Hey girl, well I just gave birth 4 months ago..So it's pretty fresh!


I was only in week 37 when I woke up at about 8:30 am with "period like" cramps. I started drinking water, thinking they were braxton hicks contractions. I tried laying down, moving around, and drinking water.


At about noon, the contractions started every 2 minutes. The pain went from my frony groin area, to my lower back and they were gradually getting worse.


I finally left for the hospital at about 4pm, when I couldn't speak through a contraction. On the way to the hospital is when they started to become intense. I couldn't do anything but concentrate and breathe.


We got to the hospital that day at 4:30pm. They got me changed and into my room and I was settled in by 5pm. They checked me and I was 5cm dialated. They asked me what my pain level was and I said it was about a 5.


An hour passed, and she checked me again and I was 7-8 cm dialtated and 90% effaced. This was the second stage of labor. My pain level was now reaching a 7.


About a half an hour later, at 6:30 they checked me again and I was 8-9 cm and my water broke during the examination. I had marconium in my waters, so they were extra precautious.

The baby's heart rate started fluxuating and the told me they would need to start an .I.V to hydrate me. I refused everything they were offering, but I did use oxygen to try ro stabalize the baby's heartrate. They asked me about an epidural and I refused. They did, though, allow me to get into the shower for pain relief.


At about 7:15, they checked me again and said that I was 9 1/2 cm dialated. And 100% effaced. She asked me to push and told me that I had become fully dialated. She told me to just let my body take over.


This was my transition stage. It didn't last very long at all. At about 7:30, they noticed me starting to strain. So they called for my doctor, to start setting up for delivery.


As I was pushing through each contraction, the doctor began to stretch my vagina to allow the baby's head to emerge. She told me that they might have to do an episiotomy, but I refused, and told her to let me rip naturally. She was concerned, but I pushed about 4 more good times and the head emerged. She suctioned the baby immedietly to remove any marconium from the nose and mouth. I pushed one more time and the baby's shoulders and body came out.

It was 7:58pm when they laid my daughter on my belly!! She was 6lbs 8oz and 19in long.

Post-pardom, I got one "running stictch" and started shaking uncontrollably. The doctor said it was my rush of hormones and addrenaline takig over. I started running a fever of 103 and was .F.O.R.C.E.D to have an .I.V and wasn't allow to see my baby because of a possible infection. The had me on antibiotics all throughout the night and continually checked my temp. Through the night. Supposedly, they said it was because I didn't allow them to put and .I.V in to start hydrating me during the birth.
I got up and got dressed and was rolled to my room. They gave me 2 .Vicodan and some laxatives. I slept, and they brought me my baby the next morning.

Birth was the most beautiful experience I had ever gone through. It was painful, undoubtedly, but it was all worth it.

For this being my 1st child, everyone believed my delivery would be long and drawn out. But it was finished within 3 hours of arriving at the hospital.

Hope this helps you girl!!! It's crazy that this happened 4 1/2 months ago already!! It's like I was just at the hospital!!!


Sarah
edited because I forgot to add post pardom.

Big props to you for going natural hun :)
as for an iv to hydrate you - I think hospitals just like sticking needles in peopole. I mean not so long ago the average woman gave birth at home with no iv in sight.
It' my personal experience that as soon as you arrive in hospital they want to see your pee and stick a needle in you - regardless of the problem at hand.

I would be glad to help you. I will tell you about my birth with
layla 18 months ago: ( I had a negative birth experience which really affected me postnatally)

labour signs-
layla was due on the 8th march but at 38 weeks pregnant on 24/02/06 I went out for my brother in laws birthday. We went clubbing and I had a few mild cramping in my back during the night. I assumed it was because I was over-doing it by going out 2 weeks before my due date!
I got home around 1am and just dozed off when I woke up with a pain in my back. I honestly thought i'd just pulled a muscle as people always say contractions are in your stomach.

I went to the loo and there was this strange thick stuff coming out while I was having a wee (sorry tmi) I was really scared as my husband and I lived seperate at the time and he was at his house (i still lived with my parents) so I just sat in the living room waiting to see if the pains would come back.

