Birth story
I wanted to share my birth story as it didn't go how I planned. In my head I had the perfect birth, no pain, quick delivery and no tears/cuts. This wasn't how it went at all and I could never imagine it going the way it went!
I hit my due date (12/12/17) and there was no sign of Teddy coming. I had tried everything, all the old wives tales, spicy food, clary sage oil etc. I was miserable as I was swollen and big. My bump was also very heavy and none of my clothes fit me. I didn't want to leave the house and I didn't until 14/12/17, when I went Christmas food shopping with my mum. We kept joking that if my waters broke while we were shopping for our Christmas food that they'd give it all to us for free. Unfortunately that didn't happen and I left disappointed that I was still very much pregnant. That night I decided to try dancing and moving my hips one last time, with the understanding that if it did nothing that I'd be pregnant forever- in my mind it would be forever!
When I woke up the Friday morning around 7am, I got up to go to the toilet and noticed my underwear was soaking wet. At first I wasn't sure if it was my waters as it wasn't a lot and I wasn't leaking. I decided to try and time contractions by laying in bed and use an app I had for contractions. I managed to time 3 contractions before I fell asleep for 3 hours. When I woke up from my nap I had a little discomfort but wasn't convinced it was contractions as they weren't very frequent and didn't last long. As I still wasn't sure if it was my waters I had woken up too, I called triage to be on the safe side. They got me to come in because if it was my waters, they normally want you to deliver within 24 hours to prevent infection from occurring.
When I arrived at triage, I was taken to a room to be checked over. They strapped me to a machine to see if I was contracting and to keep an eye on Teddy's heart rate. The midwife I saw did a check and said I was about 1cm dilated but couldn't confirm if it was my waters had gone. She offered a sweep to get things moving along and said she could feel hair, a lot of it! She also told me that there were a few membranes which was why I was offered the sweep. I was sent home and told to ring back up if my contractions were lasting at least a minute and coming close together. When I got home, I took it easy and started timing the contractions I was having. By about 6:30pm the contractions were lasting at least a minute but still weren't that close together. I was still timing them and by 8pm, I had had 2 contractions within 10 minutes lasting over a minute. I called triage back up and they told me to come in.
I got to the hospital around 9pm and had to wait a little before I went to be checked. I was taken into a room to be examined and it was confirmed that my waters had broken. I was still only 1cm dilated, so was offered another sweep. After the sweep had been performed, the midwife said I needed to be booked in for an induction and went to check when I could be fitted in. She came back after what seemed like forever and said I had been booked in for the Sunday, but wouldn't be surprised if I was back in to deliver before then as that happened to most women. I was told that if I felt things were moving on to call up and come back in.
We left the hospital and got home around 12:30am. I was getting myself ready for bed and started to feel sick. I ran to the toilet and was violently sick! I convinced myself that I was just tired and it was probably where I hadn't eaten much that night. I got into bed but couldn't sleep. I had the worst pain ever but it wasn't contractions, and I was burning up. I spent 3 hours tossing and turning in bed, sweating and in pain, when I finally decided to go to the toilet. I had been putting off going as moving was hurting, but I thought I was going to wet myself if I didn't go soon. I sat on the toilet and noticed bright red blood and a massive blood clot in the pad I was wearing- you bleed a little after a sweep and it's usually pink and not very much at all. I went and told my mum what was happening and she said to call the hospital. When I got back to my room, I decided to take my temperature so they had an indication of what was going on. My temperature came out at 38.8c so I knew something wasn't right. I called up, explained everything and then was asked if I wanted to come in. I said yes because I was worried, and I'm glad I said yes when I did and not "I'll see how I feel in the morning".
My mum drove as quickly as she could to the hospital. We reached the hospital at 3:45am and I was taken to a room as soon as we arrived. I was hooked up to a machine and had my blood pressure taken. My blood pressure came back at 177/96 which is extremely high. They decided to start antibiotics as my temperature was still 38.8c and because my BP was extremely high. After what felt like forever, I was taken to the delivery suite. The midwife who was looking after me came and explained what was going to happen while I was in labour. I was told that every 4 hours she would check to see if I had progressed anymore and spoke to me about the different pain relief options. I wasn't in too much pain from the contractions- it felt like a period, so I started with gas and air. She also said that I was going to be given the hormone drip to help speed things along as I was still only 1cm. They started the hormone drip and things started to get a little uncomfortable. I was still doing well, but as it was uncomfortable in my back, I asked for pethidine. This took the edge off a bit and I was able to relax.
