Jenna's induction and forceps delivery. VERY LONG!!!!!
I think this wins a new record for the longest BB post ever!! I dont know why its this long, it just seemed to tell itself.
Spud was due 31st March 2005, but when “she†didn’t arrive on her due date, I wasn’t too surprised as my sister was induced with both her daughters. What did surprise me where the period pains and back aches that had started about that time. There were very few nights between her due date and when she was actually born that Shane and I got through a night of no contractions or pains or niggles.
Heat packs and hot showers became my best friends in the wee small hours of the morning, but I managed to survive with the occasional phone call to the birthing unit to let them know what was going on – always to be told to come in when or if the pain should get worse.
Seven days after my due date I was booked in for a 41-week appointment at the hospital where they assessed my cervix (nice!), performed an ultrasound to check amniotic fluid levels and placed me on the CTG for about 30 minutes to check uterine contractions and baby heartbeat. Everything was going well, the cervix was softened slightly – no dilation darn it – contractions were present and I was told there was “A lot of water – that will make a mess when it goes!â€. The induction was booked for Monday morning in the birthing suites – a dose of Prostin gel, but all the people who saw me on Thursday said they would be surprised if I didn’t go naturally before that as everything was looking pretty favourable. Mum arrived that night from NZ, so everything was good to go!!
Unfortunately, Spud was not ready by the looks of things, and continued to try and bash her way out all weekend. My show appeared on Friday, and continued through to Monday.
Monday morning I was at the birthing suites before everyone else – convinced that I would follow the first in, best dressed theory. I knew 2 other people who had been mucked around over their inductions at Geelong Hospital, and was determined it wouldn’t happen to me!
When the door opened, and the midwife from hell called my name, my heart sank. She was the only midwife I had met through the hospital that I could not stand. An irritating woman who laughed like a horse, talked over me all the time, chewed gum in my face, and was generally just pretty irritating. My tension levels hit the roof as she tried to initiate some sort of inane conversation. Finally Mum got up and went to see the supervising midwife, and told her I couldn’t deal with the one I had been assigned. No problems – changes were made and I had the supervisor for the next 2 hrs!! Athelie was lovely, and we got through the internal and application of gel without a hitch.
At about 10:30 I was allowed to go home until 3pm or if I went into labour I was to come back in to the hospital. Mum, Shane and I toddled off into town to do a spot of shopping! As we were eating lunch, my contractions (sorry – Prostin pains….) were getting stronger and closer, and I hoped that this meant the induction would be successful that day. While walking around was pretty tough on the old back and belly – it certainly took my mind off things. I don’t believe it sped anything up.
At 3pm we were back at the hospital and I was placed back onto the monitor for 30mins. This time though I needed heat packs on my back and my tummy to make the pain bearable. The pain I was dealing with now was similar in intensity to the prelabour pains I had been experiencing for the last 2 weeks. The contractions were about 4-5 mins apart, but not regular enough to be classed as labour. Atheley finished her shift, and Lynne – one of my angels – came on, and I was lucky enough to have her assigned to me. Because of the induction, I was no longer able to go through the family birthing unit, however Lynne was still going to keep an eye on things. She did the internal and was happy to announce at 4pm I was 2cm dilated!! YAY!! No more gel! She did a bit of a strip and stretch at the top of the cervix and said she thought the baby was posterior – which means chin facing the wrong way, thus not allowing the smallest part of the baby’s head to move through the birth canal. She suggested some positions – mainly bending over, that would be more comfortable for me as the labour continued, and would help Spud get into a better position.
From here on in, things start getting a little fuzzy for me. The strip and stretch had initiated some pretty intense contractions, and I couldn’t straighten my back because of the pain. Lynne wanted me to go home for a while, she gave Shane some sleeping pills and said to take them around 7pm to get some rest. If I stayed in hospital I would need to progress at 1cm/hr dilation, otherwise the doctors would intervene. She said if I could go home and relax for a while, I would be likely to progress faster than in hospital.
So we went out to the car – I couldn’t sit down, so we travelled the 4 minute drive back home with my butt on the glovebox, my knees on the passenger seat and my face buried into the head rest. When we got home I just raced for the main bathroom which has a shower head over a large corner spa-bath, I jumped straight in and set myself up on all fours with the shower spraying on the right hand side of my back. Shane brought the fan in, and for about 30mins, I was in absolute heaven. The contractions were really strong, but the environment was so relaxing and I knew there was nowhere else I wanted to be. Then Shane went missing – he told me he was getting the car turned around and putting out the rubbish (all very important things…..) but I swear he was gone for about 30 contractions – each one getting stronger. Mum checked on me at about 5:30, and I was starting to get a little messy. I wanted the shower head moved and some towels under my knees but every time I moved the contractions which were localised on my back would surge through my whole body. She looked everywhere for him, and as it turns out he had seen his sister coming so had driven down the road to talk to her – rather than letting her come into the house. Hmmm – not happy Jan!!