They started coming every 10 minutes or so but were manageable. I didn't make a sound as I didn't want to wake up my mum and sister upstairs but my mum must of heard me anyway as she came downstairs. I told her about my pains and she said I was in labour.

I wanted my hubby to get some sleep as we'd just been out clubbing so I laboured through til around 5am and then told my mum that my waters had broke. She said I needed to get to hospital as my 5 year old sister had caught and infection from my mums waters breaking early.

So I called my hubby and we got a taxi/cab to the hospital. When I got there they checked me over and said I was only 1cm and that I should go back home.

I refused because my waters had broken and I was scared of the baby getting an infection. So they sent me to the natural labour room and I had to sit there. I begged for etenox (sp?- gas and air) as the pains were getting stronger and I couldn't cope. They said I didn't need gas and air and I could cope with nothing.

I was beside myself crying and eventually around 8am (25/02/2005) they gave me some gas and air. After a few hours I was begging for an epidural. The midwifes were very snooty and wanted me to go natural they didn't want to transfer me for an epidural and my oh had to beg them.

I was transferred (eventually) and was told the doctor was busy with lots of c-sections so I would have a long wait. I was beside myself as the gas and air wasn't working and I had horrible backache labour. They tried to make me use a birthing ball as I was dilating very slowly but it hurt even more and I just wanted to lay on the bed and curl in a ball .

I laboured through inb agony and around 9pm on 25/02 I eventually got my epidural. At this point I was happy and relaxed and the rest of the labour went well. I couldn't feel the contractions at all.

Just after 1am on 26/02 they said I was fully dilated and I could start pushing- well this was the hardest thing I have ever done! I just couldn't get enough energy to push as I was exhausted from the long labour and not getting enough sleep the night before.

The midwfie was starting to get concerned and said they might have to do an instrumental delivery. I was so scared but she gave me a final chance and I managed to push her out. She was born at 1.53am on 26/02/2005.

I wish I could say that the rest is a happy story but it is not. I was giving an injection to deliver the placenta but after 10 minutes it still hadn't come out. She waited 20 minutes then suddenly there was docotors everywhere and I was being rushed into theatre to remove the placenta.

Meanwhile my husband was just left by himself in the room with a newborn baby. He was so scared. I had to be given a c-section dose of epidural and then the doctor manually removed my placenta. I threw up on the table and twice afterwards.

When I went to the postnatal ward my dh was told to go home. I could not move my feet cause of the high dose of epdural yet they just left me in the bed with my baby around 4 feet away from me in her cot. She was crying and I couldn't get to her so I rang the emergency bell

after a few hours the midwife said it was time to visit the toilet. Well they stood me up and water gushed out of me everywhere. I thought my waters had broke all over again. Turns out it was urine.My bladder had been completely full for hours and I hadn't felt it with the epidural in.

I had no tears and was fine so they sent me home. Yet something was worrying me., I couldn't feel when I needed the loo for a wee. I mentioned it to my doctor a week later and she sent me back to the hospital.

The midwife said. 'well didn't you have a catheter in during your epidural?' I said no. She looked shocked and left the room. They tested my bladder function and realised that I was peeing myself because I couldn't feel when my bladder was full, so they fitted me a catheter.

I was mortified. The consultant came and told me it was probably because of the stress of pushing but I couldn't forget what the midwife said.

They gave me a portable cathether and I had to wear it. They told me it would rest my bladder so the sensation would come back. I was devastated having to wear the catheter as I had to have it strapped to my leg and it was awful.

I went back in 3 weeks and they took it out. I had to stay overnight and they told me to go to drink lots of water and tell them if I could feel that I needed to go loo. All this time my newborn baby had to stay with daddy.

I did not want to wear the catheter anymore and was covinced I would have this problem for life so I lied and told them it was back to normal. I then bought loads of tena lady incontinence pads and wore them.

I sunk into postnatal depression. I wanted to give my baby up and part of me blamed her for my incontinence. I imagined a life of wearing incontienence pads for the rest of my life and I was only 20.

