Breastfeeding mum told to use cupboard

Jan 29 2009 by Gary Fanning, Hamilton Advertiser

A FURIOUS mum who had miracle twins this week hit out after she had to breastfeed her babies – in a hospital store cupboard.

Miriam Gwynne (32), of Hillhouse Road, Hamilton, was attending a routine check-up for her four-month-old children at Wishaw General’s neo-natal outpatient department last Tuesday.

The babies - named Isaac and Naomi and born 6lbs1oz and 4lbs11ozs respectively at Wishaw General Maternity Unit - were hungry after they arrived at the clinic.

Miriam asked a doctor for somewhere to go to breastfeed her twins.

A nurse showed Miriam to a store cupboard, placed a chair in the small room and closed the door for her to get on with the breastfeeding.

Miriam told the Advertiser: “I am absolutely disgusted by this.

“The cupboard was full of needles, linen and everything else.

“It wasn’t appropriate for the hospital to send me there to breast feed.

“While I was breastfeeding, nurses were walking in and out of the store cupboard.

“I had no privacy.

“The whole situation was ridiculous.”

Miriam said that when her babies were born at Wishaw General Hospital,midwives had encouraged her to breastfeed.

She added: “When I returned to the hospital with my twins, there were no facilities available for me to breastfeed them.

“I am utterly appalled.”

Miriam was told that she would never be able to have children and she was overjoyed when the twins were born.

She had been trying for a baby for 10 years without success.

As a last resort, Miriam and her husband Nigel (51), who works as lollipop man outside John Ogilvie High, decided to try IVF treatment at Glasgow’s Royal Infirmary.

But they didn’t hold much hope at the time as they were told there would be a less than one per cent chance of success that the treatment would work.

Miriam added: “It worked first time.

“My pregnancy was straightforward. I went slightly over the due date – 37 weeks and five days.

“Other than a bit of morning sickness, there were no complications.”

An NHS Lanarkshire spokesman said: “Wishaw General has two dedicated rooms for breastfeeding, one located within the neo-natal unit and a second in the hospital’s ward 23.

“Both are available for all staff, patients and visitors to use and are fully equipped to allow women to breastfeed in comfort.

“It is therefore extremely disappointing that in this instance we failed to meet these standards.

“We would encourage anyone who feels NHS Lanarkshire’s standard of care has fallen below the level they expect, to contact us directly so that we can investigate the matter.”