Do I need my hospital notes for a birth debrief?
The real answer is: only if it would be supportive to you.
You don’t need your notes to have a debrief – you recounting your experience is more than enough. If you don’t feel the need, then you don’t need them - as simple as that.
If you have any gaps in your memory or dots that need connecting, having your notes can be really helpful to do this. Trauma can fragment your memory, as can a really long labour on top of sleep deprivation so having those pieces of the puzzle put back together can be really helpful for your healing journey.
If you feel like there was an issue that warrants a complaint, then having your notes is extremely helpful to be able to report on events or even to detect any discrepancies.
If the thought of requesting your notes makes you feel sick, then don’t. But if you feel like you might need them at some point, then having a debrief first can help to take the emotional charge out of it to be able to then go through your notes after to help with further clarification or to then go on to make a complaint.
If you want assistance to go through your notes – to interpret medical jargon and birth lingo, I am happy to go through your notes either through a debrief or in a follow-up session.
If you’re considering writing a complaint but want some help to do this, I also have this option to book in a follow-up session and go through your notes with a fine-tooth comb to help you to write the complaint.
*Side-note on complaints though* - be mindful of the outcome you are hoping for. If it is to use your voice and to speak up, then the process can be quite helpful to do this. The response will probably not be what you are hoping for though. You might get a non-specific apology or an acknowledgement, but you will unlikely get an admission of guilt which can feel really unsatisfying. If this is what you would hope for, it might not be your complaint that does it, or the next dozen, but the more complaints they get the more they have to really start paying attention. So adding your voice to that might feel good to do.
But really, it’s up to you as the individual on what would feel the most supportive way to approach your healing journey, and whether going through your notes would assist this.
If you’re wondering how to request your notes – go to the hospital’s website and search for freedom of information, it will likely be under the patient and consumer section. You’ll need to complete a form and either email or post it in, often with a small admin fee.