|
Susie's births of Rory and Reese
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
My son was born when I was 22. I had the misfortune of having my water break Christmas night.
I had done most of the things first time moms do. My husband and I had taken hospital-based Lamaze class and that turned out to be 6 weeks of lessons on how to be a good patient and not question anything. I was very naïve and didn't really pay attention to the C-section part of the class. After all, everything was fine in my pregnancy and C-sections happen to other people, right?
When my water broke, I called the hospital and was told to come in right away. I wasn't having noticable contractions, just a very upset tummy and a bout with diarreah. I didn't even know that was a sign of impending labor. We followed instructions to the letter and drove to the hospital right away. I was 2cm upon arrival and was hooked up to Pitocin right away.
The hospital was understaffed and I was being monitored at the nurses station on the EFM. I was getting pretty uncomfortable and changing positions. What I wouldn't have given to be allowed to walk a bit! The nurse came in and yelled at me to stay on my left side because they couldn't get a good read on the EFM. Being the good patient, I listened. An hour or so later I was given the epidural that I had signed up for. I had demerol at first and it just made me too tired to cope. I was in even more pain after demerol.
It was required at pre-registration that you sign up for anesthisia just in case. Things spiraled downhill from there. I had been in labor 6 hours and dialted to 6cm when it was determined that my son was in distress. I was STILL on my left side and now unable to move! My OB was called and he decided I wasn't progressing fast enough and my husband signed consent for C-section. I was so out of it that my signature looked like a line on the paper.
My son was occiput posterior and I have no doubt that staying in one position for so long didn't help him turn. The entire surgery, the OB was talking about "getting this one sewn up so he could catch a plane to Bimini for fly fishing".
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
I had a normal recovery and everytime I got sad I was told by everyone that I had a healthy baby so I should be thankful.
The doctor joked with my husband at my 6 week check up that he "saved my husband's sex life" by doing the C-section and the next baby we would just be able to schedule. Gee, great.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
To make a long story shorter, my husband and I eventually divorced and I met my current husband three years ago and decided to have another baby. I had read a ton about childbirth in the meantime and decided that a homebirth with a midwife was the only way to go.
A close friend recommended the midwife that assisted at her son's birth 11 years earlier. She and I hit it off instantly. I was going to her for all prenantals and had everything set to go at home. At 36 weeks and 4 days, I was at work and felt a bit of water. I wasn't sure if my water had broken or if it was just vaginal discharge. I called the midwife and went to her office to be checked. It was a Friday around 5:30pm.
She did a sterile vaginal exam. The nitrizine paper turned blue but she said she didn't see any pooling in the vagina and I hadn't had any further leaking. We tried to contact my back up OB but he had left that morning for vacation. I decided to go home and take some blue and black cohosh, walk in the park, use the breast pump and see if I could start contractions. I agreed to call midwife if there was nothing by 5:30am and go to another OB that she had a relationship with.
At 5:30, still no contractions, but no other fluid either. I went to Aventura Hospital to see the back up's back up OB. He had someone in labor there and the only way he would see me was for me to come to Miami.
I was checked with nitrizine paper twice and it was negative for amniotic fluid. No contractions on the fetal monitor either. I was finally sent for an ultrasound and it showed that my fluid level was 7.4 cm. I was told this was low and was officially checked in for an induction.
It's now around 6:00pm Saturday. Still no more leaking and no contractions.
I was given Cervadil and told Pitocin would be started at 6:00am Sunday. When I was alone that night, everything in my body told me it was wrong to be doing this induction. Low amniotic fluid and all. The baby would come when she was good and ready.
I talked for a long time to an "old-timer" L&D nurse about taking out the cervadil and taking a wait and see approach. She got the OB's midwife on the phone and we went over my records together. She agreed with me and we took out the cervadil. I finally slept and yet again, no contractions and no more fluid on Sunday morning. Also, no signs of fetal distress or infection.
Sunday morning was when all hell broke loose! A new L&D nurse came in to tell me another doctor was coming in to do my C-section. WHAT???!!!
I was on the phone with my midwife when he entered and told me "HE WAS THE DOCTOR, AND HE HAD NEVER BEEN SUED" That was his actual introduction to me. He told me to hang up the phone and I didn't need a midwife anymore. He was there to take over.
I told him I would not consent to a C-section as he had never even seen me, or done an examination. At that point I was literally pushed back and he shoved his hand inside, telling me I was not dialated and my induction had failed. I might mention, he didn't even glove up.
