Maya Jasmine- an emergency c-section story
I had a pretty easy pregnancy, and we were travelling along nicely towards my due date. At 36w 3d (a thursday) I woke with mild diarrhoea, and by that afternoon i was having some very uncomfortable back pain. That night, somewhere in between getting up to pee every 1/2 an hour, i had a dream that i was going to have the baby the next day. I woke up and told DB the news. We both had a bit of a laugh cos it was still so far from my due date, and i still had another week at work left!
At work that friday morning however, I had a small show. I knew that a show could still mean that the baby was 2-3 weeks away, and went back to my desk to frantically google for written confirmation! No way could i have my baby yet, i still had way too many things to organise. I called my midwife to let her know what was happening (we were part of the team midwifery program so had an allocated midwife throughout my pregnancy and for the birth), and got back to work, trying to ignore the pain in my back which kept coming and going. That night, before going home i contemplated taking a few of my personal items home with me, and mentioning to my boss that i might not make it in on monday, but decided not too- after all, i wasn't really having the baby yet!
But the next morning (saturday) at 6:30am i woke with a start and ran (waddled quickly!) to the bathroom. With a big gush, my waters broke. I started shaking, as it finally dawned on me that i really was going to be having my baby after all! I called out to DB and he was all excited, i was still in shock... By 9am, about the time my contractions began, we were up at the hospital to have a trace and check that everything is ok. The baby was being a little sluggish and we were monitored for about 2 hours until they were happy. We were released from the hospital about 11:30am to do some house hunting and stop off at my nephews school fete for a sausage sizzle.
I managed the rest of the day with mild contractions, had a few frantic hours of shopping to buy some last minute items for my hospital bag and had a scary and embarrassing moment when a second large gush of fluid came out in the middle of Kmart! By 4pm, i was watching a dvd and napping. 10pm came, and i started to track my contractions (i set up a spreadsheet with tables and graphs... I admit i am a statistics geek!) whilst DB had a nap. We had been in the middle of hypnobirthing classes, so i listened to my cd's and tried to relax and breathe like we were shown. We hadn't gotten up to the actual birth bit in the course yet, so i pulled out the book and tried to cram! Well, it doesn't work for exams, and it sure didn't work for the birth!
By 1:30am on Sunday morning my contractions were starting to get quite intense, i was uncomfortable (DB was taking up the entire bed and snoring his head off) and i was starting to feel anxious and like i was on my own with no help. After a few tries at waking him, DB finally got up, and got into the shower while i called my midwife to say i wanted to come in as my contractions were roughly 5 mins apart. Unfortunately, my midwife was having a weekend off, and the one midwife on the team that we didn't like answered the phone (we had met them all a few weeks earlier at a meet and greet in case our midwife was unavailable for the birth). She was quite abrupt in telling me she was busy and that i should call the delivery suite, before quickly hanging up on me. I was already feeling like i wasn't ready to have the baby, and that i had no-one to support me, so this was the last straw and i burst into tears. DB came out of the shower to find me sobbing, and i asked him to call the delivery suite for me as i didn't know any of the people who worked there, or what to expect. They didn't want to talk to him of course, so i got on the phone and explained through my sobs what was happening and i think they could tell that i was terrified! Someone very lovely and kind calmed me down again and told us to come in.
Up at the hospital we were put into an exam room and checked on every now and then by one of the delivery suite midwives until the team midwife was available. I was relaxed and happy again by that stage and listening to my hynobirthing cd's. Unfortunately, by the time the midwife got there, i was so relaxed she didn't believe i was in labour and wanted to send us home! This was one of the things that we had been told to expect at the hypnobirthing classes, and i had not really believed would happen. So, i got all worked up again, as by this stage the contractions were very intense and it was taking a lot of energy to deal with this woman. It was then that i asked for some pain relief and she examined me to find that i was 4-5cms, much to her disbelief. I ended up with a shot of pethidine, and DB was not happy as he felt that there were better options that the midwife didn't give us a chance to discuss, and i just accepted the first thing she offered.
