I started a new job this week as an administrator in the same maternity department that Eden was born in. A week in, I wanted to look back on last time I was here and how different it all looks from an employee perspective.
First of all, I’ve actually had chance to appreciate how busy this department actually is! It gets like Piccadilly Circus at times and I really now appreciate how great a job everyone does keeping everything running smoothly. Despite how much is going on, the department mostly feels calm and welcoming. There were thirty-two babies born here on the day Eden was born – THIRTY TWO! That’s a lot of small humans. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fairly big department with over twenty birthing “suites” available, but thirty two babies in one day seems a sizeable number to me. Particularly when you factor in that they would need postnatal care as well as all the other support associated with having a new small human.
Last time I was here, it was all a bit of a whirlwind. I don’t actually remember coming across an administration member of staff during my two night stay, but I almost certainly did whilst being transferred from place to place. I didn’t notice the signs on the walls and the flurry of people coming and going. I didn’t notice how secure the department is and how hard everyone works to keep new babies and their parents safe. I didn’t notice the sheer variety of people from different cultures. religions and backgrounds that use the department and work in it too. I mean, I didn’t notice these things because I was a little preoccupied, but it’s interesting to notice them now.
I spoke to a lady the other day who had been sent down to be checked over because her BP was high, and as I spoke to her and saw the fear in her eyes, I remembered that feeling. I’ve spoken to many ladies coming in with reduced movements. I remember that fear and then the relief when Eden was ok. Obviously I can’t promise the same relief, but I can understand the fear to a point. I’ve been there. I feel like I’ve come into this role more able to connect to women using the department. I’m not a clinician. I’m not a medical professional. I am an administrator. However I like to think everyone is important in the patient “journey” and I take my role very seriously. I’m learning new things every day here.
It’s weird. It’s weird to be back in the place that made Amy and I parents. It’s weird to see the faces who helped bring Eden into the world and it’s weird to be in the thick of it, being part of what makes the department great. It’s also weird to be right in the thick of the stuff that makes our NHS one of the best healthcare systems in the world.
But good weird…
If you want to go back in time and read Our Birth Story, you can by Clicking Here. Yeah, we do time travel here too!
(Forgive me if this is a little rambly! This was written at 0442am on a Tuesday!)
Papa, Eden & Me 
I remember reading Eden’s birth story when your first published it. And I can sort of relate to that feeling of going back to the place where it all started (but only for an afternoon) because we were in the ER yesterday for a minor swallowing a foreign object incident. I walked through those halls leading up to triage and felt so much nostalgia… It must feel extra cool to be a part of the institution that helped bring you Eden!
It’s a weird feeling isn’t it? I’ve worked in the same building since before we had Eden, but being in the specific dept is definitely bizarre