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As you might remember, I developed high blood pressure at 38 weeks and was seen in hospital and told to come back if I got additional pre-eclampsia symptoms. On the Monday morning when I was 39+0 I got chest pain and called the hospital, they asked me to come in and my blood pressure was still high (around 170/110) so I was admitted and got to see the consultant. He explained that the best treatment would be to give birth, so he asked if I wanted to be induced? Yes please! Over the next three days I was given three lots of pessaries but nothing happened at all. I had strong period-type pains for 5-6 hours after each one, and the electronic monitoring showed some strong braxton hicks which were quite painful, but every time they eased off again. After three days I asked if I could go home and wait, the consultant thought that labour was just around the corner anyway and my BP had gone down slightly, so I was discharged and given an appointment two days later.
Two days came and went, and on the Friday I was examined again...nothing. We agreed to wait over the weekend but that something *should* happen by early next week.
On the Monday (my EDD) I was seen again and given my fourth pessary. Again, pains for a few hours which eased off, but this time they seemed a bit more serious and persistent. Blood tests had shown that I had impaired liver functioning and my blood wasn't coagulating properly, so it was getting a bit more urgent now. I desperately wanted to avoid a c/s and staff backed me up fully on that. After a whole day of tests and monitoring, we could go home.I couldn't sleep and in the middle of the night I posted on here about my period-type pains!
Tuesday morning I was examined by a midwife, I was 1/2 cm dilated and she said she could break my waters there and then with some difficulty, or give me my fifth (!) pessary, monitor me for the day and break my waters the next morning. We agreed on this. So I spent a few hours being monitored, had lunch, knitted a good few inches on a tiny little purple jumper and chatted with H who was with me the whole time. At 4 pm I was monitored electronically again, and by now it was really starting to hurt. H and I took a wonder around the corridors and every time I had a contraction I had to stop and lean against the wall. I also had a dodgy tummy and I think I went to the loo five times in two hours!! At 6 pm, the nurse said she'd call the midwife as she was a bit unsure whether I was in labour. If I wasn't, and the pain was just an effect of the pessary, they'd give me something to sleep on before I had my waters broken the next morning. I had some dinner and promptly threw it up, and the pain was getting worse. The m/w examined me and I was 1 cm. She suggester I was transferred to the labour ward where I could have a bath.
We arrived at the labour ward and was met by a lovely Yugoslavian m/w. She was around 60 and a really calm, secure person which is what I needed at the time. I managed to be sick another three times before I got in the bath but it was heaven when I did! Fantastic pain relief! She taught me some breathing techniques and for quite some time I managed well using them.
After about an hour and a half, things suddenly turned. All of a sudden, it was *so* painful and I felt I couldn't control the contractions, or even follow them, at all. I felt quite bewildered and scared as it had happened so suddenly. The m/w measured my BP which was 180/120 and on the basis of this, she recommended an epidural. I'd originally wanted to avoid one, but now I just wanted pain relief and I wanted it now! so I was pleased she offered one. I got out of the bath, was examined again (3 cm) and the next 45 minutes or so whilst waiting for the anaesthetist was the worst ever. I remember fragments of it, thrashing around on the bed whilst the m/w and a health care assistant tried to attach the belts for monitoring, H tried to calm me but the pain had really taken hold of me and I was so out of it. There was literally only a 15-30 second break between contractions (H can confirm this! ) and I never felt I had a break, it was awful and I had never been able to imagine anything that painful. I was given oxygen which didn't really help the pain, but it did help me focus on something which was good.
Just before the anaesthetist arrived my BP was taken again and it was a whopping 218/120!!!! I remember this clearly, thinking "oh sh*t", and when the Dr arrived he was told to hurry up by the m/w. It took ages to give me the epidural (or at least it felt like ages) as we kept being interrupted by contractions and I had to sit absolutely still. After a little while the epidural worked, it calmed me down no end, it didn't remove the pain or make me numb as I had feared, but it did take the edge of the pain. I'm so glad I had one. I was now able to relax, lie still and I could cope with contractions on oxygen only. At this point it dawned on me that I hadn't had the birth I wanted or had imagined and I felt quite upset, but the m/w was great and reassuring and told me that it could still be a good experience.
At 11 pm she went off, and we had another m/w - the one which delivered my niece and whom my SIL can't praise highly enough! Another calm, secure person who was just fantastic. I told her too how this hadn't been the birth I wanted, and she suggested we "start again", so we put a cd on and for the next 45 minutes, I relaxed and caught up with the experience of being in labour. After a while, the m/w got concerned that my contractions were weak and put me on a drip to speed things up. She asked how I wanted to give birth and I said I wanted to sit up, so I was moved to the birthing bed in preparation. I tried pushing for a few contractions, but to be honest I didn't really feel the urge to push although I could feel pressure down below. The baby's heart rate dropped so the m/w told me she's get the Dr in and that we needed to use a ventouse. All this could have been scary, but she was so calm and reassuring and I felt totally informed the whole time, so I didn't panic at all.
The Dr came, the ventouse was attached which was most uncomfortable, and I continued to push. It was most surreal to be told that "the baby's got dark hair!" - I couldn't believe the delivery of my baby was so imminent! I gave birth to the head which was uncomfortable, but when the rest of the body followed it was a fantastic, relieving kind of feeling, like a swooosh! type thing. They put him on my tummy, I exclaimed "it's a boy!", H cut the cord and then he was quickly whisked away and given oxygen. Again, I never felt worried as the atmosphere was so calm and reassuring. I delivered the placenta, which didn't hurt at all, and our precious boy was handed back to me and both me and H were in tears. He was simply so gorgeous! He was born on 17th March at 00.43 and weighed in at 2680g, measuring 52 cm.
We had the most fantastic tea and toast ever, made some phone calls, I was seen to and didn't need any stitches at all , then I was taken to the maternity ward. At around 4 am H left to go home and get some sleep. Five mins later I vomited violently and could also feel that as I did, I was bleeding very heavily. I called the nurse, and when she saw the blood loss it was all systems go - three nurses were pressing down on my womb to stop the blood whilst the on call Dr came running down the corridor. Again, I never panicked because all along I was being told what they were doing and what they would do to stop the bleeding. I had a drip and some suppositories, and they pressed on my womb again which was very, very painful. They asked if they should call my H, but I said I'd rather he slept. After about half an hour I was told that the bleeding probably was over but that I'd lost over a litre of blood. I didn't need a blood transfusion but blood tests the next morning showed that I had been quite severely affected and I've been told that it might take up to two months for me to recover fully. The bleed was probably due to the pre-eclampsia I was told, and I've been reassured that in my next pregnancy I will be monitored closely.
I stayed in hospital for five days, feeling gradually less dizzy and sick, the bleeding subsided and by Monday, I was really eager to come home. I cannot emphasise enough how good the treatment was. I think the birth could potentially have been a really traumatic experience, but it wasn't as everyone took the time to explain fully to me and H what was going on at all times. The m/w came to see me to talk through the birth which was great too. It was hard, no doubt about that, but it hasn't put me off having more children. Hopefully next time it will be a smoother ride