I sent my daughter away for a week with relatives and didn't miss her one bit. During the time I went out enjoyiong myself (even though I had incontinence pads on) when I went to pick her up I cried- not because I was happy- but because I didn't want her back.

I made my dh take her every night at his house. She used to wake up every hour on a night and looking at it now it was probably because she wasn't getting proper love from me. I couldn't stand having her around. I begged my dh to give her up for adoption but he wouldn't. I kept repeating to everyone that I wished i'd had an abortion and my life was ruined now.

It took 12 weeks before I finally got my feeling back in my bladder. I was already pregnant then with logan. By then I had started to bond more with my daughter. I think I wanted another child because I wanted to replace my daughter. ( I know that sounds really bad)

i really wanted to sue the nhs as I have had doctors tell me that you .M.U.S.T have a cathether during an epidural. I went for 24 hours without going to the toilet and the strain on my bladder was immense. I should of been given a catheter to drain my bladder but the midwife simply 'forgot'.

I believe that this experience led to my postnatal depression and stopped me bonding with my daughter. It was horrible and I was so scared of going through it again with my son. Luckily he was born in 2 hours.

I hope that my birth story can be used in your report. I will be happy to help you more if you need it. I will provide any more details you might need. Feel free to pm me.

Becky xxxx

Beckster, I don't think you should ever tell that story to your daughter.

oh course i'm not going to tell my daughter that I didn't want her (even though it was illness) but shes 18 months old so she's hardly likely to read it is she?! :x

edit- to add: I love my daughter to bits now. She and my son are the most importnat things in the whole wide world to me and I feel very guilty about what happened even thought it .W.A.S.N.T. .M.Y. F.A.U.L.T. Pnd is an illness.

You must think i'm stupid to think I would tell my daughter I didn't want her when she was first born. That would screw her up for life (i've studied psychology)

Becks, not neccessarily.
My parents were eventually honest with me and told me that they did fight over who wanted me but they fought over who should have me as neither wanted me. I was ultimately bought up by grandparents and I am glad I know the truth.

Holy cow...12 weeks of not being able to control your bladder!?!?

Now i'm paranoid!

But with the whole telling your daughter...Maybe if she asks later in life about postpardum depression, just tell her you had it...Don't go into specific details. It's seriously nothing to be ashamed of, seeing as 1 in 10 women suffer from it, and 80% of women suffer from a mild form of the "baby blues". I'm scared i'm going to end up with it, seeing as bipolar disorder runs in my family. But at least they'll know right away, and i'll get medicated.

My sister was going to give my neice up for adoption, and after she had been in foster care for a few weeks after birth, my sister changed her mind and got molly back. We aren't ever planning on telling her about the whole ordeal. It would just be a little too traumatic.

um I don't think you're stupid. Sorry if it came off that way. I know post natal depression is an illness, as is depression (which I have.) and I don't in any way think you don't love your daughter.

thanks girl. I was set in my way and I knew exaclty what I wanted for my birthing plan. I knew, legally, that they had to grant my wishes and could not force anything upon me. (except post pardom with my fever. They didn't give me another option. I needed to see my baby and the only way was to get rid of my fever. Tylenol wasn't gonna cut it!)

my thought was, billions of women had their babies on the kitchen table. What makes them a stronger woman than me?
I wanted to know and understand the pain that actually came with child birth. I wanted to respect what the human body is capable of and feel every second of it.

I was focused and determined to bring my child to this earth without a "leash"(iv). I could've had her at home if I wanted too. I'm glad I went to the hospital though because of the marconium!!

I try to let women know that giving birth totally drug free is not supposed to be looked at like "crazy." that every women is capable of giving birth naturally, pain wise. But if people choose to get the epidural, then you have to respect them as well. As giving birth vaginally is an incredible thing too!

Sarah

Sorry if I came accross defensive (again) my hormones are still all over and i'm having a hard time thinking rationally

it's okay, no hard feelings. =)

Sarah and beck thanks ill let you know how it goes and my marks etc

sarah I loved going natural, with number two I was so tired and puking nonstop so they gave me nubain which contained gravol and it helped alot, never took the pain away but I was able to sleep in between contractions.