Mr N's Pregnancy and Birth IV

The last weeks of the pregnancy, suddenly, was uneventful. Around 37 weeks I started dialating from the light contractions I had. At 39 weeks I was 2cm dialated and amniotic fluid started leaking. So I was given an induction at 9am. We went to breakfast, me and hubby. And phoned everyone we knew, telling them that I'm having contractions 10 minutes apart, and that the doctor said one way or another, our baby will be here that evening.

Hubby dropped me at home, while he went to work to wrap things up. Around 12:00 I phoned him. Contractions were 5 minutes apart and I felt it time to go to hospital. I wasn't allowed a homebirth, since I'm extremely small built. I'm having what they call a “trial-birth”. To see if I can have a normal delivery, even though I'm probably not big enough. So medical help must be on hand to intervene the moment it is necessary.

Hubby was stuck in traffic! By 12:30 he picked me up and off to the hospital we went. The porter wanted to push me in a wheelchair and I started laughing. I told him it's really not that sore...:-) After having contractions for 20 weeks every day, I was quite comfortable with labour contractions. I found it normal and not painful at all. Irritating, yes, but sooooo exciting!

So up we went to the labour ward, where I sat and waited for things to happen. Contractions were coming every 2 minutes, each lasting 90 seconds and they peaked on their little monitoring machine. It was as strong as it could get. I was 5cm dialated, when they advised me to get an epidural. It would speed things along, they said, and then it's ready if we do end up with a c-section. I agreed, though I really didn't need it for the pain. There was no pain yet. Though, my back did ache with every contraction, since baby was lying upside down. Instead of his back against my tummy, he was trying to come out with his back against my back. It complicated matters. He also turned face upwards, instead of downwards, which means more space is necessary for him to come out. And, I already only had limited space!

I got the epidural at 15:30, and instantly regretted it. The anaesthetyst was old. I mean, like ancient! He pushed the needle in too deeply, and the pain was unbearable. I screamed and cried and screamed again. The pain flowed from the point of the needle downwards into my hips. It was pain like nothing I ever experienced. Every nerve screamed from it.

Then he had to repeat the procedure. And again, the same pain. That was the start of the downward cycle. I loathed the feeling of my dead legs. I loathed the drip, the little tube coming out of my back, the monitor that was kept on my stomach. Control was taken away from me.

3 Hours later, nothing has happened. No dialation past 5 cm and the gynae said I'll need a c-sect. Baby's head was stuck at 4/5ths of the way out. He wasn't in distress, but she wanted to take him out before he gets to that point. I knew it was a major possibility, so I agreed to the c-sect. Being the small person I am, I've grown up knowing that I may not be able to have my babies normally.

I was pushed to the theatre, where they topped the epidural up and performed the c-section. The gynae lifted a big, fat, wet baby up, who promptly wee-ed back into my open stomach. I thought it hilarious! He cried and squirmed lustily, and the gynae yelled...”it's a boy”! He weighed 3.7kg. A big boy. His apgars were great.

So they wrapped him and brought him to me. I held him a while, then they took him to an incubater. They said it's hospital policy, all c-sect babies needed to spend 6 hours after birth in an incubator (in those days). I was young, naïve and thought I had no say in the matter. So I accepted it.

Hubby went along with our baby, to get his first injection (vitamin K). I was stiched up and wheeled to recovery, and then to my room.

To be continued...