Hours went by and every time I was checked, I hoped I was further along than before. She checked me and said I was now 3cm dilated which I thought was amazing as it meant we were progressing. At this point because of the hormone drip, I was in a lot of pain. The hormone drip is the artificial hormone which causes labour to progress. I was told about sterile water shots, which help to ease pain in the back, so I gave them a try as I was 100% sure I wasn't having an epidural! Oh my goodness, sterile water shots hurt! I wish I hadn't had them done as it didn't do anything for the pain at all! I was checked again and was still only 3cm but I was in so much pain that when I asked for an epidural, I was given one. They don't give epidurals unless you're at least 4cm, but Teddy was back to back with me and I was in so much pain from the drip that I was given one. To have an epidural, you have to sit at the edge of the bed and hunch over. I was in so much pain that moving to the edge of the bed made me cry. I then hunched forward and was shaking from the pain. I told myself that I needed to stop shaking and be brave otherwise I couldn't have it done. I managed to stop shaking and within 5 minutes of having it done, I was no longer in pain. I was so convinced that I was never going to have an epidural as I'm petrified of needles and this goes in your back, but looking back on it now it was the best decision I made!
I was told that if the epidural was starting to wear off, I could push a button which would dispense more through the tube. It started to wear off a little so I gave myself another dose, but didn't need anymore after that. I was dozing off when the next midwife came in, as she was now taking care of me. The other midwife explained everything that had happened, and that I needed antibiotics as I was being treated for sepsis. The midwife kept checking me throughout the day and I was still only 3cm, but was having 6 contractions in 10 minutes. They slowed the amount of hormones I was getting as this was causing so many contractions.
At 3:30pm my midwife went for her break and said she'd be back in an hour. 10 minutes after she left, 2 other midwives came in just to do a check. They were looking through my notes, whispering to each other as it was very peaceful and quite. One of the midwives said she was going to check on me just to see if I had progressed any further. I wasn't very hopeful as I'd been at 3cm all day. She started the check and all of a sudden said "you're 10cm, I can feel his head, on the next contraction push". One minute I was dozing off, the next I was being told to push on my next contraction! I tried to push for 5 minutes, but Teddy was back to back with me so I was told I would need an assisted delivery. At this point a load of doctors came in and were explaining that as he was back to back with me and I was being taken to theatre in case of an emergency c-section. They were going to try a forceps delivery but if that failed, it would be an emergency c-section. I was given another 2 doses of epidural to be on the safe side and then wheeled down to theatre.
Once I was in theatre, it all became a massive blur. I was on the operating table and they were using a ventouse to try and bring Teddy further down the birth canal, before using the forceps to deliver him. I was struggling to push as I couldn't feel anything and didn't know if I was actually pushing or not even though I had a midwife who had her hands on my tummy telling me I was doing a good job at pushing and he was nearly here. From the moment I was first told to push, to when Teddy arrived, I was pushing for a total of 42 minutes and Teddy made his arrival at 4:37pm!
This is when I knew things were worse than what I had originally told myself. He didn't cry when he was born and eventually let out a pathetic croak. He was placed on my chest for 3 seconds before he was rushed over to be evaluated. The infection had spread to him and he wasn't able to cry as he was so poorly. I was laying on the table praying he was going to be okay, hoping he would pull through. The midwife who had been in the room with me all day came over and told me that they managed to steady his heart rate and were giving him oxygen as he was struggling to breathe. They called for a paediatrician who came up to see how he was. As his heart rate had steadied and he was finally off the oxygen, he was taken to special care. Before he was taken down, he was wheeled down to my mum so she could see him. Once the doctors had finished with my stitches, I was taken back to my room. Once I was back in my room, I didn't know what to do with myself as Teddy was still in special care.
