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Birth Stories:

I was a first time mum who had not been able to have any antenatal classes or even a tour of the maternity department as the “spaces” were all full until after my due date. We had already had one miscarriage and I had been told that due to the medication I had been on since I was 16 for arthritis I was unlikely to be able to carry a baby to term so we were scared. I had just accepted my first teaching job in a school for children with sever learning difficulties! We were also about to become homeless through no fault of our own, so all in all a terrible time to become pregnant!

The pregnancy was not great in all honesty, I hate being pregnant. I was sick all the way through the pregnancy. But it was magical. Seeing our baby on the screen for the first time, feeling the first kicks, the joys of having to travel around with “burger king” paper bags wherever I went due to sickness made it a time that I will never forget.

There were several “false alarms” one being new years eve 2000 – 2001 which was fun. I still don’t think that my partner has forgiven me for him having to remain sober on a new years eve!

Ben was late. I began contractions on the Sunday night (28^th January 2001) and thought that was it. We went to hospital on the Monday morning, calling everyone as we went. The contractions were less than 5 mins apart and we thought that this was it! How wrong we were. I had to have an internal exam showing that I was less than 2cms dilated and was therefore hooked up to the baby monitoring machine. That proved the contractions were real and coming regularly. However, as I wasn’t dilating I was sent home.

3 hours or so later we made the journey back to the hospital. The contractions were now every 3 mins and the pain I was in was awful. The arthritis had properly kicked in too.

Another internal showed that I was now about 2 and a bit cm dilated but the contractions were stronger and more frequent so we were kept in.

I was put into a cubicle in “labour ward” and I could have died at that point. I was horrified. There was blood dripping from the curtain, the woman in the next cubicle was having her baby, there was filth everywhere. The sister in charge didn’t speak English enough to understand that I really wanted some painkillers for my back and hips as well as the contractions. She offered me paracetemol. I demanded to see someone who could give me something stronger. The oncall anaesthetist was called and arrived about 3 hours later. She gave me something stronger.

When the shifts swapped over the new sister gave me an internal and I was “progressing very slowly” which was “cause for concern” so she transferred me up to delivery. I got a room of my own which was nice, but would have liked a drink of water more!

Many other things happened that made the birth of my son a sheer miracle, it certainly wasn’t down to the competency of the hospital!  

By the Tuesday I had been visited by more midwives and doctors and was asking to see an anaesthetist. I knew that an epidural was something that the midwives were talking about and something that I didn’t want. I didn’t see the anaesthetist.

According to one internal I was in fact closing up and that was cause for concern as I was nearly a week late. So they tried inducing me with gel and pessary.. I lost a bit of the “plug” but not a lot else. I was still having contractions 2 minutes apart and was in a huge amount of pain. I had had no sleep and my other half bless him hadn’t left me apart from going to the car park to pick up food and drink from his mum as neither of us had been given anything since we arrived. This was amazing as he has a serious phobia of hospitals!

Late Tuesday night they moved me into a delivery suite as my midwives were getting concerned for the wellbeing of my baby and me. An anaesthetist arrived as I was told the only hope was for me to be hooked up to a drip with a drug in it to force the contractions and stuff, but they couldn’t do it without me having an epidural first.

My other half left the room as the anaesthetist tried the epidural. I knew something was wrong with what she was doing. I have had enough injections on my back that I knew that what I was feeling was wrong. I screamed at her to stop, repeatedly. She didn’t. I was terrified. My midwives physically had to remove the instruments from her and escort her out of the room. It was awful.

About 10 mins later the consultant anaesthetist arrived. He was in a foul mood and was terrible. I insisted that no one else was going to try the epidural. He told me that I was “just a silly little girl who had no idea of pain” and that “im ill, I shouldn’t even be here so you are going to let me do this now” etc etc etc.. I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t been for my midwives. They were amazing. Again they made him leave and got my partner back. He was coming back as he had heard me shouting.

The midwives had tried to pop my waters and discovered them to be green and full of fresh blood – a sign that baby is in serious distress. They lost the head trace they had put on him. I could see this ending really badly, I was terrified.

My partner spoke to the midwives and asked what they would do. They said they couldn’t tell him but if a c section wasn’t done soon then he would lose both of us. He was terrified. I was high on gas and air, but it had to be me that pushed for the c section even though I had no idea what was happening. To be honest though if someone had told me that cutting off my right arm would make it all stop then I would have done that too.

We managed to get the doctor to agree and I was rushed for an emergency c section. I was frightened but relived until I saw the first anaesthetist was the one who was going to give me my general!

I came round to a beautiful baby boy, but it could have been so different.

The after care wasn’t much better and I discharged myself after 2 days stating the reason as “I would get better care at home” and that was it. I vowed never to go back to that hospital, and I didn’t!

I have missed out so many things as it really was horrific. We were asked to take part in the CHI investigation into that maternity department a while after. It was awful.

My other births were so different !!! A different hospital planned c sections with full general anaesthetic 2 weeks early. Really wonderful experiences as I can’t give birth naturally. I also spoke to a consultant anaesthetist who stated that “No one should ever have tried to perform an epidural” he said it was as close to negligence and as dangerous as it could possibly get.

it could possibly get.

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