Fran’s Positive Cesarean Birth
Love reading positive birth stories, you’re in the right place…. This positive birth story by Fran was a high risk pregnancy due to gestational hypertension, 3 episodes of reduced movement and a GBS carrier. Fran’s story includes an induction and a positive cesarean birth.
On Friday 08 Jan I went for my 40 week midwife appointment, I had not had any early labour warning signs and was going to request a sweep if it was not offered. My midwife had been off sick for my last four appointments so I saw another new face at my appointment. When I arrived she asked what had been planned regarding an induction for me, I was a bit taken back as an induction had not discussed with me at my previous appointments despite my risk factors as my BP had been under control for many weeks since being put on medication. I was not under consultant care and I hadn’t had any reduced movement since 29 weeks. She asked how I felt about an induction and I advised if it was necessary for baby then I would accept one, but otherwise would be happy to have a sweep and leave it a bit longer to see if things can start off on their own. She rang the labour ward and spoke to a doctor who said an induction should have been discussed from 37 weeks to have taken place by 40 weeks if there was no signs and that one needed to be booked ASAP. I used EBRAN and discussed with the midwife the risks and benefits and was booked for an induction the next morning at 8am and was told I wouldn’t be coming home until baby was here. It felt a bit of a shock but I got ready for the hospital the next day.
We arrived at the hospital at 8:30am and I had the pessary inserted at 9:30am and was told the next 24 hours was a waiting game to see if it had worked. When it was inserted I was told my cervix was not yet reachable but it has been put in as close as possible and it didn’t mean it would not work. I was examined the next morning on the Sunday to be told there was not much progress and so I had to have the gel inserted instead and rechecked in 6 hours. When I was rechecked I was told again there was not much progress so the gel would need to be inserted for a second time. Between the pessary and gels I was making sure I bounced on my ball, went for walks, me and my husband played UNO and listened to our favourite music so when it came to the second gel check to be told it still hadn’t progressed much and they were not in a position to break my waters I was really disappointed. I had also felt tightenings and had some lower back pain so was convinced I was on my way. I asked what the next option was and they said they can’t offer me the hormone drip without breaking my waters and because of how far along I was they wouldn’t offer me to go home and come back in a couple of days to try the induction process again (which honestly I was slightly relieved about as for me it was an extremely uncomfortable and invasive procedure that didn’t leave me feeling great) but that if nothing progressed more over night I would be going for a c-section in the morning.
This was a lot to process as although through this course I learnt about c-sections and know birth plans change all the time I just didn’t think I would end up having one. Again I used EBRAN but this time more to understand the decision than to question it as the staff that looked after me had been amazing and I knew they were only offering this as it was really the only option left to me without causing a greater risk to baby as my body wasn’t ready to get them out on its own but the longer baby was left the more risk there was to them.
Throughout the night I continued to have tightenings which meant I didn’t sleep well but I was hopeful by the morning something had kick started. Unfortunately when I had my observations in the morning the midwife confirmed that they still weren’t contractions and not much had changed from the night before. I decided not to have another vaginal examination as it felt pointless and would make me unnecessarily uncomfortable before the c-section.
I was prepped and went down for the arrival of my baby about 8:45am, the staff were amazing and put me at ease as I’ve never had any kind of operation. The c-section was completed with some small complications but my little boy was in my arms by 10:11am. He weighed 10Ibs 4oz which was a shock as it wasn’t highlighted that he would be a large baby so I think my body knew it would struggle getting him out naturally. We stayed in hospital two nights as I had some feeding issues and they wanted to monitor baby due to me being a GBS carrier although the risk was reduced due to the c-section but we were allowed home on the Wednesday evening.
Although I was not mentally prepared for a c-section and what the recovery entails I am recovering well and have already been out for a little walk with him. The biggest thing I’ve struggled with in recovery is the six weeks of daily injections I have to have at home but I couldn’t be more thankful to have my little boy here ?
Thanks to Beth and The Bump to Baby Chapter as it helped me process each stage and stay as positive as possible throughout what felt like a whirlwind of 5 days. Now onto The Baby Chapter ?
Click the link for more information about The Bump to Baby Chapter’s Hypnobirthing and Antenatal Online Course. Know what you can do to stack the odds in your favour for the birth that you want. Videos, checklists, audios & a support group all created by a midwife to get you feeling excited, prepared and confident for birth.