Finally he came back, and after a slightly angry exchange, we spent about 10mins with trying to get comfy. I was having to groan through the contractions and I was feeling so sick, then my waters “POPPED†and I knew if I didn’t leave the bath then, an ambulance was going to have to come and get me – cause I couldn’t stomach the idea of the car ride for much longer. Shane helped me with PJ bottoms and a singlet top, and we chucked a cardie over that. It took about 3 contractions to get me to the car where I was turfed into the back seat this time – my face in the seat and my bum in the air. Another 4 contractions or so to get to the hospital, and I was screaming by the time we got there. Shane drove up the ramp – just like in the movies, and mum ran inside for a wheelchair. Shane somehow managed to get me out of the back seat after a contraction and we walked about 20 metres before the next one hit. I buckled to my knees screaming in pain with families watching from every direction. It was the middle of visiting hours in the reception of a public hospital!! Children were asking their parents “Whats wrong with that woman mummy….â€.
Lynne and Gail (another midwife) came rushing out with the wheelchair and helped me kneel backwards into it. They supported my shoulders and raced me through. I got into the birthing suite and they asked me what I wanted to do – all fours on a beanbag please!! They set that up, and I started labouring on there. Heat packs were applied and Shane and Mum took turns rubbing that magic spot on my back.
I cannot describe what the contractions felt like now. If I stayed on all fours, they stayed isolated to my back, but the second I moved, the pain just coursed through my whole body. So when they asked me to get on the bed for an internal – of course I wanted to have it done on the floor. No such luck!!
After the next contraction the four people in the room somehow managed to drag me to the bed where my body was convulsing with pain. By the way – by now I was fairly vocal. All that crap about breathing through the contractions was not even gelling with me. I had to groan through every single one as it released the pain somehow. Lynne did the internal and announced I was 5cm dilated. As soon as she said that I screamed – “EPIDURALLLLLL!!!!!!â€. I had been labouring in this way for about 3 hours now, and while I believe I could manage the pain for 30 minutes, or an hour, noone was able to give me a guarantee as to how long it would all last. Mum and Lynne, knowing that I had wanted a natural labour, tried to convince me to start with the gas and pethidine, and work my way up to an epidural. I agreed to try the gas as long as the anaesthetist was being paged for the epi.
The first few sucks of the gas did nothing, and that was when they told me it took a couple of contractions to get it through. I was told to suck it in and out just before the contractions hit, and then towards the end to breath more it less deeply so I didn’t get the headspins. Well the first couple of contractions all I wanted to do was keep on groaning, so the gas really did nothing. I got my timing right for the next one, and as I expected, the gas did nothing but make my head fuzzy. For some reason I had recollections of being at “Shadows nightclub†the Auckland Uni Bar, and I felt like I had had a few too many beers, and smoked a couple of strong cigarettes. Just head spinny and yuck. Also, I found it took the edge of that wonderful coming down relief from the contractions. The contractions were so fast and strong, the coming down feeling was just the biggest rush, cause I knew I was furthest away from the next dose of pain. I didn’t entertain pethidine, and just waited out the anaesthetist. Lynne tried to get the IV into my hand for preparation, but apparently the veins in my hand were no good. Over the next 10 minutes, I began to get the urge to push at the end of each contraction. It felt just like I needed to poo. Charming huh?? One of the last contractions before my epidural, I remember a burning feeling around my vagina, and I still wonder if maybe that was Jenna crowning??
But finally after the sickie bucket had been placed before me, and a lot more heat and massage on my back, the magic man arrived and kindly put the IV in my wrist on the floor. Lovely man, but once again I had to get on the bed to get the epi put in. This was something pre-labour that had terrified me, but now what scared me more was having to get on that bed and stay still for 3-4 contractions. That was definitely the hardest thing out of the whole labour process, but I’m proud to say I did it.
I would say it took about 3 contractions for me to start relaxing from the epidural. I still felt all the pain, and the pushing sensation at the end of the contraction, but somehow everything becomes a little clearer from this point – like I was allowed to breathe and relax a little?? The CTG was strapped on which made everyone a lot happier, and I had no desire to leave the bed. A catheter was inserted (OMG – I fell in love with my new handbag!!) and I had another internal. Wouldn’t you know it, I was fully dilated. Ooops. The anaesthetist wasn’t very happy when he came in and found this out. I think he thought it had been a bit of a waste of time, but really, it was a godsend!! The doctors explained to me that Spud was persistently OP, or posterior, and they would try to turn her by hand once I relaxed a little. The lights were dimmed, we put some calming music on, and I started to chill out. We cracked open the barley sugars, and I was even tempted to sleep.
