Dragon lady revisted :(

Today Fox and I were driving in our old haunt (the suburb and hospital will be kept anonymous to protect them).. lets just say I was on Canterbury Road...

I was doing the usual "soon we will be near the place where you were born.... here it comes, this building coming up is the hospital where you were born..."

Suddenly I thought, why not go in?

Just minutes later and Fox and I were inside the hospital corridors and standing at the birth unit counter. I felt puzzled. My birth had been a haze of fear and tension (I did not have the knowledge of HypnoBirthing then), my memory couldn't work out what door led to what rooms, I just wanted to be able to point to a room and say "that is where you were born".

That's when I knew I would have to ask a question at the counter.

But at the counter I had already identified .. da da da ... THE DRAGON LADY!...

You see, when you check in at this hospital, you do not get met with a "Hi, welcome, congratulations on your pregnancy.. "

No, you get a snide, belittling lecture about 'something' and a distasteful look or two. You get treated like a fool and like a bother.

I was treated like that again today!!

As I peaked through the back of her office and meekly suggested that it would have been nice to pop my head and point out a birth room, I was told you could "only do that if you are giving birth".(and she snarled)

I didn't bother to let her know that at other hospitals - where staff are caring, nice and helpful - women and even children, are able to be invited for a quick look into the birthing unit, for one valid reason or another.

Instead I just walked away realising how much that unhappy, mean, bully affected my birthing experience. I remembered the first time I ever entered the hospital. I had announced happily to her that "I was pregnant " and she paid me out for attending the hospital so early in my pregnancy. I  received extremely inaccurate information about HypnoBirthing from the midwives at that same hospital and it actually deterred me from utilising the excellent method.

As we drove away I told Fox that "next time we will sneak in the other side of the hospital corridors and have a peak at the room where we had our first ever breastfeeding experience".

He smiled happily.

Nat :)