My Labour experience

 How was your labour?

FYI before reading, if you are pregnant, this is quite a detailed& graphic account of my labour, READ WITH CAUTION:



My labour
I had been googling in the last few months how would i know when i was in labour and what would contractions feel like...when they first started they felt like period pains. I went straight to hospital thinking 'this is it', i wasn't in much pain, they did an examination and told me i wasn't dilated and my waters had not broken. I think the examination must have stimulated something as when i got home the period type pains started to get more uncomfortable, so i had a bath.

I had a  midwife appointment and sweep (insertion of fingers in the cervix to stimulate and start labour). It was quite painful and again when i got home the contractions got worse. by that evening i was vomitting and couldn't sit down. we went to hospital again for the second time, for them to confirm i was only 1cm dilated. i was quite embarrassed to think i wasn't  in active labour. I was sent home. The baby had turned back to back in position and was low down, i couldn't sit or lie as i was too uncomfortable, so I could only kneel on all fours and i sent my husband out to find me a birthing ball! by 6am Friday morning, the third day of contractions, with barely any sleep or food, i called my mum, hubs was asleep exhausted from our midnight trip to hospital. My parents came around and my dad sat downstairs, whilst my mum timed my contractions with me. the only place i felt comfortable to sit was on the toilet! between hubs and my mum they took turns in bringing me water, supporting me and timing my contractions. i called my midwife, but as the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart she wouldn't admit me until they were 2-3 minutes apart, she suggested i take a bath to relieve some pain. i put on my hypnobirthing app (which i founf great!), and had a candlelit bath with my mum & hubs by my side. After this I was getting dry and noticed i was bleeding..

we drove immediately to the hospital for the third time. i was crying and on all fours in the back of the car, with the window down to get some fresh air, driving past the tourists in London on the way to the hospital. I thought if i get sent home a third time i am going to refuse to go! in the busy lift on the way up to the maternity ward everyone was staring at me panting but i didn't care, i lay on the floor in the maternity unit and was taken into a room for an internal examination, it was painful but confirmed i was 5cm dilated, they got me a wheelchair and admitted me to the high risk ward as i had been bleeding. It was a shame as i had planned to go to the midwife home from home birthing centre, which has a more holistic and home like feel, and even considered a birthing pool, but this wasnt possible in the high risk unit.

once i was in my room and got comfortable, the gas & air was amazing and relieved the majority of my pain from contractions, I listened to my hypnobirthing app, squeezed my stress ball, had an evian face spray, mum kept me topped up with ice water, whilst hubs massaged my back with lavender oil while i sat on the birthing ball. we continued like this for several hours. the midwife was quite amazed and said she had never seen anyone labour like this and i was a role model. i actually felt like i was in a spa not in labour. 

by 11pm that night, after another examination, i was told i was fully dilated but my waters had not broken so they had to artificially rupture them. For some reason this took me back to 4cm dilated. i was devastated, after all this time I was totally exhausted. I was given pethidine to try to relax me and save my energy, but my contractions kept coming and i felt the urge to push. i tried and tried to push as hard as i could, still without an epidural, his head was crowning and they could see he had dark hair but he wouldn't come out.  by this point i felt quite delirious, there was a big team in the room now and they tried a ventouse (suction) method, but this did not work as the babies shoulders were in an awkward position. i was told we had to go to theatre where i would have an emergency forceps delivery, and if this failed, an emergency caesarean section. I signed the consent forms, hubs put on his scrubs and i was wheeled lying on the bed to theater. i was very scared,  i had a spinal anaesethtic incase a caesarean was necessary, there theater was buzzing with staff all around me and hubs was patting my head with wet tissue, he felt helpless and unsure what to do, but just his presence helped me feel better. I was told to push when the drug used to induce my contractions and make them stronger was ready. I pushed with all my mite, i was determined to get this baby out...

at 5.10am he was born by emergency forceps, weighing a whopping 9lb 2oz. i tore quite badly and had an episotomy (cut), i had to be stitched up, a catheter in and a vaginal pack put inside me to soak up the blood for 12 hours. once on the recovery ward i breastfed my baby for the very first time and was totally inlove, although i could barely keep my eyes open i was so lethargic. mum, dad & hubs went home to catch up on sleep, i was so tired but i didnt want to close my eyes and leave baby, so my mother in law came and gave me water and watched baby whilst i dozed on and off. my legs were completely numb. i stayed in hospital for 2 days..



It is amazing how you almost forgot the pain as the little eyes staring back at you feel you with love and pride