Nancy's Birth Experience at Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz
Updated: May 20, 2021
Today I'm sharing another first-hand birth experience from a mom who gave birth here in Madrid. My goal with this series is to offer unfiltered, raw stories straight from other moms here in Madrid. It also gives us an anecdotal peek into different hospitals and the variety of possible experiences.
Content Warning - if you prefer to read only positive birth experiences, you may want to skip this one. Here at Madoula I do believe all experiences are valuable and I share all kinds of experiences, but I like to let you know if you're pregnant and avoiding difficult stories, this one may not be for you.
Nancy* chose Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz in 2018 due to its proximity to her in-laws home for childcare.
Nancy's Story:
The hospital indicated that they supported natural labor/delivery, but I did not find that to be the actual case. I was hoping for a natural labor/birth and found the hospital to be anything, but supportive. It was a terrible experience with the midwife. She was aggressive, rude, and insulting because I preferred a natural labor and birth rather than accepting her interventions. It seemed to me that my choices didn't fit in her schedule of having all the babies born before her shift ended in the mid morning.
I wanted to stand up and move around during active labor, but I had on a monitor around my belly and it would move when I moved and the midwife didn't like that she had to come in and check on me/baby and she told me to be still and that I was risking the health and well being of my baby which was totally false. I was so exhausted by her antics and felt so unsupported and her constant inquiry about if I wanted an epidural that I gave in just at the end of my active labor, which I felt disappointed about afterwards.
The midwife swept my membranes in active labor as well. I will say, she was proficient at positioning and maneuvering my body/legs to help the baby come out easier during the pushing phase which lasted 10min or so. Overall, it was a terrible experience. I was lucky to not have an episiotomy and the baby was healthy.
It's a fine hospital if you don't mind interventions-epidurals/c-sections, follow the instructions of the midwifes and don't ask questions.
Did you feel supported in your chosen method of feeding your baby?
Yes, my post delivery care was excellent from the nurses. They came in during the night to help me with the baby attaching better for breastfeeding and they gave me tips and were so lovely, kind, patient, thoughtful.
Wishing a warm thank you to Nancy for sharing this experience with us. Name changed for privacy.
If you'd like to share your birth story in Madrid (hospital or home birth!), please do so here.
Giving birth in Madrid or a new mom in Madrid? Looking for support on the wild ride called parenthood?
Look no further - book a free discovery call with me (Madison - doula in Madrid) today and let's chat about how together we can work to make your experience a positive one!