This petition is important to us because our experience exposed what we believe are serious systemic issues within hospital maternity care, including understaffing, delayed intervention, poor communication with patients, and inadequate postnatal support. After a scheduled induction was cancelled due to the hospital being too busy, my wife went into prolonged labour lasting more than 45 hours before an emergency caesarean was finally performed. Throughout this process, we felt there was an overreliance on exhausted patients to recognise when medical intervention may be needed, despite families having no medical training and depending entirely on healthcare professionals for guidance and care.

Following the birth, our daughter required NICU treatment while my wife was recovering from major surgery after days of labour. Despite this, we were discharged significantly earlier than the hospital’s own recommended recovery timeframe following a caesarean because beds were urgently needed. We were then expected to repeatedly travel back and forth to the hospital to care for and feed our newborn while still in the middle of physical recovery and severe exhaustion. While compassionate staff members did what they could to help, it highlighted the strain being placed on both families and healthcare workers within an overstretched system.

We know our story is not unique. Too many families are experiencing delayed care, inadequate communication, rushed discharges, and insufficient support during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. This petition is about pushing for safer staffing levels, better patient communication, improved escalation procedures during prolonged labour, and ensuring families recovering from traumatic births and NICU admissions receive the care and support they genuinely need.