Serious worries after my last birth: warning, not a nice story. Very rare labour.

[Gucci1owner]

Hi all.
I am currently in my first trimester..... Might sound like I am being too anxious about this at this stage but I do have a serious worry.

Just a warning: I had a very traumatic birth last time.

Basically, my last and first baby was an induced delivery after he stopped moving and he wasn't responding as he usually did to cold water etc.

Briefly:
I ended up with the crash team in the delivery room as my heart rate was borderline heart attack.
I lost so much blood I had 2 blood transfusions.
I had a bad reaction to the hormone drip and pain relief.
I lost consciousness many times during labour and after I gave birth.
I had an asthma attack due to the drugs. And severe vomiting when I eventually came round.

Needless to say I am scared about baby number two.

C section or just epidural? What are the plus and minus sides to both, in your experiences?

Many thanks

 

[Kess]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Have you had any sort of debrief or counselling? Might help lower your anxiety levels, which can only help with your next birth.

Can I ask, what has made you decide on either an epidural or a c-section? Since a lot of your problems came from reactions to drugs (I'm assuming your heart-rate was a reaction to the induction drugs, you said you reacted badly to hormone drip and pain relief, the asthma attack and vomiting were both down to the drugs) I'd personally be looking at trying to avoid drugs at all if I were in your situation.

What was the reason for your bloodloss, do you know? I know induction makes haemorrage more likely, as does an operative vaginal delivery, a mediolateral episiotomy (not sure if you had either of those?), and maternal distress. A c-section also makes a PPH more likely. Your best chance of avoiding all the problems of your first birth would seem to me to be a natural birth with no induction and only natural pain relief, in the hospital.

 

[yellowglow]

That was exactly what I was thinking- Why not a natural birth?
I have had the c-section, the induced epidural, and two all natural deliveries and I have to say that the last two were the easiest. My midwife says it was because my body had gotten used to having babies, but I think it was because I didn’t use medications.

Your reactions really sound like they were exasperated by the drugs. While I can understand doing an epidural when they needed to induce you- My second was induced due to fear of failure to thrive. My first was scheduled c section (against my will) due to fear of failure to thrive. (There was nothing wrong with my children by the way.. I am just a very small woman.) there are natural (more fun) ways to induce, and once the labor starts your body can take over.

After my first two, I refused to go to the hospital early because I was afraid they would cut me or force me to go in labor against my will. I stayed at home and labored in my bathtub until my water broke. The last kid I labored in my rocking chair until my mucus plug passed. When I arrived at the hospital the nurses tried to start an epidural but couldn’t because I started crowning within an hour.

I’m not suggesting you be as stubborn as me, but if you have an understanding provider and monitor your pregnancy, you should be able to make the best decision for you and the baby when the time comes. You are capable of having a safe and happy delivery.. no matter what happened the last time. Every pregnancy and child is different. Please do not worry and best of luck.

And if it still comes down to c-section or epidural.. They both are horrible.. but you heal up quicker from the epidural with normal delivery.

 

[Gucci1owner]

Thank you!! When I was induced I didn't opt for an epidural, just gas and air and remifentinal (I think that is how it is spelt.) I'm going to ask for counselling too, I think that might be a good idea.
Many thanks again. X

 

[goddess25]

It does sound like all your problems were drug reaction based. Once you have your baby you might want to consider allergy testing as some of these sound quite severe. I would be aiming for a drug free birth which might be hard after a c section. talk to your health care provider. An elective c section might be advised but they would need to review your chart quite carefully.

 

[claudinator]

I had word for word the exact same delivery with a failed placenta delivery.
Next time I'm having a controlled induction.
So the epi and drip will be given at the same time.

 

[claudinator]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Have you had any sort of debrief or counselling? Might help lower your anxiety levels, which can only help with your next birth.

Can I ask, what has made you decide on either an epidural or a c-section? Since a lot of your problems came from reactions to drugs (I'm assuming your heart-rate was a reaction to the induction drugs, you said you reacted badly to hormone drip and pain relief, the asthma attack and vomiting were both down to the drugs) I'd personally be looking at trying to avoid drugs at all if I were in your situation.

