sthorp1179
Mum to 2 girls and 2 boys
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- May 2, 2011
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Hi everyone, my name is Steph I am 32 and am the mother of three gorgeous children with no 4 belly dancing away at 30 weeks. I have had three very different births all in the hospital system and am looking for a different more natural approach in what will be my final go at birth.
To explain i had normal deliveries with all 3 of my babies my first was in hospital delivery suite and after prolonged rupture of membrane labour was augmented with syntocinon and eventually dd was born after an hour or so of pushing weighing in at a healthy 9lb 6oz no tearing and in great condition. I used gas and air and pethidine in labour (i was left alone on the antenatal ward in the early stages of labour and denied any pain relief until i was 4cm even though i was having long contractions lasting a minute every 3 minutes and dd was op and my back was absolute agony!) I was transferred to delivery suite demanding an immediate epidural in a panic and persuaded to try pethidine which managed to calm me down and i got back my control and confidence and used the gas and air to good effect.
With ds the hospital i was booked into was closed to new deliveries due to a staff shortage and i was diverted to another local but unfamiliar hospital. It worked out well as i was low risk i was offered the mlu and ds was born after a 9 hr labour which was brilliant. I laboured in the birth pool for a while until things began to slow down slightly and ve showed i was 3-4 cm dilated but baby was sideways on and the head was not pressing enough to dilate me further. After several hours at 4cm i began to lose confidence had a small shot of pethidine to help me relax between contractions and rest a little and after a massive contraction my waters popped baby moved and i felt immediate urge to push. About 15 minutes later my son was born again at 9lb 6oz and was an expert bf!
With ds2 i was diagnosed as gestational diabetic and was treated as high risk. I was told i would be induced at 38 weeks as i was growing a monster baby when i objected i was told i might be let to go to 40 weeks but certainly not post dates. I had to manage my diet to keep within the normal blood sugar range which i did very successfully even managing the odd bar of choccy or biscuit here and there. The whole process stressed me out no end though and at 36+1 my waters popped and i was admitted as baby was at that point known to be breech/transverse.
Fortunately he had turned head down and i was left to see if labour would start which it did and by next morning i was in the throes.
The nightmare started with continuous monitoring which i agreed to but on the proviso that i would be allowed to stand and rock as that was how i was dealing with contractions. The mw was supportive and said that was fine. I laboured for about 4 hours rocking through each contraction faster each time as they got stronger. It felt right and took my focus away from the pain and i went into my head with each one (if that makes sense).
Then it was shift change and i was handed over to an older mw with student in tow. I was told that my hr was too fast and that i needed to sit down and have some iv fluids to bring it down. I was like well i am in labour its like a marathon and its normal to have a slightly increased hr. The baby was happy but i was told i needed to lie on the bed for these fluids and i didn't want to put baby at risk of a trip to scbu as he was technically prem.
Again baby was OP so I was in intense pain in my back which meant I needed to use the gas and air which took the edge off but I was very tense and quite frankly annoyed to be treated like I didn't matter and my concerns and wishes re: active birth etc. were brushed off.
After a litre of fluids I was bursting for a wee and offered a bed pan as I was still wired up! I could not even waddle to the loo. I really needed to go but I don't know whether I was suffering from stage fright or something but I could not wee on a bed pan on a bed with spectators. I was then told I would be catheterised as a full bladder can get in the way of baby and they attempted to drain my bladder for me (unsuccessfully I might add).
I started to get strong uncontrollable painful contractions and I begged to be given pethidine. My back felt like it was being broken in two with each contractions and they seemed to be never ending. After a minute or two of that being given I felt ready to push with all my might and gave it a try. It was a huge relief to be pushing but baby appeared stuck and was not descending. A VE found an anterior lip which was unceremoniously pushed back over the head and my son was quickly born afterwards.
He was not a monster...a respectable 7lb 10oz at 36+2 in a fab condition after a 5 hour labour from start to finish. I felt battered bruised and abused. The pethidine started to kick in as Henry was resting in my arms and I was told off by poor DH for sleeping on the job of motherhood.
When I booked with my MW in this pregnancy I stated that I wanted a home birth from the off. I was still booked for the hospital and it has since been brushed under the carpet. At my 12 week appointment my Consultant and MW discussed my birthplan behind closed doors and did not even ask my opinion on what I wanted. It is written by them in my green notes that I am to be deliver on CDS something I am eager to avoid. I passed my 16 week GTT with flying colours and I assume I passed my 28 week GTT as I have not heard to the contrary and I was only borderline glucose impaired last time anyway.
I WANT a home birth with no unnecessary medical interventions. I don't want to be checked needlessly unless I want to know how dilated I am. I want to be supported to find a comfortable position to labour and birth in. I don't want to be continuously monitored. I want delayed cord clamping (something in my last plan and completely and totally ignored by the mw team). I wanted to be treated as a person and my decisions respected not as a statistic or a risk.