After much arguing on my part and raised voices, he still refused to tell me on what medical grounds a section was warranted. At this point probably 15 people were in my room. Some hospital advocate was telling me all the risks of vaginal birth. Never did he mention risks of C-section. Things were so out of control, my husband and I ended up locking ourselves in the bathroom to have 5 minutes to calm down. When we came out we were told if we signed out of the hospital against medical advice, our insurance wouldn't pay anything and it would bankrupt us. This was when I caved and just wanted everything over with.
I refused to let that OB touch me so the first one came in to do the C-section. He was very apologetic about the whole thing and even told me he didn't think I needed it, but the other doctor was already going to take him before the board for not doing the C-section in the first place. Who is this almighty board and why are they ruining my life?
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
My daughter was born at 6lb 3 oz. Sounds like a healthy weight for a preemie, but her lungs were filled with fluid. She couldn't nurse and breathe. She had no footprints yet, her eyes and vulva were definitely underdeveloped.
She spent the remainder of the time in NICU. I don't have much memory of what happened the rest of the day. I was finally able to see her that night, but when I tried to get out of the wheelchair in NICU, I was so lightheaded, I started throwing up. I forgot to mention that my pain reliever in the IV had not been hooked up correctly and after the first couple of doses, I was getting nothing. I was begging for something and the nurse told me I had maxed out my dose and couldn't have anything. About 7 hours later another nurse checked it and realized I had gotten no pain relief for hours.
Two days later, I was finally able to try to nurse my daughter, but she still couldn't nurse. She had been fed by IV so far. Some strange things started happening as far as my care. The nurses were coming in double gowned and with masks on to take my vitals. Nobody would tell me what was going on. I finally got a visit from the head of infectious disease and was told that I had a MRSA infection and they were testing my baby for it. The NICU nurse told me it was mostly fatal in children.
It turns out that the infection originated in my vagina and is transmitted in the hospital from care providers to patients. I still swear it was the ungloved vaginal three days earlier. I was told that I didn't really have the infection, but was a carrier. I was prescribed Bactroban ointment to put around my nasal passages and told everything was fine. Luckily, the baby did not have the infection. My official hospital record says my vagina grew MRSA. Those darned vagina's should never be trusted apparently.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Well, we were finally released after 6 days of hell.
I was going through a lot of post-partum stuff and never felt well, but I just figured that I was tired. three weeks post-partum, my incision came completely open because the infection that I "didn't really have" was ravaging my body. I could actually see my uterus in the mirror. Talk about panic!
I went to the closest ER and was admitted for five days of vancomyacin. It's the strongest antibiotic out there and it's so strong it's a controlled substance. Basically, I was told that if vancomyacin can't kill the staph infection, it would probably kill me. Luckily the vancomyacin worked but the drug left me unable to breastfeed for about a month. I did finally get the nursing going again after a month of pumping and dumping the milk and my daughter reaclimated to the breast. It was not easy though.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
I'm now 25 weeks into my 3rd pregnancy and boy has it been an eye opening experience. I went back to my midwife for prenatal care until last month. She told me she was no longer doing VBAC but would only say she wasn't very successful with it. I tried to press her for details and got nowhere. I visited the Hollywood Birth Center to see if any midwife there would consider homebirth and ended up going to the one OB in South Florida who gives approval for that. Due to the current malpractice insurance legislation, he would only give approval for a hospital VBAC.
I came to thinking about unassisted childbirth when I realized how insane is was to have to pay a male doctor $150.00 to beg permission to use my vagina to give birth. Also, it bothered me when I offered to do my own urine test at one prenatal and was told it was policy for the midwife to do it. It certainly doesn't take special skill to read a urine strip.
I have not enjoyed this pregnancy because of the legislative hoops I've been made to jump through by the medical community. I finally feel at peace with my decision. I'm also becoming more confident by the minute that everything will be fine. I'm looking forward to bonding even more with my husband during this experience. I'm finding that since I'm taking charge of my health and birth experience, we're becoming more and more intimate and he's not the outsider he was at my daughter's birth.
This baby was conceived in love with only my husband and myself present and will be born gently into that love with only myself and my husband present. As much as I hate the fact the medical community has made it almost impossible to have VBAC, it might be a blessing in disguise for me. As I explained to one midwife who was aghast that I would take matters into my own hands, women will not stop having VBAC's because doctors aren't supportive, they will just form their own support for something so intimate and important as bringing a baby to this world.
In a wonderful way, it's great to be so responsible for this little one.
Email
|