What was the reason for your bloodloss, do you know? I know induction makes haemorrage more likely, as does an operative vaginal delivery, a mediolateral episiotomy (not sure if you had either of those?), and maternal distress. A c-section also makes a PPH more likely. Your best chance of avoiding all the problems of your first birth would seem to me to be a natural birth with no induction and only natural pain relief, in the hospital.

I had the same induction at 16days overdue and as my doctor said bar turning me upside down and tapping the baby out he wasn't going.
FIVE DAYS of sweeps and pessaries he was due December 31 came January 16.

So I don't know how their going to get a baby out of you without any drugs?
And the blacking out from the drip you have no idea what it's like you can't breath then you go blind then everything just stops................
And bare in mind your poor oh/DH is beside you screaming at a midwife because your heart has stopped then the midwife, the conultant, anestisolgist, cardiac team are all panicking trying to get you back up and get your baby out while your husband watches your lifeless body.

So not all of us a lucky to be graced with a natural drug free birth.

 

[sethsmummy]

So sorry you had such a traumatic birth first time round hun. I had an Elective Section with DS2 due to my experience with DS1 and it was nowhere as traumatic as yours.

with ds1 i was induced at 40+6, they used pessary at 6pm on 3rd December.. i started early labour at 11pm that night, 9am the next morning i was 2.5cm dilated and they broke my waters. contractions pumped up straight away... i was given MANY internal examinations by lots of different staff members. I was strapped to the bed attached to monitors and 2 drips (one saline, one antibiotics for Strep B). I wasnt allowed off the bed, had 5 different catheters places to make me pee as i wasnt allowed to goto the toilet. I asked for an epidural which took 2 hours for them to come.. it failed and made things worse... i had severe cramp down both legs with each and every contraction after. Eventually drips were removed and the monitor was taken off as it wasnt picking up baby any more.. so more internal as they tried to get a clip on babies head.. it kept coming off... Finally eveyrone left room bar one midwife who allowed me to finally move. a lot more internals later they realised baby wasnt moving down when i pushed... by 8pm i was in theatre and had a spinal. The contractions stopped and wouldnt start again.. so they tried vontouse which didnt work then went to foreceps.. i was dragged from the top of the bed to the bottom and they eventually got baby out... DH was petrified as he saw blood all over baby and I lost a fair amount at the same time. Baby was rushed straight out (turns out they cut his head during delivery) and dh went out with him. The whole thing was traumatic and for hours i didnt even know how my baby was.

All of that led to me being petrified of a second natural labour so i opted for a section and I LOVED IT! it was amazing.. It was all very calm and i got to see my baby straight away! It took only a couple of weeks to heal from instead of the 2 and a bit years it took me to physically heal after my natural birth. So i 100% understand your fears hun.

for the ladies saying about different drugs/drug free. ITs not that simple.. the fear is there. once you have been through something like that then the fear is always there that its going to happen again. OP wont have got to meet her baby straight away etc and her oh would have also been traumatised.. and therefore the seeds of fear are planted. Would you really want to go through all of that again if it were you. I certainly didnt and mine was nowhere near as traumatic as OP.

 

[claudinator]

Agreed sethsmum
I don't know how you can go drug free while you'd a pitocin drip especially when mine took two hours to kick in It was 6times the average dose which stopped my heart. ended out getting 6units of blood due to vaccumn and failed placenta.

As my anaesthesiologist said this isn't your mothers time there are no awards for being brave. This has to be done either this or your getting put under.

 

[Kess]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Have you had any sort of debrief or counselling? Might help lower your anxiety levels, which can only help with your next birth.

Can I ask, what has made you decide on either an epidural or a c-section? Since a lot of your problems came from reactions to drugs (I'm assuming your heart-rate was a reaction to the induction drugs, you said you reacted badly to hormone drip and pain relief, the asthma attack and vomiting were both down to the drugs) I'd personally be looking at trying to avoid drugs at all if I were in your situation.

What was the reason for your bloodloss, do you know? I know induction makes haemorrage more likely, as does an operative vaginal delivery, a mediolateral episiotomy (not sure if you had either of those?), and maternal distress. A c-section also makes a PPH more likely. Your best chance of avoiding all the problems of your first birth would seem to me to be a natural birth with no induction and only natural pain relief, in the hospital.

