she really took the time to understand me and how to best communicate with me and keep me comfortable. She was also really great working alongside my wife (who is also my carer) and made sure that she was taken care of too (as I was induced we had already been in hospital for a day before we went to the delivery suite. When Maisy heard that we’d already been awake for 24 hours, she found my wife a fold-out bed so she could rest and be better prepared to support me in later labour).
She also made sure to explain to each professional who came into the room about my needs and took the time to explain to me who everyone was. She also took care to calmly explain everything to me ahead of time and answered all of my questions. I felt really listened to and empowered. She was also really patient when I asked the same questions more than once because I hadn’t processed the answer the first time around. She was really considerate of my sensory needs, took them seriously and understood the distress they could cause, and helped to think of alternatives when possible.
When it came to the actual delivery, she trusted me when I said I knew when to push (despite the epidural) and allowed me to take the lead with pushing, which helped me to feel really in control - something I had never expected to feel, but something that’s so important for me. When my leg began to cramp when I was pushing and I started to panic, she instantly started massaging the muscle to relax the cramp. She also stayed after the end of her shift to see our son be born and finish the journey with us (her shift ended at 7.30, but he wasn’t born until 7.48). She was incredible throughout and helped me to have a labour and birth experience that I feel very proud of. I had expected to feel scared and traumatised, but instead, I felt empowered and in control.
She also made sure to explain to each professional who came into the room about my needs and took the time to explain to me who everyone was. She also took care to calmly explain everything to me ahead of time and answered all of my questions. I felt really listened to and empowered. She was also really patient when I asked the same questions more than once because I hadn’t processed the answer the first time around. She was really considerate of my sensory needs, took them seriously and understood the distress they could cause, and helped to think of alternatives when possible.
When it came to the actual delivery, she trusted me when I said I knew when to push (despite the epidural) and allowed me to take the lead with pushing, which helped me to feel really in control - something I had never expected to feel, but something that’s so important for me. When my leg began to cramp when I was pushing and I started to panic, she instantly started massaging the muscle to relax the cramp. She also stayed after the end of her shift to see our son be born and finish the journey with us (her shift ended at 7.30, but he wasn’t born until 7.48). She was incredible throughout and helped me to have a labour and birth experience that I feel very proud of. I had expected to feel scared and traumatised, but instead, I felt empowered and in control.