We got ourselves set up in the birthing suite, it was about 5am on Sunday morning. It was just crazy seeing the little bassinet that our baby was going to be in very shortly! The pethidine was great though, it lasted about 2 hours and we just chilled on the couch and listed to some music for a while. The midwife came in to check on us and asked how frequent my contractions were, apparently i just waved my hand at her and said very slurred "what contractions??"...
Thankfully, it was a change of shift at 7am and a new midwife came on, bringing with her a student midwife who was going to stay with us for the rest of my labour and the birth. I don't remember this being discussed with us, but it was by far the best thing that could have happened! She was a lovely woman, in her late 30's with a very laid back style and a natural birthing philosophy which suited us perfectly. She loved that we were trying hypnobirthing and was very supportive of us. She suggested that we try getting into the bath for some more pain relief, as the pethidine had worn off. I remember saying to her that i was trying to hold off for a bit longer, and would give it a go after 7am, she and DB looked at each other and she kindly said to me, its 9:30am dear! So i gratefully jumped into the giant bath and stayed there for almost 3 hours. DB sat on one side of me, and the student midwife sat on the other to keep me afloat and i concentrated on breathing through each contraction as it came and went. Lots of people kept coming in to check on us apparently, but i wasn't aware of them. The obstetrician came in at some stage and asked if i was asleep!
About 12:30 i started to feel a lot more pressure, and thought that i needed to push. I was asked to get out of the bath so the midwife could examine me before i began. I was 9cms with a lip, and was told that if i felt like pushing i could. After an hour of not much happening, the OB was consulted and she requested that a Syntocinon drip be put in, but the midwives were reluctant to do so. Our student midwife bought out some essential oils that were supposed to increase the strength of my contractions. Somewhere in there i got the idea that if i didn't start pushing they were going to give me the drip, i was desperate to avoid it, so started pushing with each contraction, even though i didn't feel that urgent need too. Two more hours of pushing, and my allocated midwife who we had seen throughout the pregnancy had arrived on her day off to see what was happening. I had started on the gas by that stage and was absolutely exhausted. I admitted to her that it didn't feel right and i didn't think i could keep going, so she called the OB to come check things out.
The OB was pretty unhappy that i hadn't been given the drip as requested, and my room was suddenly full of people having a loud 'discussion' about it. The OB did an exam and then sat down on the floor with me with a big speech prepared, i was absolutely relieved when she finally got to the part were she said that i was going to have to have a c-section, as i knew that things weren't happening as they should. Thankfully the baby was still doing fine and wasn't at all distressed, just was not in a position to make it out. DB pulled out my teddy bear filled with lavender and i breathed in the scent through each contraction until the anaesthetist arrived about an hour later. I was absolutely mortified when he did though, as he had to be one of the sexiest men EVER, and here i was naked and yelling. He explained what was going to happen, and then we walked to the theatre. My contractions were still coming every minute or so, and with no pain relief, i was yelling and screaming as we walked there. Unfortunately, a hospital tour of heavily pregnant woman and their partners had just arrived, and they all looked on in shock and dismay at what they had gotten themselves into!
After the spinal block was administered, the caesarean was performed quite quickly. My very sexy anaesthetist sat next to us and told us what was happening throughout, and we asked that no-one tell us the sex of the baby as she was a 'surprise'. When the baby was pulled out at 4:33pm, the OB bought it closer and held it up with its legs pulled apart. It took a few seconds to register that we had a baby girl, i was still in shock that we even had a baby! She was then whisked off before we even saw her face, which was a bit disappointing, but she was checked, weighed, wrapped up and in my arms before we knew it. The OB had put on a cd for the operation, and sneaky sound system was appropriately playing "i love it, when i hold you in my arms" in the background while our first family photo was taken. In the days after the birth while i was still in hospital, DB bought the CD and told me he listened to it over and over as a reminder... Awwww!