I had the same induction at 16days overdue and as my doctor said bar turning me upside down and tapping the baby out he wasn't going.
FIVE DAYS of sweeps and pessaries he was due December 31 came January 16.

So I don't know how their going to get a baby out of you without any drugs?
And the blacking out from the drip you have no idea what it's like you can't breath then you go blind then everything just stops................
And bare in mind your poor oh/DH is beside you screaming at a midwife because your heart has stopped then the midwife, the conultant, anestisolgist, cardiac team are all panicking trying to get you back up and get your baby out while your husband watches your lifeless body.

So not all of us a lucky to be graced with a natural drug free birth.

Not sure why you're getting uppity about what I said? As you said, your reaction to the drip was bad (as was OP's), I was simply suggesting therefore the logical thing to do is avoid the drip (and the other drugs OP reacted to). OP isn't currently overdue (and anything up to 42 weeks is fine, and many people opt to go post-dates with monitoring of the placental function as they believe the risks of interventions outweigh the risks of going post-dates whilst carefully monitored - baby generally comes when they're ready) so "So I don't know how their [sic] going to get a baby out of you without any drugs?" is irrelevant. There's no reason to assume the same problem with baby not moving will happen with this pregnancy. OP was talking as though epi or c-section were her only two options, I was just suggesting they aren't at all, and in fact a different option might be better for her - she seems to agree btw.

The manufacturers of Pitocin, btw, warn that it is contraindicated in many of the cases Drs nevertheless use it in, and many Drs seem to be using it at higher doses than safe. There's a good article here regarding the package insert for Pitocin and the warnings and contraindications on it - including the fact it can disrupt heartbeat, and cause anaphylaxis, surges in blood pressure that can cause heart attack or stroke, and post-partum haemorrage. Since the OP knows now that she is perhaps particularly prone to these problems, doing all she can to avoid Pitocin seems sensible to me...

No, not everyone can have a drug-free birth, but there's a hell of a lot you can do to increase your chance of it, especially if you start early (e.g. I just learned that caffeine in pregnancy, especially from coffee, can increase gestational length, and of course planning a homebirth or natural birth in hospital with less drug-happy care providers leads to fewer interventions or drugs). And I repeat: OP isn't overdue, nor does she have any indication that she has or will have any condition that would require drugs in labour. So surely the assumption should be that she is capable of having a good, easy labour? And she can bear in mind if things do go wrong and something crops up that absolutely requires induction what happened last time and her care providers can find an alternative (like perhaps skipping straight to a c-section, or going post-dates with monitoring).

 

[sethsmummy]

^^ this is all very good advice.. but again.. i will stress the whole fear factor. once that fear is there it is very hard to get rid of it. Only now almost 5 years later am i willing to try another natural birth.. only the instructions that if anything looks to be even mildly going wrong im to be taken straight for a c-section.

Fear can completely over rule all of those "other" options you talk about.

 

[claudinator]

But, their are no other options at 16days overdue?
I took raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil in the last couple of weeks before birth.
However perhaps I am an isolated case as my placenta wouldn't detach and had to be fish hooked out in theatre even after they gave me the injection to eject my placenta.
I weighed 114lbs giving birth, so not a weight issue. I worked 50hour weeks on my feet as a pharmacist so would of drank allot of caffeine as I was tired from work.
I got sweeps and pessaries from 11days over and two sweeps a day until the day before birth.
So what else could I have done? What else could if been done?

My sister had two pitocin drips at 15days over due and they didn't work so she had to have a c section. I really don't understand how you can think it's your own fault sometimes bodies don't cooperate and that's just it. And as we say in pharmacy no drug is risk free.

I unfortunately miscarried last month but I saw my consultant when I was pregnant and they were worried about my placenta not ejecting and I'd haemmorage again I spent 2miserable weeks in hospital stuck in a bed because I couldn't get out of bed because of rectal bruising and I literally could not turn my head because I was so dizzy and breathless it was horrific. And I know I got ratty over your comment it just upset me that you would think that I was doing nothing to help myself.

