2021 - This was the summer I had an emergency Caesarean at the Montfort Hospital. My care was terrible and I called and spoke to France Morin, Director of Clinical Services, in January 2022 to provide her feedback. She took my call and told me she would investigate my experience and get back to me. She also told me she would have her colleague contact me as she felt I was suffering from postpartum depression. She never called me back and her colleague never reached out to me.
I was being followed by Dr. Palerme and this was my first child. First, I was pressured to have the induction that I clearly stated I did not want. Dr. Palerme treated me completely differently after she learned I was 40 at 40 weeks. She did not know my age prior to that and told me she missed it. She told me that the rule of thumb was 40 at 40 weeks regardless of the fact that I had absolutely no birthing signs and this was my first child. Please note I was only 40 years old for 6 weeks of the pregnancy and that was completely disregarded. She pressured me by telling me that I was doing my baby harm. I became a statistic and she no longer treated me according to what she observed. I reluctantly agreed to have the induction - Cervidil - which resulted in a drop in my baby’s heart rate and an emergency Cesarean.
Second, I was supposed to have a private room for the birth and for recovery. The Montfort staff assured me I had a private room which was not the case for my recovery and no one knew why. Complete mismanagement and everyone I asked was confused and needed to ask someone else who never showed up.
I was also told I would have a dedicated nurse. I had about 6 different nurses in about 10 hours. My nurse was nowhere to be found. Again if you can’t provide care then do not accept patients because there are other hospitals that can provide care.
As my labour progressed blood dripped in the bathroom and floor. When the nurse finally checked in, she simply stepped all over it and walked away leaving the room absolutely disgusting. She offered a morphine shot for my labour but I had a reaction and when my husband told her it’s not working she simply shrugged and told him it can happen sometimes and left. She was completely not present.
My epidural didn’t work because it was given too late because I was not followed by anyone in particular. They gave me the epidural when my contractions were coming in at 2 mins apart. I met the doctor when they told me I needed a C-section to ensure the safety of my child.
I was NEVER notified that my water broke. I found out that my water had indeed broken at my check in with Dr. Palerme. I asked more than once when I was in labour and no one could give me an answer.
I was left completely alone to labour at night with my husband. We had no care and no guidance. It was extremely painful and for this reason I was not given the epidural because no one knew if I had dialated or not. I had an amateur nurse check me and then tell me she could not find my cervix. She then disappeared and never returned. By the time I was checked, I had already dilated too far and the epidural did not take.
Shortly after I met Dr. Gravelle for the first time who strongly recommended that I have a C-section as the baby’s heartbeat was dropping out of pattern. We agreed to the C-section but the staff was a complete mess. They misplaced my papers to sign and the doctor had to yell at them to find them. Second, they had no idea what they were doing - one of them told my husband he had to pack up the room cause they needed it - this is the middle of my labour while they were trying to wheel me out to the operating room. Another nurse came in and asked him what he was doing which he told her he was packing as per instructions given. She told him to get dressed in scrubs and someone else will take care of your belongings.
I kept passing out and finally a baby arrived. I was wheeled into a recovery room. Only follow up was from the anesthesiologist who passed by and said 'you did great' and did not enter the room. No briefing from Dr. Gravelle or the other doctor on site. You cannot operate on my body like I’m not human and treat me like I’m not human. I deserve to know what happened and if this is part of procedures then it needs to be changed. Clearly the hospital procedures do not in any shape or form consider the life of the mother. I was treated as a human shell and shortly discarded.
Recovery room. I shared it with someone else. Blood on the bathroom floor. It was beyond filthy and no one cleaned it up.
No after care instructions. They did not tell me that you need to hold your abdomen so the stitches do not tear open from coughing or sneezing, or to get up you need to use your hands to reduce the contracting of the abdomen. No care was provided whatsoever- only minimal.
We asked to be discharged early with the midwife program and were approved so that my mom could look after me. The doctor that discharged us did not provide me with any pain medication besides regular strength advil and Tylenol. This I'm certain contributed to my postpartum. I could not move in any shape or form for the first 5 days without immense pain. Thank you Montfort for not taking care of me. Pain management should be a part of your care after major abdominal surgery.
The worst is that the nurse who helped us exit the hospital refused to wait with me and my newborn baby while my husband went to get the car. I asked her twice to wait with me as I was in a wheelchair and could not walk and she refused and said “this is as far as we go” this is absolutely disgusting and amounts to patient neglect. She left my baby on the concrete steps of Montfort in a carseat with me sitting next to her in a wheelchair - completely helpless. I asked her to get my phone from my suitcase in case I had an emergency and she provided me with my phone and left. If this is part of your procedures then it should be changed as it amounts to neglect. Who would leave a newborn baby without care outside on the steps of Montfort?
I also could not get an appointment with Dr. Palerme at six weeks and got one at 11 and then it was updated to 10 weeks after I complained. Absolutely unacceptable. Montfort hospital should not take patients if you have no capacity for care.
I regret my care at the Montfort hospital and I regret the care from Dr. Palerme who has no confidence in what the human body is capable of despite her being head of research and her extensive resume. Montfort hospital did not provide any care for the mother. The end goal is the baby and the mother is discarded.
I am sharing my experience in the hopes that you can influence policy and put in place procedures to ensure mothers are cared for and kept in a safe setting. The COVID policy where you can only have one person during your birth is wrong. I had to choose between my husband and my mother and while my husband did his best to look after me, my mother was the better option as I didn't have a nurse. I want to be heard and I want it to be known that the care provided was absolutely terrible. It is clear that the mother’s life simply does not matter at the Montfort hospital.