I am going to talk to my MW next week and discuss all this with her and probably begin a battle to get my home birth. Any thoughts or advice for me ladies?
Apologies for the long post but thought you should be armed with the facts!
To explain i had normal deliveries with all 3 of my babies my first was in hospital delivery suite and after prolonged rupture of membrane labour was augmented with syntocinon and eventually dd was born after an hour or so of pushing weighing in at a healthy 9lb 6oz no tearing and in great condition. I used gas and air and pethidine in labour (i was left alone on the antenatal ward in the early stages of labour and denied any pain relief until i was 4cm even though i was having long contractions lasting a minute every 3 minutes and dd was op and my back was absolute agony!) I was transferred to delivery suite demanding an immediate epidural in a panic and persuaded to try pethidine which managed to calm me down and i got back my control and confidence and used the gas and air to good effect.
With ds the hospital i was booked into was closed to new deliveries due to a staff shortage and i was diverted to another local but unfamiliar hospital. It worked out well as i was low risk i was offered the mlu and ds was born after a 9 hr labour which was brilliant. I laboured in the birth pool for a while until things began to slow down slightly and ve showed i was 3-4 cm dilated but baby was sideways on and the head was not pressing enough to dilate me further. After several hours at 4cm i began to lose confidence had a small shot of pethidine to help me relax between contractions and rest a little and after a massive contraction my waters popped baby moved and i felt immediate urge to push. About 15 minutes later my son was born again at 9lb 6oz and was an expert bf!
With ds2 i was diagnosed as gestational diabetic and was treated as high risk. I was told i would be induced at 38 weeks as i was growing a monster baby when i objected i was told i might be let to go to 40 weeks but certainly not post dates. I had to manage my diet to keep within the normal blood sugar range which i did very successfully even managing the odd bar of choccy or biscuit here and there. The whole process stressed me out no end though and at 36+1 my waters popped and i was admitted as baby was at that point known to be breech/transverse.
Fortunately he had turned head down and i was left to see if labour would start which it did and by next morning i was in the throes.
The nightmare started with continuous monitoring which i agreed to but on the proviso that i would be allowed to stand and rock as that was how i was dealing with contractions. The mw was supportive and said that was fine. I laboured for about 4 hours rocking through each contraction faster each time as they got stronger. It felt right and took my focus away from the pain and i went into my head with each one (if that makes sense).
Then it was shift change and i was handed over to an older mw with student in tow. I was told that my hr was too fast and that i needed to sit down and have some iv fluids to bring it down. I was like well i am in labour its like a marathon and its normal to have a slightly increased hr. The baby was happy but i was told i needed to lie on the bed for these fluids and i didn't want to put baby at risk of a trip to scbu as he was technically prem.
Again baby was OP so I was in intense pain in my back which meant I needed to use the gas and air which took the edge off but I was very tense and quite frankly annoyed to be treated like I didn't matter and my concerns and wishes re: active birth etc. were brushed off.
After a litre of fluids I was bursting for a wee and offered a bed pan as I was still wired up! I could not even waddle to the loo. I really needed to go but I don't know whether I was suffering from stage fright or something but I could not wee on a bed pan on a bed with spectators. I was then told I would be catheterised as a full bladder can get in the way of baby and they attempted to drain my bladder for me (unsuccessfully I might add).
I started to get strong uncontrollable painful contractions and I begged to be given pethidine. My back felt like it was being broken in two with each contractions and they seemed to be never ending. After a minute or two of that being given I felt ready to push with all my might and gave it a try. It was a huge relief to be pushing but baby appeared stuck and was not descending. A VE found an anterior lip which was unceremoniously pushed back over the head and my son was quickly born afterwards.
He was not a monster...a respectable 7lb 10oz at 36+2 in a fab condition after a 5 hour labour from start to finish. I felt battered bruised and abused. The pethidine started to kick in as Henry was resting in my arms and I was told off by poor DH for sleeping on the job of motherhood.
When I booked with my MW in this pregnancy I stated that I wanted a home birth from the off. I was still booked for the hospital and it has since been brushed under the carpet. At my 12 week appointment my Consultant and MW discussed my birthplan behind closed doors and did not even ask my opinion on what I wanted. It is written by them in my green notes that I am to be deliver on CDS something I am eager to avoid. I passed my 16 week GTT with flying colours and I assume I passed my 28 week GTT as I have not heard to the contrary and I was only borderline glucose impaired last time anyway.
I WANT a home birth with no unnecessary medical interventions. I don't want to be checked needlessly unless I want to know how dilated I am. I want to be supported to find a comfortable position to labour and birth in. I don't want to be continuously monitored. I want delayed cord clamping (something in my last plan and completely and totally ignored by the mw team). I wanted to be treated as a person and my decisions respected not as a statistic or a risk.
I am going to talk to my MW next week and discuss all this with her and probably begin a battle to get my home birth. Any thoughts or advice for me ladies?
Apologies for the long post but thought you should be armed with the facts!
