Mum Breaks Leg When Forced to Walk After Labour While Still Numb

NZ Mum left with a broken leg claims a nurse forced her to walk soon after she gave birth to her first child while still feeling numb.

The 27-year-old had given birth to her son in the late afternoon, after having an epidural at midday.

Her midwife at the time stayed with the new mum until 9.30pm, before handing her care over to a staff nurse with the instruction she could be transferred to a maternity care centre after she had regained feeling in her numb right leg.

However Shina claims the nurse soon made her get up, despite her protests.

“Once the midwife left, the staff nurse, she started forcing me to walk,” Shina told the Herald on Sunday.

“She asked me to go and have my shower so I tried to get off the bed but I fell halfway. My family was over so they helped me. They were so angry they made me sit on the chair and sponged me.”

The mum was then told around midnight that the ward was full and she needed to vacate the bed.

Despite her requests for a wheelchair, Shina wasn’t provided one and she fell as her family attempted to help her walk to her car, breaking her leg – which she admits she couldn’t even feel, because it was still numb.

The new mum was taken back into the maternity ward, and later underwent surgery to have a rod inserted into her leg.

Gosh what a horrible experience. That poor mum!

Share your comments below.

17 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 15 Jun 2022
    1:38 pm
OMG this poor sweetheart. what a horrible experience.

- - P&M'smum said
  - 23 Apr 2019
    11:25 pm
How terrible for her and the family. Certainly not how you’d want start new motherhood.

- - mom101628 said
  - 15 Jul 2018
    10:28 pm
Such a bad experience – my husband had to have an epidural and it took over three months before he was over the pain and numbness from it. My opinion – avoid like the plague if you possibly can.

- - ella12 said
  - 24 Apr 2018
    3:51 pm
That is just awful, she deserved better care.

- - rovermum said
  - 21 Mar 2018
    9:58 am
OMG, you poor thing. I was given a number of doses of epidural and ende dup being so numb it didn’t wear off until a good 5 hours after the birth. I remember getting up to try and have a shower and feeling nauseous and unsteady so had to get back into the bed until I could do it safely. What a horrible way to start the journey with your newborn. So unavoidable, preventable, careless and uncaring.

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 21 Mar 2018
    9:25 am
This is terrible and just shouldn’t happen whether you go public or not. Everyone deserves the same level of care and I must say that even though I went public I never had to experience anything like this and everyone was lovely. Although, with my first birth there was one nurse who was a bit nasty and old fashioned and told me I should have woken my daughter up to feed her. I was later backed by my midwife on that one though. But other than that, no dramas whatsoever.

- - Saffron said
  - 17 Mar 2018
    2:59 pm
This is terrible and unfortunately, the attitude coming from the medical profession towards patients in hospitals these days is appalling. I hope Shina made a long, loud complaint to the hospital and the medical board and has a compensation lawyer lined up just in case. Not a great start at all for mum and her baby.

- - mom93821 said
  - 17 Mar 2018
    9:21 am
Just dreadful – the poor woman! I remember only too well the numbness after epidurals.

- - Ellen said
  - 17 Mar 2018
    3:48 am
That one big major error by that staff nurse !

- - nealsq said
  - 16 Mar 2018
    8:49 pm
she had major surgery at midday and they tried sending her home that night? Something doesn’t add up here or the healthcare system in NZ is very very different to ours in Australia

- - BellaB said
  - 16 Mar 2018
    7:42 pm
Nurses can be very insensitive to the needs of patients.

- - Mum2archer said
  - 16 Mar 2018
    7:04 pm
Oh the poor thing. Such a happy time in her life tainted now due to the poor care she was given. Her first weeks as a new mum will be so much harder now. Hope she makes a fast recovery
- mom93821 replied
  
  18 Mar 2018 , 7:29 pm
  It is absolutely dreadful and I hope she makes a rapid recovery too – it should be such a special time.
- - ashna9 said
  - 16 Mar 2018
    4:49 pm
What dreadful care. I hope the hospital are paying some damages and helping this mother care for her new born with limited movement.

- - mom90758 said
  - 16 Mar 2018
    3:30 pm
Because they had to vacate the bed? She had her child at midday and she was asked to take a shower the same evening? That was quite unnecessary I think. That nurse surely needs to answer some questions.

- - mom206279 said
  - 16 Mar 2018
    3:29 pm
Sadly it doesn’t surprise me at all. Some nurses genuinely believe things like “have to be cruel to be kind” and stuff and really put people in danger.

- - mom81879 said
  - 16 Mar 2018
    1:57 pm
Such a shockingly horrible experience! I remember bring stitched up after my second baby and the anaesthetic hadn’t had long enough to work so I could feel the stitches. I never spoke up tho. Way too many women don’t speak up in these situations and they should, loud enough to be heard. I regret my silence