izziesmum
17-05-2008, 11:51 AM
I wasn't going to write my story....but after reading so many others (and writing down a little bit in the delivery disasters section) I found it therapeutic!
It's long, so apologies for anyone reading it but it;s more for my own benefit!
DH and I tried to conceive for a few months and I was estatic to finally find that I was pregnant. I know something was a miss because I have what I thought was 'gastro' on an off from the time of ovulation.
At 6 weeks I was in the shower and looked down at my feet to see I was standing in red waters....I thought I was having a miscarriage. Once I jumped out of the shower I realised that the blood loss was from my bowel!
I rushed to th GP's and lucky for me a bowel surgeon work next door and saw me straight away. He said I had an ulcerated bowel and referred me to a gastroenterologist.
The first gastro man told me he couldn't treat me as I was pregnant (by this time I was 8 weeks) and said I should visit him every fortnight so he could keep and eye on it. I wasn't getting any treatment so the bleeding got worse and to top it off everytime I had a big bowel bleed I had a vaginal bleed! I had four ultrasounds before 12 weeks! I gave up working at 14 weeks and decided to see someone else.
I was referred to another gastro and was stunned and amazed that he had treated numerous pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease. Finally!
Although I was being treated and discovered that there were numerous foods I could not eat the bleeding continued until the 32nd week and suddenly stopped. My third trimester was a breeze!
The delivery on the other hand was a nightmare....
Being GBS positive I knew that I should go into hospital immediately after my waters broke and woke at 5am bleeding. After contacting the mid staff I was asked to come in. They told me I was having a 'show' and to go home. At 2pm I called again to say that I had soaked two pads. They told me to come in again. After examining me they decided my waters had broken but still did not issue any antibiotics , even after being questioned. It was two hours later that they were issued when my ob/gyn came in to see another patient.
I was put on an oxytocin drip (40ml/hr) and labour was started an 4pm. At midnight I was told to have pethadine but refused. The mid staff insisted I have the peth to keep my strength up so I agreed. After the peth was issued one of the mid staff turned off my oxytocin drip and my contractions went from 3 minutes apart to 15 minutes apart.
The oxytocin drip was turned up again (at only 20ml/hr) when a third midwife noticed it had been turned off and started my labour again. At this time three different midwives did a vaginal exam and gave me three different answers (ranging from 8 cms to 3 cms dilated!).
At 3am I was exhausted and asked for my ob/gyn to be contacted only to be told that I didn't want him to come in as he would interevene and I wanted a natural labour. I thought that was my choice and asked repeatedly for my ob to be contacted.
At 5:30am I was crying that I couldn't do it any longer and finally my obstetrician was contacted. When he arrived at 6am my babies heart beat had dropped to 80bpm and was in distress (as was I!).
He performed an episiotomy and my daughter was delivered by ventouse. She had been posterior and was a whopping 9lb. On delivery she broke her collar bone and suffered nerve damage to her left arm.
If that wasn't enough she developed a fever within 12 hours and was admitted to special care nursey with sepsis where she underwent a lumbar puncture to ensure she did not have meningitis. She remained in SCN for 13 days on 4 different antibiotics.
Leaving hr each night was horrible (I feel for anyone who has (or has had) a bub in SCN or NICU for any stretch!) but we finally got her home!
The whole experiance has been challenging and I've discovered a new and stronger me!
Izzie's clavical has healed but she is still seeing a physio and chiro for the associated muscular problems. I hope that in time movement in her left arm will be better.
I'm often asked woulkd I do it again? The answer is easy...You bet! Only next time I will be better prepared....
If you've read this far...thanks! I found that by reading other people's experiances I have been able to deal with my own! (and writing this down will only help the healing process!)
I feel a whole lot better already!
It's long, so apologies for anyone reading it but it;s more for my own benefit!
DH and I tried to conceive for a few months and I was estatic to finally find that I was pregnant. I know something was a miss because I have what I thought was 'gastro' on an off from the time of ovulation.
At 6 weeks I was in the shower and looked down at my feet to see I was standing in red waters....I thought I was having a miscarriage. Once I jumped out of the shower I realised that the blood loss was from my bowel!
I rushed to th GP's and lucky for me a bowel surgeon work next door and saw me straight away. He said I had an ulcerated bowel and referred me to a gastroenterologist.
The first gastro man told me he couldn't treat me as I was pregnant (by this time I was 8 weeks) and said I should visit him every fortnight so he could keep and eye on it. I wasn't getting any treatment so the bleeding got worse and to top it off everytime I had a big bowel bleed I had a vaginal bleed! I had four ultrasounds before 12 weeks! I gave up working at 14 weeks and decided to see someone else.
I was referred to another gastro and was stunned and amazed that he had treated numerous pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease. Finally!
Although I was being treated and discovered that there were numerous foods I could not eat the bleeding continued until the 32nd week and suddenly stopped. My third trimester was a breeze!
The delivery on the other hand was a nightmare....
Being GBS positive I knew that I should go into hospital immediately after my waters broke and woke at 5am bleeding. After contacting the mid staff I was asked to come in. They told me I was having a 'show' and to go home. At 2pm I called again to say that I had soaked two pads. They told me to come in again. After examining me they decided my waters had broken but still did not issue any antibiotics , even after being questioned. It was two hours later that they were issued when my ob/gyn came in to see another patient.
I was put on an oxytocin drip (40ml/hr) and labour was started an 4pm. At midnight I was told to have pethadine but refused. The mid staff insisted I have the peth to keep my strength up so I agreed. After the peth was issued one of the mid staff turned off my oxytocin drip and my contractions went from 3 minutes apart to 15 minutes apart.
The oxytocin drip was turned up again (at only 20ml/hr) when a third midwife noticed it had been turned off and started my labour again. At this time three different midwives did a vaginal exam and gave me three different answers (ranging from 8 cms to 3 cms dilated!).
At 3am I was exhausted and asked for my ob/gyn to be contacted only to be told that I didn't want him to come in as he would interevene and I wanted a natural labour. I thought that was my choice and asked repeatedly for my ob to be contacted.
At 5:30am I was crying that I couldn't do it any longer and finally my obstetrician was contacted. When he arrived at 6am my babies heart beat had dropped to 80bpm and was in distress (as was I!).
He performed an episiotomy and my daughter was delivered by ventouse. She had been posterior and was a whopping 9lb. On delivery she broke her collar bone and suffered nerve damage to her left arm.
If that wasn't enough she developed a fever within 12 hours and was admitted to special care nursey with sepsis where she underwent a lumbar puncture to ensure she did not have meningitis. She remained in SCN for 13 days on 4 different antibiotics.
Leaving hr each night was horrible (I feel for anyone who has (or has had) a bub in SCN or NICU for any stretch!) but we finally got her home!
The whole experiance has been challenging and I've discovered a new and stronger me!
Izzie's clavical has healed but she is still seeing a physio and chiro for the associated muscular problems. I hope that in time movement in her left arm will be better.
I'm often asked woulkd I do it again? The answer is easy...You bet! Only next time I will be better prepared....
If you've read this far...thanks! I found that by reading other people's experiances I have been able to deal with my own! (and writing this down will only help the healing process!)
I feel a whole lot better already!