The Bub Hub: Pregnancy Baby Parenting Website

Missus S · #1 12-05-2006, 01:28 PM

Wow - after reading some other birth stories, mine is certainly nowhere near as dramatic but heregoes...

Gemma Annalise

EDD: 8th of May, 2006

DOB: 28th of April, 2006 6 lb 11oz, 48 cm's, HC 34.5

On a routine OB check up with 3.5 weeks to my due date we discovered that I had ruptured my membranes. So from this point I had to come in every 2 days for blood tests, OBS and CTG checks etc. My OB gave me the option of induction after about 37.5 weeks but I let him know I was happy to wait until it all happened naturally, which it did 10 days before her due date.

On the Wed 2 days before Gemma arrived the CTG showed I was having some contractions although I couldn't feel them. However that day and the Thursday I was having mild period like pain and could feel my belly dropping occassionally (weird sensation) so I kind of knew something would happen soon. That Thursday night I went to bed around midnight but couldn't sleep. DH jumped in bed around 1.30am and it was at this time I became conscious that my belly pain was getting stronger so I started to study the time on my alarm clock. At 2.30am I got out of bed and went downstairs to read some literature from the hospital about when to call them. After noticing some contractions were only 5 mins apart I woke DH up at 3.30am. We called the hospital at 4.00am and made it down there at 4.30am, they were really busy and all of their labour rooms were full once I got in.

As soon as I was at the hospital the contractions were getting pretty strong so I asked for an epidural. However as they were so busy and the anaesethist was upstairs doing a C-section, I had to wait until 9am before I got the epidural. Those 4.5 hours were pretty tough, although my support team (DH, Mum and my good friend who is a student midwife) all said I did really well. I tried everything to cope with the contractions - moving around, a bit of bopping up & down to my CD's, bouncing on an exercise ball, sucking on nitrous (did bugger all!), visualising having my bub in my arms at the end of it and thinking of all the millions of women in poor countries who give birth with no medical intervention - nothing worked! I have so much admiration for women who can get through it naturally! Throughout this time, the CTG isn't showing much variance in my bub's HB & the midwife thinks my bub will come out a bit flat.

Anyhow, epidural goes in and I'm a new women. I can stay still & have a conversation with people again. I then am fully dilated and we begin to push. However, bub doesn't seem to want to come down. After many hours of waiting whilst being fully dilated and more pushing on my part, still no progress - not even enough to pull bub out with forceps. At my OB's 3rd visit at 4.30pm he announces he'll be doing a C-section as blood coming out of my catheter indicates an obstruction. At this stage I'm fine with it as I'm just happy to meet my bub after feeling like I was getting so close. Poor DH had let everyone know that I was in labour at 7.00am and was getting so many calls to see what was happening that he had to recharge his mobile 3 times throughout the day.

So 6pm I'm upstairs having the C-section. It's such a quick operation. It's a bit bizarre as you can feel them touching you etc it's just that it doesn't hurt. They forgot to put the brakes on my wheely bed and at one stage during the operation the whole bed got jerked backwards pretty hard - oops! As soon as they pulled Gemma out, the anaesethist lifted my head up so that I could see her. I was so excited to see if she was a boy or a girl that I didn't even look at her face, I looked straight between her legs to see what she was!! And to our absolute delight, she was a GIRL!!!!! Gemma received 9 and 9 again on her AGPAR score so she definitely didn't come out flat at all - I think she was just very happy in there. Her head was a little bruised and mishapen initially from me trying to push her out but this was gone the very next day.

I spent about 3 hours in recovery waiting for my epidural to wear off and whilst the midwives checked my bleeding - this killed me as I just wanted to be with my DH and family. But I finally got to catch up with them later on in my room.

During our hospital stay, Gemma got a little jaundiced so she had some phototherapy but she picked up really well after just 24 hours so we were discharged after the normal 5 night stay.

We've now been home for just over a week, have settled in beautifully and we are so in love with her