 

[Kess]

But, their are no other options at 16days overdue?
I took raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil in the last couple of weeks before birth.
However perhaps I am an isolated case as my placenta wouldn't detach and had to be fish hooked out in theatre even after they gave me the injection to eject my placenta.
I weighed 114lbs giving birth, so not a weight issue. I worked 50hour weeks on my feet as a pharmacist so would of drank allot of caffeine as I was tired from work.
I got sweeps and pessaries from 11days over and two sweeps a day until the day before birth.
So what else could I have done? What else could if been done?

My sister had two pitocin drips at 15days over due and they didn't work so she had to have a c section. I really don't understand how you can think it's your own fault sometimes bodies don't cooperate and that's just it. And as we say in pharmacy no drug is risk free.

I unfortunately miscarried last month but I saw my consultant when I was pregnant and they were worried about my placenta not ejecting and I'd haemmorage again I spent 2miserable weeks in hospital stuck in a bed because I couldn't get out of bed because of rectal bruising and I literally could not turn my head because I was so dizzy and breathless it was horrific. And I know I got ratty over your comment it just upset me that you would think that I was doing nothing to help myself.

I'm very sorry to hear about your miscarriage.

I am not sure how I gave the impression of anything critical of you in my original post, I was replying to the OP regarding her situation, which is completely different to yours and I wasn't criticising her anyway, just suggesting something for her next birth that she hadn't thought of. I don't think you'd even posted at that point. I realise that when you've had a traumatic situation it can be easy to be a little oversensitive about it, so apology accepted.

It's certainly not anyone's fault if they react badly to drugs, except the Doctor's if the Dr didn't warn the woman of potential side-effects and get informed consent. It bugs me that care providers don't give women full information about their options and the risks and benefits of each.

For example, to answer your other question:
At 42+2 you're only 2 days post-dates, up to 42 weeks is a normal pregnancy. Some women just have longer pregnancies, naturally, and your sister going post-dates as well indicates it may run in your family. Apparently a lot of pregnancies measured by LMP are inaccurately dated due to the variable timing of ovulation - pregnancies dated by scan show more than 5/6 pregnancies that are supposedly post-dates by LMP are not when measured by scan. So another option for overdue women is to watch and wait, which is listed as a viable option by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Drs should go through all this with you, list the dangers of waiting and how to mitigate them, list the dangers of induction and any way to mitigate them, and let the woman make an informed choice (and that should include things specific to the woman like being allergic to induction drugs). Too often, though, it's, "Oh, we're booking you in for induction at 41+6 [or whatever gestation]."

Just to clarify once again, I don't think either you or OP is in any way at fault for your bad birth experiences, at all. I'm just answering your repeated question about what else is an option for overdue women, and adding my customary rant about care providers who treat women like children rather than intelligent, self-aware and capable of making decisions for ourselves.

 

[Radiance]

I had a similar experience with my second. I was forced to get an epidural (or be put out to sleep) for an emcs and I had a bad reaction. It was my first epidural and only. The nurses wouldn't listen to me. My heart rate went up to 200, I felt like I couldn't breath, my left arm and face were numb and I was going in and out of conscious. It was terrifying. I really thought I was going to die. I had fears with my third for a bit (before I got pregnant again) but had good natural (as in no pain medication but medically induced) labors with my next three and had two miscarriages, no problems. I did hemorrhage with my sixth but I was in too much shock (delivered our second sleeping boy) to process what was happening. I'm a little scared this time. It's my eighth and I feel like I'm pushing my luck.

 

[BunnyN]

To the OP: do you feel like a natural labour might be an option for you?

It does sound like there was a sound reason to induce your first labour but it doesn't mean the same will happen again. I really sympathize with you because I am also asthmatic and have had bad reactions to quite a few drugs in the past so when I got pregnant the first time my biggest fear was ending up with a labour like yours. No one really seems to take my fears seriously and think I am just being over dramatic but I do feal that a labour like yours is a real possibility for me.