After 2 hours Teddy was brought back to me. I was over the moon as I hadn't seen him properly yet and just wanted to hold him and cuddle him and tell him how much I love him. I couldn't put him down and held him all night. He had a cannula in his left hand which was horrible to see, but it was how he was getting the antibiotics to make him better so I knew it was there for good intentions. We were finally moved into the post natal unit and had been explained that every 4 hours I would be having antibiotics and liquid paracetamol, and every 12 hours Teddy would need to be taken to special care to have his antibiotics. I was kept on paracetamol for the 5 days we were in hospital as my temperature wasn't coming down. Eventually it came down but I continued taking paracetamol to prevent my temperature coming back.
The 5 days I spent in hospital were the worst 5 days of my life! It was made easier by having Teddy with me and having my mum come to visit every day. During these days, Teddy was having tests done, such as lumber puncture, to make sure he didn't have meningitis. It was hard to see him poked and prodded with needles but luckily everything came back clear. On the 5th day, he had bloods taken to see if the infection numbers had come down. I was told that if they had, we would be going home. However if they hadn't, we'd be in till Saturday- a week after he was born, and then go home. They took bloods when he was given his antibiotics at 6am, so I spent the whole day wondering and hoping we would be going home. It reached midday and I still hadn't heard anything so I was convinced that we weren't going home. At around 5:15pm, a midwife came in and said she had our discharge papers as we were going home! She explained everything I needed to do, such as the blood clot prevention injections. I was also told that if Teddy or myself started to become ill again, to go straight back to triage. Luckily there were no problems once we were home and Teddy settled into the new environment well.
I wanted to share my story in case someone else has been through a similar experience or has any questions on how a traumatic birth is. As I became really ill from the infection, anytime I get ill now (I've recently had a severe cold), it takes me back to the infection and I just about coped with having a cold. This won't be the case for everyone, but this is my experience so I wanted to share this so other women know they aren't alone if they have experienced a traumatic birth. I also lost a lot of blood during labour, and also had an irregular heartbeat afterwards so there was talk of a blood transfusion, but one wasn't necessary as they did an ultrasound of my heart to check for any irregularities which came back clear. I was put on iron tablets because I was severely anaemic, another reason a blood transfusion may have been needed.
S & T
Xx
I hit my due date (12/12/17) and there was no sign of Teddy coming. I had tried everything, all the old wives tales, spicy food, clary sage oil etc. I was miserable as I was swollen and big. My bump was also very heavy and none of my clothes fit me. I didn't want to leave the house and I didn't until 14/12/17, when I went Christmas food shopping with my mum. We kept joking that if my waters broke while we were shopping for our Christmas food that they'd give it all to us for free. Unfortunately that didn't happen and I left disappointed that I was still very much pregnant. That night I decided to try dancing and moving my hips one last time, with the understanding that if it did nothing that I'd be pregnant forever- in my mind it would be forever!When I woke up the Friday morning around 7am, I got up to go to the toilet and noticed my underwear was soaking wet. At first I wasn't sure if it was my waters as it wasn't a lot and I wasn't leaking. I decided to try and time contractions by laying in bed and use an app I had for contractions. I managed to time 3 contractions before I fell asleep for 3 hours. When I woke up from my nap I had a little discomfort but wasn't convinced it was contractions as they weren't very frequent and didn't last long. As I still wasn't sure if it was my waters I had woken up too, I called triage to be on the safe side. They got me to come in because if it was my waters, they normally want you to deliver within 24 hours to prevent infection from occurring.
When I arrived at triage, I was taken to a room to be checked over. They strapped me to a machine to see if I was contracting and to keep an eye on Teddy's heart rate. The midwife I saw did a check and said I was about 1cm dilated but couldn't confirm if it was my waters had gone. She offered a sweep to get things moving along and said she could feel hair, a lot of it! She also told me that there were a few membranes which was why I was offered the sweep. I was sent home and told to ring back up if my contractions were lasting at least a minute and coming close together. When I got home, I took it easy and started timing the contractions I was having. By about 6:30pm the contractions were lasting at least a minute but still weren't that close together. I was still timing them and by 8pm, I had had 2 contractions within 10 minutes lasting over a minute. I called triage back up and they told me to come in.
