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unexpected outcomes> sofia's
birth
27th
July 2003
9lbs
2oz
21
and a half inches
I fell pregnant with Sofia the first time my partner and I tried, which
surprised me because it took four months to conceive my first baby Christina. I
can remember taking the test in the bathroom with my hands shaking, was I
pregnant? I was overjoyed when almost immediately the second blue line appeared
and I ran downstairs to tell my partner.
The pregnancy went well. I was classed as high risk because I had severe
swelling during my first pregnancy and high blood pressure which resulted in an
insufficient placenta and a small baby, but this time, apart from a slight scare
at 28 weeks, my blood pressure stayed at a normal level.
I fully expected to give birth at around 38 weeks like I did previously but
Sofia had other ideas! My due date was the 14th July and soon I was overdue.
There were no signs of labour whatsoever, only slightly stronger Braxton Hicks
contractions. At 41 weeks and 1 day, I went into the hospital for an antenatal
appointment only to discover that my blood pressure was rising and they booked
me in for an induction on Sunday the 27th July 2003 when I would be full term
plus 13 days. The doctor did a membrane sweep to try to soften my cervix but
found that it was completely unfavourable, very posterior and totally closed.
She did say however that it might help soften it for the induction.
On the day of the induction I was up very early, about 5.00 am. I had a bath and
ate some toast and then sat around with my partner Bart while I waited for 8.00
am to arrive so I could phone the hospital to find out what time I was to go in.
I had felt some quite strong Braxton hicks contractions in the night, so I was
hopeful that it might have softened my cervix enough not to need the prostaglandin
gel, which takes ages to work. I was hoping that they would be able to break my
waters right away.
I phoned the hospital at 8.00 am on the dot and they said to go right in, but I
had to make several phone calls first so I didn't get there till 9.00 am. When I
arrived, I was shown straight into a delivery room which surprised me as I
went into the induction suite when I was induced with my first child 2 years
ago.
The
midwife got round to examining me at about 9.30 am and pronounced me 1
centimetre dilated. She stretched my cervix and it stayed at 2 centimetres, I
was very happy because it meant that she could break my waters right away
without the prostaglandin gel! After she ruptured my membranes, she said we
would wait a few hours to see if I would go into labour on my own, so for the
next 2 and a half hours, I waddled round the labour ward dribbling
amniotic fluid and feeling generally uncomfortable and wet. And guess what?
Nothing happened!
Finally at 12.00 noon, the midwife decided to put in the pitocin drip, which I
was pleased about even though I know it causes very painful contractions as if
from nowhere. By 12.30 pm, the contractions were coming and they were quite
painful but not regular and painful enough for the midwife to say I was in
labour. I was strapped to a monitor once the drip was in so I couldn't get off
the bed to walk around in an attempt to make the contractions stronger, so all I
could do was wait. By 2.00 pm, the contractions were much stronger and I felt
like they were doing their job of dilating my cervix. The midwife brought me
something to eat as they do not have a no food policy in the hospital I gave
birth in. They were laughing because they could tell every time I had a
contraction, not because I was shouting in pain but because it was the only
thing that would stop me eating! My partner and my dad who were present were
laughing and joking, and this made them laugh even more.
At 2.30 pm the student midwife who was also present suggested I try some gas and
air. I accepted as I was now in quite a bit of pain and I wanted to see if I
could give birth without an epidural, which I had when I gave birth to
Christina. At first it made me feel light headed and dizzy, but I soon realised
that it was worth it to relieve the pain of the contractions. I used the gas and
air till about 3.45 pm when the student midwife told me she was going to do an
internal examination to check my progress. It seemed to take forever! At long
last she pronounced me at 6 centimetres. The other midwife looked at the monitor
which was now showing regular strong contractions only 3 minutes apart and she
said that we would have a baby in 2 hours. At this point, my father left the
room so my mother could come in for the birth.
2 Hours!!!! Well Sofia had other ideas! All of a sudden her heart rate dipped
with a particularly strong contraction. The midwife told me to lie on my side so
the heart rate would become more reactive. I can remember mumbling something
about the cord and was it wrapped round the baby's neck? But I was assured that
the baby was fine. As soon as I rolled onto my side, transition hit with a huge
impact! The contractions were so painful and intense I was in agony even with
the gas and air. Literally three contractions after the internal when I was
pronounced 6 centimetres, I felt a huge pressure in my bottom like I needed to
use the toilet but much stronger. I told the midwife this and they immediately
turned me back onto my back and started preparing for the birth. I couldn't
believe how quickly I had dilated the last 4 centimetres.
Suddenly, I began to experience excruciating second stage pushing contractions
which I just could not control. By this time It was 4.00 pm. Every time a
contraction came, I felt like I was being shoved down the bed I was pushing so
hard. I can remember saying to the midwife " I need to push" and she
said to me "go ahead then" without examining me again to check if I
was fully dilated, which pleased me because it proved that she was confident
that I had confidence in my own body to give birth to this baby. At this point
the midwife left the room because the student was delivering my baby which was
fine by me. She was very competent and I felt very safe in her hands. I can
remember pushing for what seemed like hours and moaning that it felt like the
head was never going to come out even though the midwife could see it crowning.
Finally, I felt a nasty burning feeling around my vaginal opening and heard the
midwife tell me to pant so the head could be born slowly, it was horrible trying
to hold back the intense pushing contractions but I managed to do it and the
head was born with no damage to my perineum.
The next thing that happened was scary. All of a sudden my partner ran out of
the room looking unwell. I heard the student midwife tell my mother to push the
red emergency button on the wall. All of a sudden the room was filled with
people. One of Sofia's shoulders was stuck inside me. They had to remove the end
of the bed and pin my legs back to my shoulders so someone could reach in to
free her. They also had to push hard on my stomach, and I admit, I screamed and
shouted from the pain, it was the first time I shouted all through labour. All
together freeing her only took 3 minutes but it felt like forever. As soon as
her shoulder was free, she slipped straight out of me and was whisked away to be
given oxygen because even though she was breathing, she was very blue looking.
All in all, she was a healthy baby. She weighed in at 9 pounds 2 ounces and was
21 1/2 inches long. She had Apgars of 8 and 9 and was born over an intact
perineum even though she was so huge and I had a hand inside my pelvis!
Disclaimer
The
information contained on this website is of a general nature and is
designed for educational purposes only. The information is not meant
to replace the recommendations or advise of your midwife or doctor.
Please consult your midwife or doctor regarding your health care. |
