My life since marriage: as twisted as a soapie! Baby #1 birth story

6 Comments

I met my husband via his Dad, who I voluntered beside in the SES. Best decision ever. Best wedding, best honeymoon….life was peachy. Then I got pregnant as planned. Two weeks post due date, after two doctors have given me a “stretch and sweep” I go into labor. The midwife that finally met me at the hospital (after been called three times) an hour after I had been there, didn’t do an internal exam, but guessed that I was up to pushing, so push i did with my contractions……after some time my midwife came in “in time for the arrival of bub to do an internal exam and told me to stop pushing. I was only 4 cm dilated and bub was posterior. Devastation, I was supposed to be birthing and meeting my baby soon, instead a drip is put in my arm, an ambulance called and the bigger hospital is notified. The penthrane whistle they gave me for the pain didn’t touch the pain, but I knock back anything heavier, I was determined to birth my baby unaffected by drugs. By the time I reached the bigger hospital I was in so much pain I was begging them to put me to sleep. A visiting anaethetist gave me an epidural while I was writhing in pain on the bed – there was no way I was able to sit up! Half an hour later, my baby’s heart rate dropped, the emergency button wasn’t working so the nurse went to the door to YELL for help. Before I knew it, I was shaved, stockings on, earrings removed, husband signing consent form and I was being wheeled to surgery. By-passing everyone waiting for the OR, I am shaking, a side effect of the medication, they had to guess my weight to administer the drugs and get me into the OR to get my baby out ASAP. I was so scared, so incredibly scared, but I kept saying to myself “for my baby, for my baby, please be safe”, it was all for my baby – that helped me keep my head a little!
They cut me open, my uterus sustaains a vertical tear as they tried to get my little boy out, he was stuck, not only was he posterior but his arm was over his head – obstructing the way out! Not long after he was born he was taken to special care because he had trouble breathing – a usual side effect of baby’s that don’t come out via birth canal – no squeezing the fluid out of their lungs. He was returned to me when I was put onto the ward after recovery. My husband had been with him the whole time.

Posted anonymously, 20th April 2015

6 Comments

- - regine_kong said
  - 10 Nov 2015
    12:32 pm
First congrats on bub. What a nightmarish experience! Hope it didn’t put you off having more kids. My first was almost the same. I got to the hospital n they refused to believe i was in labour because i could tolerate the pain. Then they wanted to give me sleeping tablets n send me home. I looked reluctant and told them i wasn’t going home so they offered to do an internal exam. I said yes, they then apologised because i was around 4 cms dilated n they had to break my waters. I had sent my husband to work so i had to call him back. We spent the whole day waiting for me to be able to push. By 3 pm i was begging for an epidural as morphine didn’t work n gas made me feel sick. Got my epidural and since my contractions had started at 4/5 pm the day before, i grabbed some zzzs. At 7pm i was finally told i could start pushing. Baby’s heart rate started to drop so they used vacuum to help her out, did an episiotomy but she caused a 3rd degree tear when she came out. She also had shoulder distortia which meant she could not move her right arm for a few days. Lucky it wasn’t worse. She is now a happy 2 year old and after her birth my husband said that we could stop there. But i wanted at least a second. 2 weeks ago my second daughter was born. I was induced at 39 weeks and didn’t have time for an epidural. My water broke at 10.20, she came out at 11.42. Much easier this time around

- - mom81879 said
  - 13 Sep 2015
    6:41 pm
What nightmare! You poor woman! What an incompetent bunch of supposedly professional medical staff. I hope this hasn’t put you off having more children

- - mom94125 said
  - 19 Jun 2015
    2:10 pm
oh wow what an ordeal! how scary for you. Congrats though on the bubba!

- - mom57522 said
  - 09 Jun 2015
    8:50 pm
Unfortunately labours tend not to go as we imagine them to! Glad your baby boy is okay.

- - smiles said
  - 25 Apr 2015
    3:57 pm
So glad that your little boys was ok. Sorry that the birth didn’t go as planned.

- - mom93821 said
  - 21 Apr 2015
    6:41 am
Congratulations on the birth of your little boy!