Wednesday 9 March 2011

The Birth Story


On Friday 25th Febuary, I went to the hospital following the results of a blood test which confirmed I did indeed have Cholestasis. They spoke to a consultant who decided it would be best to induce me, so I was booked in for the following day, which I don't mind telling you was a bit of a laxative! We decided to go out to watch a movie that night to distract ourselves (Rite btw and it was ok, nothing special).


On Saturday morning we arrived at the Induction suite and I was hooked up to a monitor for the babies heartbeat and my tightenings. They gave me a Prostaglandin Pessary at 11am and left me to my own devices. That day th labour ward was exceptionally busy. All rooms were full, there were not enough staff to deal with all the women that were in and people were turning up in labour unannounced. For that reason, it seems I was forgotten about as I barely saw anyone all day. I got lots of apologies and explanations of how busy it was and unfortunately as I was the least 'advanced' labourer, I was bottom of the rung.


As the day passed into night, the contractions got much worse and I the vomitting had started in earnest. Darren had to go home at the normal 8pm visiting hours as I was still in the induction suite, even though I was experiencing bad contractions. The woman in the bed next to mine came in a few hours after me and was in a similar position. Her waters broke naturally at 1:30am and her husband was called back in. She had her baby that night. I could hear her up the corridor.


Sunday brought another busy day. Darren arrived as soon as he could at 10am. Someone came and told me they had no-one to come and remove the pessary that I'd had inserted 24 hours previously and check on me so they asked me if I could take it out myself as it stopped working after 24 hours. Soo that done, I waited. Someone came a few hours later and broke my waters. I've seen this done on TV and I can safely say, when they did it to me it was nothing like what they do on TV... a small nick with a hook??? Yep they do that which is bearable but then pull, pull and prod about your insides trying to force all the water out, which in my case was a lot. That part was extremely painful. I was 3cm dilated at this stage. This would have been 2pm on Sunday afternoon. 2 hours later at 4pm, the contractions started in earnest. I was taken down to the labour ward somewhere around tea time, I can't remember exactly what time.


I was using a TENS machine for pain relief at this stage but I now started on gas and air, which was very odd. It doesnt remove any pain at all, but it does mess with your head and confuses you so there is something distracting from the pain. It is just like feeling very, very drunk and disorientated, but not in a pleasant way, more in a smothery kind of blankety way, yet that feels better than the pain, so I supped away for all I was worth.


Labour continued all through the night. A new midwife came on at 9pm and was with us through the night. I was checked in the early hours of the morning and I was still only 3 cm dilated.... the same as I'd been at 2pm in the afternoon. It was soul distroying to be feeling all that pain and not be progressing at all. These things are more manageable I think if you are getting somewhere with it, but to be feeling it all for nothing was not good. It was then that I decided on an epidural which they came in to administer. This took an hour and a half to get right as it had to be sited 3 seperate times. They kept putting it in the wrong place and it gave me electric shocks all down my leg. They couldn't risk leaving it there as it could have led to nerve damage or paralysis, so I had to keep having it put in again until they got it right.


The epidural was amazing. It took away the pain for a couple of hours, but then they decided to not top it up again as they said they wanted me to be able to feel to push when the time came. The normal monitor they put on women wasn't picking up the babies heartbeat and they were a bit concerned about that due to the length of time I'd been in labour, so they had to put a clip on the babies head to monitor it. Legs akimbo on stirrups yet again... They're right when they say you don't give a damn though. I was beyond caring. The midwife tried over and over and couldnt attach it, so that was another pleasant experience. A doctor had come in several times to check on different things about me and thankfully he took over and did it right away first time.


They decided to check me again at 6:30am on Monday morning and found I was 9cm dilated. Unfortunately there was a rim of my cervix which wouldnt dilate. Also the babies head wouldn't drop down low enough, as it couldnt enter my pelvis. It just kept pushing down on top and rotating around and around which was what was causing the major part of my pain. Little Isaac still has obvious markings on his head from this.

Finally they decided at about 7:30am that I would need to go for an emergency c-section as the babies heartbeat was slowing down and he could be becoming distressed if he stayed that way any longer. Also they didn't see that I was going to progress any further.


I've never had an operation before and I was terrified of having one. With the pain though, I welcomed it. I just felt so disappointed to have had 2 full days of labour and to not have been able to do it normally. I'd done it all bar the pushing bit. Everything which followed was a bit of a blur. Darren was all scrubbed up and I was soon in theatre surrounded by what seemed like loads of people. I shuffled across onto the theatre bed and tried to zone out. They spent a lot of time testing whether I could feel their touch and told me to make sure to tell them if I could, which just makes you nervous thinking youre going to. Its one of those things where you have no idea what to expect.


Then they started....It wasn't the most pleasant of experiences I have to say, but it didn't hurt, I just concentrated on Darren and prayed it would be over as soon as possible. He was born very quickly and I saw a very quick glance of him over the top of the cloth. He had a 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon' stance when he came out which is startled baby sydrome where they are shocked to have come out of the warm environment of the womb and into the open air. One thing I was really aware of was that he didn't cry. They took him to a table to the side and 3 people worked on him. It took some time for him to breathe properly and quite a few minutes before he uttered a tiny mewl. He didn't cry much at all to start with as he was filled with fluid due to not having being squeezed through the birth canal. The most horrid part of the section was what they call the 'washing out' stage at the end which takes about 40 minutes. It was uncomfortable and I did anything to distract myself that I could. I at least got to see Darren holding our son for the first time :o).


They got me all tidied up, cathetered up and ready for the ward and wheeled me out. Isaac was brought up to me shortly after I got onto the ward for a cuddle. I can honestly say it felt really surreal to be holding our son. I was still a bit zoned out but I thought he was beautiful. I know all mums say that, but it is a real feeling to be holding a tiny perfect person you created.


All in all, yes of course he was worth the pregnancy, the labour and the delivery, but he will definately be a very much loved and wanted only child. :o)












3 comments:

  1. That is an amazing story hun. Really well written. I'm sorry that you didn't get to give birth naturally but there is nothing wrong with an emergency C-section. At least they didn't over does you with anastetic like they did my mum! I really like pictures 5 & 6 at the bottom. they're stunning shots.

    Well done you (and Darren) for creating this beautiful little being!

    Look out for a little red hat soon. Hopefully it will fit the litte fella.

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  2. Oh bless you hun, what a read though. I know you really wanted to give birth naturally and i'm sorry it didnt come to that but he is beautiful and as you said, so very worth it. he's a gorgeous baby and well done xxxxxxx

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  3. He is a beautiful boy! Congratulations to you and your husband on a healthy, handsome son!! God bless!!

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