Positive Induction FTM IVF
Positive induction story (from a 40 years old FTM, rainbow baby, conceived with IVF) for those of you who are waiting anxiously for yours. Like Beth said, it can actually go well!!!
The start of my induction
Due to concerns regarding high resistance building up in the blood flow of the umbilical cord and “advanced maternal age” (40) they booked me for induction at 37+3, on Friday, 20th November. Birth room was out of the question unfortunately because I have very low platelet levels and they also wanted to monitor the baby’s heart rate with CTG at all times so I needed to be at the labour ward. I took a blanket, my pillow, aroma oil in a small bottle, dates, snacks and my iPad with me. Asked for a birthing ball. Felt pretty comfortable with the setting.
Induction with the pessary
Friday
3pm Hormonal “tampon” inserted to cervix (this is not painful at all, it’s a very small thing).
My husband could stay with me all day, but leave the room at 10pm.
10:30pm mild contractions (like period pains) started naturally no oxytocin needed, slept until 2:30am with a paracetamol.
Saturday
2:30am – contractions got much stronger so I didn’t sleep after this time!
Remembered the lessons from Beth – everything will develop faster if you keep active!! So I walked around in the ward’s corridor until 4:30am listening to relaxation audios from Beth’s relaxation audios from the hypnobirthing course. Contractions came very frequently, 5-4-3 mins, pretty intense, but not regular. I got tired after 2 hours of walking so went back to the room and bounced on the birthing ball. Took a codeine & paracetamol combo at 4:30am plus an anti-sickness pill at 7am because the meds made me nauseous.
8am my husband arrived back. He put the TENS machine on my back at 8:30am as contractions were really getting stronger and even more frequent (2-5mins). Walked around with him on the corridor but couldn’t continue it for long – needed to stop at each contraction. TENS machine was great in diverting the pain!!
Around 12pm I was hooked on the CTG, sitting on the bed when my water broke naturally!!! Huge gulp of water made the bed wet! While the nurses changed my bedsheets, I went to wash myself and I noticed the mucus plug gone too!
Around 1pm they examined me. I was 2-3cm dilated – I almost cried that only got that far after all those hours of intense contractions.
To the labour ward
We got admitted to the labour ward, was up there by 2pm. The baby needed to be on constant CTG monitoring from this point so they wanted me to sit/lie on the bed, I couldn’t walk around. I told them I want to stay upright and forward so gravity would help. The midwife set the bed for me – it looked like a big throne – so I could sit on it upright or kneel on it and lean onto the back of it. The latter being the best position for me! I ended up staying like that for the whole labour.
At 3:30pm a senior midwife came in. Seeing the strength and frequency of contractions and assuming (without checking) that I can’t be so much more dilated after 1,5 hours and labour can take long, she suggested to get an epidural. I agreed and asked for an epidural as I thought I can’t cope for another 4-6 or more hours.
3:45pm our amazing midwife came back and she suggested to wait with the epidural and said she will examine my cervix sooner than they planned (at 5pm). She really listened to me how I feel and she was able to adjust her views and offer alternatives. The hypnobirthing course helped me so much with expressing how/what I feel and making decisions.
My labour progressed quickly
At 4:10pm the midwife examined me and found out that I’m 9cm dilated which was unexpected after two hours!! That’s why the contractions were so intense and frequent. She said the epidural can be arranged in 20-30 mins but she thought I can deliver the baby in 1-2 hours without it. I was encouraged to push through the next 20 mins while waiting for the anaesthetists and make the decision after. She told my husband to get Lucozade Sport from the shop – I highly recommend to have this with you during labour! I think it gave me the energy burst I needed at that point.
Birth of baby
The midwife and my husband pushed me through the lowest point, encouraging me to continue. My husband remembered from the course when I say “I can’t do this anymore” and “no more babies” to gently push me through with love, massaging my shoulders, stroking and holding me ❤️). We cancelled the epidural requested after 10 mins further contractions as I felt the head was down, (midwife also confirmed) and around 4:40pm I felt the need to poo!!! From this point, I was suddenly so happy and energetic! I was in my own zone focusing on pushing, on gas & air, kneeling on the bed and leaning on the “backrest” still using the tense machine on constant “boost”, drinking Lucozade with husband’s help for the next 40 mins, and our baby girl was born at 5:20pm!
Going home
I felt like a super-woman and I was in a stage of euphoria. There was one small tear I had deep in the birth canal, no tearing outside thankfully! The injection was given to me to deliver the placenta and to be on IV drip due to concerns of excessive bleeding (low platelets). All was ok though thankfully and I had no excessive bleeding. For the next few hours, I had skin-to-skin with baby. My husband also held her for a while and she got checked thoroughly. They transferred us to the ward at 10pm and we left the hospital the next afternoon.
With the help of the course I was able to stay focused with the breathing techniques throughout. I could recognise the stages of labour and make informed decisions without the fear of the unknown. The course taught me to listen to my body.
Thank you Beth it wouldn’t have been the same without your valuable advice and the amazing course!
Good luck to you all Mammas to be, we got this.
Meet baby Noor, born 21/11/2020 at 17:20, 3150g