I got to the hospital around 9pm and had to wait a little before I went to be checked. I was taken into a room to be examined and it was confirmed that my waters had broken. I was still only 1cm dilated, so was offered another sweep. After the sweep had been performed, the midwife said I needed to be booked in for an induction and went to check when I could be fitted in. She came back after what seemed like forever and said I had been booked in for the Sunday, but wouldn't be surprised if I was back in to deliver before then as that happened to most women. I was told that if I felt things were moving on to call up and come back in.
We left the hospital and got home around 12:30am. I was getting myself ready for bed and started to feel sick. I ran to the toilet and was violently sick! I convinced myself that I was just tired and it was probably where I hadn't eaten much that night. I got into bed but couldn't sleep. I had the worst pain ever but it wasn't contractions, and I was burning up. I spent 3 hours tossing and turning in bed, sweating and in pain, when I finally decided to go to the toilet. I had been putting off going as moving was hurting, but I thought I was going to wet myself if I didn't go soon. I sat on the toilet and noticed bright red blood and a massive blood clot in the pad I was wearing- you bleed a little after a sweep and it's usually pink and not very much at all. I went and told my mum what was happening and she said to call the hospital. When I got back to my room, I decided to take my temperature so they had an indication of what was going on. My temperature came out at 38.8c so I knew something wasn't right. I called up, explained everything and then was asked if I wanted to come in. I said yes because I was worried, and I'm glad I said yes when I did and not "I'll see how I feel in the morning".
My mum drove as quickly as she could to the hospital. We reached the hospital at 3:45am and I was taken to a room as soon as we arrived. I was hooked up to a machine and had my blood pressure taken. My blood pressure came back at 177/96 which is extremely high. They decided to start antibiotics as my temperature was still 38.8c and because my BP was extremely high. After what felt like forever, I was taken to the delivery suite. The midwife who was looking after me came and explained what was going to happen while I was in labour. I was told that every 4 hours she would check to see if I had progressed anymore and spoke to me about the different pain relief options. I wasn't in too much pain from the contractions- it felt like a period, so I started with gas and air. She also said that I was going to be given the hormone drip to help speed things along as I was still only 1cm. They started the hormone drip and things started to get a little uncomfortable. I was still doing well, but as it was uncomfortable in my back, I asked for pethidine. This took the edge off a bit and I was able to relax.
Hours went by and every time I was checked, I hoped I was further along than before. She checked me and said I was now 3cm dilated which I thought was amazing as it meant we were progressing. At this point because of the hormone drip, I was in a lot of pain. The hormone drip is the artificial hormone which causes labour to progress. I was told about sterile water shots, which help to ease pain in the back, so I gave them a try as I was 100% sure I wasn't having an epidural! Oh my goodness, sterile water shots hurt! I wish I hadn't had them done as it didn't do anything for the pain at all! I was checked again and was still only 3cm but I was in so much pain that when I asked for an epidural, I was given one. They don't give epidurals unless you're at least 4cm, but Teddy was back to back with me and I was in so much pain from the drip that I was given one. To have an epidural, you have to sit at the edge of the bed and hunch over. I was in so much pain that moving to the edge of the bed made me cry. I then hunched forward and was shaking from the pain. I told myself that I needed to stop shaking and be brave otherwise I couldn't have it done. I managed to stop shaking and within 5 minutes of having it done, I was no longer in pain. I was so convinced that I was never going to have an epidural as I'm petrified of needles and this goes in your back, but looking back on it now it was the best decision I made!I was told that if the epidural was starting to wear off, I could push a button which would dispense more through the tube. It started to wear off a little so I gave myself another dose, but didn't need anymore after that. I was dozing off when the next midwife came in, as she was now taking care of me. The other midwife explained everything that had happened, and that I needed antibiotics as I was being treated for sepsis. The midwife kept checking me throughout the day and I was still only 3cm, but was having 6 contractions in 10 minutes. They slowed the amount of hormones I was getting as this was causing so many contractions.