In the end we decided to opt for a home birth last time mainly because it meant I could avoid drugs as much as possible. Other than being a long labour it went smoothly and was a good experience. This time around we plan another HB. I am very happy with the choice we made to have a drug free labour and I am also proud to have done it. That doesn't mean that I look down on anyone who doesn't get to have the same experience. Infact I think getting through a traumatic birth experience takes more courage than I needed. I am very much aware that although we have plans for a HB and drug free labour this time around things can always go wrong and I could end up in hospital with a very different experience. We are not always in control of our circumstances. Still I am certain I would not have had such a good birth experience if I had not made plans for it. I think this is the same spirit the other posters have given advice with. It is not to try and force anyone into making the same choices, or look down on anyone who has had a different experience, just to try and help out someone who is looking for advice.

It does seem like last time most of your problems were drug induced so it seems like a drug free labour is worth considering. Seeing as the induction had to do with lack of movement last time there may not have been much choice and doctors were just doing their best under difficult circumstances but if the pregnancy goes smoothly this time there will be no reason for induction so hopefully none of the same problems will come up. Of course your own personal feelings and fears are important too and whatever choices you make in the end is a personal thing but it seems like as long as there are no extra complications this time around a drug free labour is worth considering.

 

[BunnyN]

Sorry double post

 

[lilmonkey86]

I totally understand your fear and do not think you are worrying to early at all, I had a very traumatic delivery 6 weeks ago, started laboring at midnight, finally gave in at 5am and headed into l&d, was given pitocin starting at 6:30am to increase contractions and progress dilation, at 8am after an hour and a half of gas and air i gave into the epidural as the pain was extreme, OB came in and broke my waters only to realize that the baby had a bowel movement and we would require a respiratory team upon delivery, the epidural only froze my left side so I was still feeling full contractions on my right side, the nurse tried shifting me to my right side to get the epidural to freeze that side, but babies heart rate dropped every time they moved me from my back, at 12 they made the decision to do a c-section, after filling out paperwork with my surgical team and meeting the respiratory team, DH was given his gear and I was wheeled to the operating room, epidural was removed and spinal block was inserted, OB started cutting and realized I was not frozen when I started screaming, I felt a warm rush in my hand and everything went black (I was put to sleep), DH was met at the operating room door and told he could not enter, I woke up in recovery and spent the next hour and half with no idea how my baby was doing, I spent the next 2 days in a complete daze due to the extreme amount of blood loss at which point they finally decided to do a transfusion. I have been having nightmares for the last few weeks and have been told I am suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, people are shocked when I tell them my son will be an only child and tell me I will forget in no time. I completely understand your fears and if I were ever to be crazy enough to have another baby I would definitely push for an elective c-section, I found the recovery was very fast within a week I was completely back to my normal self. The bonus with an elective c-section is you never have labor, no pitocin, no epidural, a spinal block is good if its not an emergency situation (in my case they were rushing due to babies drops in heart rate therefore didnt check to see if it had taken) with the spinal block you can hold baby right away and do skin to skin. I personally would speak to your OB make sure they are well versed on your first experience and do whatever they think is best.

 

[MummyToAmberx]

Id look into having a water birth as it does some like drugs were what caused you upset.

 

[Maxy1]

OP - I think you need to talk to some very experienced obstetricians and midwives so you can get a more balanced view of your options. And now is a great time to do this so you can get your head around it.

You may also want to look at hypo-birthing or those other calming techniques (I have not looked at or used them) that may help with your anxiety.

 

[bitethebullet]

I think if I was in your position I would have a planned C section. But then that is because I would much prefer a c section than an induced labour. I went 14 days overdue (baby was actually undiagnosed breech so that was the reason really) and was sent for induction which I was not happy about. I ended up having to go for a CS but honestly I was relieved as I was dreading the induction process.
I have had 3 friends who have had traumatic births where the baby and mother were in danger and they all opted for a planned section for their second child. Having their section planned removed all anxiety and allowed them to enjoy their pregnancy. For one of my friends, she felt that she was able to bond much easier with her second baby than her first who was born is a traumatic way. Yes, a CS is major abdominal surgery but these days the risks associated with a planned section are extremely controlled. I think for those with high levels of anxiety, a c section is definitely a good option.