Heartbeat July 2020
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Praise for maternity colleagues as<br />
Amy shares her story<br />
CORPORATE AND GENERAL<br />
NEWS<br />
Amy Village-Free joined the public<br />
Trust Board meeting on Thursday<br />
2 <strong>July</strong> along with her happy baby,<br />
Joey, to talk about her experiences<br />
of giving birth at City Hospital. Amy<br />
actually lives in Walsall but chose City<br />
as her maternity unit when she found<br />
out she was pregnant.<br />
Amy told Board members: "Although I<br />
am from Walsall, I receive my diabetes<br />
care at this Trust so knew this was<br />
where I wanted to give birth. I am a<br />
type 1 diabetic so understood the risks<br />
associated with pregnancy and felt I<br />
would be well looked after here.”<br />
“I had regular appointments with the<br />
maternity team and at my check-up at<br />
35 weeks, my baby was measuring large,<br />
which was a cause for concern. They<br />
basically said I wouldn’t be going home<br />
until I gave birth!<br />
“I can honestly say that everyone I<br />
came into contact with was absolutely<br />
wonderful. The care I received was<br />
brilliant. Being on M1 was like being on<br />
holiday – I was so well looked after.<br />
“There were a few scary moments and<br />
I had to have an emergency C-section<br />
in the end, which all happened pretty<br />
quickly, but even then I felt really safe and<br />
that I was in good hands.<br />
“Having baby Joey was amazing.<br />
Although quite traumatic because it was<br />
an emergency, I still think it was the best<br />
experience of my life.<br />
“My partner was able to stay with me as I<br />
was lucky enough to have my own room.<br />
That really helped.”<br />
Board members were able to ask Amy<br />
questions about her experience and<br />
asked whether she had good continuity<br />
of care from seeing the same staff. Amy<br />
was pleased that on the whole she was<br />
able to see the same clinicians.<br />
Amy continued, “I was told regularly<br />
at my diabetes checks that it would be<br />
a good idea to inform them if I was<br />
considering having a baby due so that<br />
I could be well prepared. I talked to<br />
my team for about two years before I<br />
became pregnant which helped me get<br />
ready and take the decision.”<br />
“I want to thank all the staff, everyone<br />
who supported me for the care they<br />
gave.”<br />
Amy with her partner Ben, and new arrival baby Joey on M1<br />
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