At 3:30pm my midwife went for her break and said she'd be back in an hour. 10 minutes after she left, 2 other midwives came in just to do a check. They were looking through my notes, whispering to each other as it was very peaceful and quite. One of the midwives said she was going to check on me just to see if I had progressed any further. I wasn't very hopeful as I'd been at 3cm all day. She started the check and all of a sudden said "you're 10cm, I can feel his head, on the next contraction push". One minute I was dozing off, the next I was being told to push on my next contraction! I tried to push for 5 minutes, but Teddy was back to back with me so I was told I would need an assisted delivery. At this point a load of doctors came in and were explaining that as he was back to back with me and I was being taken to theatre in case of an emergency c-section. They were going to try a forceps delivery but if that failed, it would be an emergency c-section. I was given another 2 doses of epidural to be on the safe side and then wheeled down to theatre.
Once I was in theatre, it all became a massive blur. I was on the operating table and they were using a ventouse to try and bring Teddy further down the birth canal, before using the forceps to deliver him. I was struggling to push as I couldn't feel anything and didn't know if I was actually pushing or not even though I had a midwife who had her hands on my tummy telling me I was doing a good job at pushing and he was nearly here. From the moment I was first told to push, to when Teddy arrived, I was pushing for a total of 42 minutes and Teddy made his arrival at 4:37pm!
This is when I knew things were worse than what I had originally told myself. He didn't cry when he was born and eventually let out a pathetic croak. He was placed on my chest for 3 seconds before he was rushed over to be evaluated. The infection had spread to him and he wasn't able to cry as he was so poorly. I was laying on the table praying he was going to be okay, hoping he would pull through. The midwife who had been in the room with me all day came over and told me that they managed to steady his heart rate and were giving him oxygen as he was struggling to breathe. They called for a paediatrician who came up to see how he was. As his heart rate had steadied and he was finally off the oxygen, he was taken to special care. Before he was taken down, he was wheeled down to my mum so she could see him. Once the doctors had finished with my stitches, I was taken back to my room. Once I was back in my room, I didn't know what to do with myself as Teddy was still in special care.
After 2 hours Teddy was brought back to me. I was over the moon as I hadn't seen him properly yet and just wanted to hold him and cuddle him and tell him how much I love him. I couldn't put him down and held him all night. He had a cannula in his left hand which was horrible to see, but it was how he was getting the antibiotics to make him better so I knew it was there for good intentions. We were finally moved into the post natal unit and had been explained that every 4 hours I would be having antibiotics and liquid paracetamol, and every 12 hours Teddy would need to be taken to special care to have his antibiotics. I was kept on paracetamol for the 5 days we were in hospital as my temperature wasn't coming down. Eventually it came down but I continued taking paracetamol to prevent my temperature coming back.
The 5 days I spent in hospital were the worst 5 days of my life! It was made easier by having Teddy with me and having my mum come to visit every day. During these days, Teddy was having tests done, such as lumber puncture, to make sure he didn't have meningitis. It was hard to see him poked and prodded with needles but luckily everything came back clear. On the 5th day, he had bloods taken to see if the infection numbers had come down. I was told that if they had, we would be going home. However if they hadn't, we'd be in till Saturday- a week after he was born, and then go home. They took bloods when he was given his antibiotics at 6am, so I spent the whole day wondering and hoping we would be going home. It reached midday and I still hadn't heard anything so I was convinced that we weren't going home. At around 5:15pm, a midwife came in and said she had our discharge papers as we were going home! She explained everything I needed to do, such as the blood clot prevention injections. I was also told that if Teddy or myself started to become ill again, to go straight back to triage. Luckily there were no problems once we were home and Teddy settled into the new environment well.
I wanted to share my story in case someone else has been through a similar experience or has any questions on how a traumatic birth is. As I became really ill from the infection, anytime I get ill now (I've recently had a severe cold), it takes me back to the infection and I just about coped with having a cold. This won't be the case for everyone, but this is my experience so I wanted to share this so other women know they aren't alone if they have experienced a traumatic birth. I also lost a lot of blood during labour, and also had an irregular heartbeat afterwards so there was talk of a blood transfusion, but one wasn't necessary as they did an ultrasound of my heart to check for any irregularities which came back clear. I was put on iron tablets because I was severely anaemic, another reason a blood transfusion may have been needed.S & T
Xx
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