Geelong Hospital allows you to control your epidural, so I had a button that enabled a top up of 5mls every 15mins as required. At this point, I was more scared of the pain coming back, so I kept an eye on the clock and dosed myself religiously on the quarter hour three times. This ended up being a mistake as I got a case of the dreaded shakes. Every contraction that hit sent my whole body into shakes, with my teeth rattling. It really scared Shane and Mum, and they asked for blankets to keep me warm. At about 9:00pm, there was a shift change, and I said goodbye to Lynne, and hello to Andy. Andy is great, a real no-nonsense midwife who is exceptionally capable with all the theatre stuff despite the fact she is a family birthing unit, natural labour midwife. In addition, Dr Prue entered the scene and decided to rotate Spud. Not such a great idea as it sent Spud into a touch of distress. Because the baby was OP, they had me roll onto my side, which apparently helps OP babies rotate themselves. This of course meant that the CTG wouldn’t stay on, so the next thing was inserted into me – a scalp monitor to monitor the baby. Everytime they tried anything, the heartbeat dropped, which caused concern. In addition, the contractions were slowing dramatically. They were now about 8-12 mins apart, so the syntocin drip was added to the concoction to try and speed them up.
None of this worked, so about 30 mins later they discussed the option of forceps with me. Initially I was against the idea, but when I though about it a little more, it seemed so much more sensible than a c/s. Because they thought forceps would be successful (I had lots of room, the baby was high, the doctor was confident), that was first choice, but the option of a c/s had to be considered if that didn’t work, so I was prepped for theatre – a gown was placed over me, I was transferred to a gurney, and all my jewellery was removed. Shane was spirited away to get into the overalls, and I was wheeled off to the theatre. We signed forms, I was asked about my teeth and allergies at least 3 times, and I got to meet about 10 people in 2 minutes. I was really impressed how the hospital handled it all, they were a well oiled team, so when I announced that “This baby will be delivered by forceps – make it happen!!â€, everyone laughed in unison, and the consulting doctor said “You heard that folks, we have been told!â€.
So my legs got placed into the stirrups, the sheets was pulled across my chest and my tummy was prepared in case the c/s needed to progress. After a few minutes, I could feel something happening inside me, and it turned out they were putting the forceps in. I needed to have two sets of forceps – one to rotate the baby, and the other to help pull her out. They also had to do an episiotomy, which didn’t really worry me at all. Once the second set of forceps were positioned, they wanted me to start pushing with the contractions. The problem was, I couldn’t feel any contractions really, and they were about 5 mins apart. So it was a slow process, but after about 3 contractions, and with me getting out 2-3 pushes with each one, I felt Spud slide into the world at 11:09pm. I told Shane to go around and see what she was, and he wanted to cut the cord too. I called out to him – “What is it??â€. He took a couple of seconds to answer, and even though there were all those people in there, noone said anything until Shane proudly announced it was a little girl. She was taken to a table, and I guess they got her breathing properly, and then a bloody baby was brought over to me. I didn’t touch her – I couldn’t really as my arms had all manner of things sticking out, but all I said was “She’s perfectâ€. When asked what her name was, I looked at Shane and knew immediately she was Jenna Morine. Not so sure about the Jenna part, but the Morine was right. I told Shane to go with Andy to see Mum and not to let Jenna out of his sight. He didn’t of course, and went to show Gramma the latest arrival. As it turns out, Mum got to touch my baby before me!! While they were away, I delivered the placenta and was stitched up. They wheeled me into recovery where we started trying for the first feed. Jenna wasn’t great at opening her mouth, and because I couldn’t hold her with the IV in my hand, Andy had to keep pulling her head off and trying to reattach her.
Finally after about 30mins we were wheeled into the ward. By now it was about 1am, and I was buggered. The epidural was finally wearing off, although I still couldn’t move my legs, and my head was spinning at everything that had happened. Jenna still wasn’t attaching well, so the ward midwife expressed some colostrum and fed her that with a syringe.
I still don’t know if my birthing experience was a positive one. It certainly didn’t go to plan – just looking at the birth report and all the complications will tell you that! - but I have a gorgeous little girl, and I’m healthy and intact. For about 3 weeks afterwards, I couldn’t talk about any of this without crying, but now it’s a bit better. I guess with the next baby I’ll have more to base it all on, but its good to know I was able to labour to full dilation with next to no pain relief. And as for the epidural, well I didn’t want it, but in retrospect, if I hadn’t had it when I did, they would have had to give me something for the forceps extraction anyway, and they prefer an epidural.
Thanks for reading my EPIC story!!!
Fi
