Third Trimester & My Labour Story!

This isn’t for everyone, so be warned, but this is my story… I still believe this is a positive labour story!

This blog post was actually meant to go out 2 months ago as a follow on from my second trimester story but I hadn’t quite got round to finishing it! My first and second trimester stories can be found on my website in my blog section - link in bio!

But here it is…

When my third trimester hit I was still having very bad pelvic girdle pain and having to put ice packs down my pants haha. Not the most pleasent. The midwife always said to me once the baby drops the swelling and pain should go. She was right, one day I woke up and it was no longer there! Thank god!! I was then able to move round a lot easier and pain free towards those last couple of weeks! Which was amazing as I had been in so much pain before.

The last part of the pregnancy, as much as I wasn’t in pain, I was ready to give birth. The waiting game at the end I didn’t enjoy. Every night I would go to sleep wondering if this was going to be the night and then every little niggle I felt I’d think is this labour? As a first time mum you really have no idea what the hell is going on and what labour should feel like!

My due date well and truly passed and they wanted to induce me at 40 + 12 but I declined this. The @positivebirthingcompany gave me the tools I needed and equipped me with so much knowledge I felt confident to say no to this induction. Even though I had a consultant telling me the risks! My declining of the induction meant they had to conduct daily monitoring on me, which meant me attending the hospital daily for around 1-2 hours. I wanted to give my little munchkin time to come on her own. Once 42 weeks had hit, I had made the decision that I was going to be induced so as this landed on the Saturday, I ended up being induced at actually 42+2 days… I didnt realise that going so far overdue then made me high risk which meant I was in the consultant led suite not the midwife led suite.

The Monday morning of induction day came and no sign of her coming so I ended up being induced on this day. I opted to have the dilapan rods in - these are sticks / rods that get inserted into the cervix and actually soak up fluids which then manually open the cervix, it was this or the hormone pessary. I really wanted something as natural as possible so opted for the no hormone way and went with the rods.

Oh gosh.. they hurt when they went in! I was offered gas and air for this part! The midwife was very rough, she wasn't mucking around and meant business! I remember her giving me a sweep and OUCH!!! It did hurt!

My induction started at 10am, I wasnt able to leave the hospital once the rods had been inserted but I felt fine until about 2ish then I started to get really bad back ache and on / off cramping. This got progressively worse, I had no pains anywhere else - only my back so I didnt know if this was normal!

As the night went on, due to being in the consultant led part, Jacques wasn’t able to stay with me :( so they basically kicked him out at 10pm. I was scared because I didn’t want to be alone. But after he left things then got worse, I was lying on my bed and the pain was ripping through my lower back/bum!! It was awful! It made it worse being on my own in so much pain. I remember I kept trying to be quiet whilst laying there as there were 3 other women in the cubicles next to me. I felt like I was being annoying to the midwives! I kept pressing my buzzer saying is this normal?! I was timing the pain and they were like 2 mins apart and for me and everything that I had learnt / read - this was me in labour!! The midwives kept saying it's normal and then leaving me to it in bed :( I think they honestly thought I was just being over the top!

I had already been told by a midwife earlier in the day that they would be breaking my waters on Tuesday morning - I really think they thought I wasnt in established labour!

Anyway, at 1am I had a HUGE contraction again all through my back and bum and luckily my waters broke on the bed - naturally! There was soooo much! I am so glad they broke on their own as I didn’t really fancy someone breaking them for me! This then meant that Jacques was allowed back up the hospital - thank god! I was then taken to the labour room.

The dilapan rods were taken out and id gone from 1cm before rods went in, to 6cm. So I had been in established labour and on my own! I think they were surprised my waters broke on their own!

In the labour room I was on the gas and air until around 6.30am with horrific contractions both front and back now! I was then examined and I was only 6cm still :( I’d been sick quite a lot too. I actually hadn’t eaten since the Monday morning as I didn’t feel like eating at all. But ladies, let me tell you - try to eat - as it will give you energy!! Everything i drank i just kept bringing up though.

Being told I was only 6cm still was very disheartening. They didn’t tell me initially but I had to ask. As I hadn’t dilated anymore they had to get things moving and wanted to put me on the hormone drip but because I was so exhausted and nothing progressed they offered me pain relief. They said I would need it for me to have some rest as the hormone drip would be more painful contractions and more regular from what I was even having already! Gosh! Jacques knew I couldn’t take much more. He even got upset watching! :( I finally decided that because there’d been no change I would accept epidural pain relief but that was to go in before the hormone drip started as I needed rest. I didn’t want pethadine as they said it would take some only some of my pain away and can make the baby drowsy, they suggested I’d probably need something stronger. So once I’d agreed to the epidural it was about 7am… unfortunately I never got the epidural pain relief until ... wait for it... MIDDAYidday - 5 hours later!! :( So I was still going on gas and air for another 5 hours :(

I was sick a lot. My white blood platelets came back high so they were worried about an infection that I was fighting so apparently that’s why it took so long to give me the epidural. I now know, that it was actually because they were short staffed that day aswell!

I finally had an epidural about 12-12.30 and I am telling you now it was amazing! It felt soooooo good! I was like a different woman. Jacques said I hadn’t been in the room for the last 10 hours! The pain was just taken away from me!

The hormone drip then went in and I was contracting and couldn’t feel a thing! I was always very scared to have the hormone drip as I really wanted everything to be as natural as possible and for her to come on her own! But unfortunately this was not going to happen.

I finally was able to get some sleep for a little whilst the drip was in me. I was then examined again at 4.30pm and I had only gone another 1cm, so I was now 7cm! I was expecting to be at 10cm and for them to coach me to push! But oh no!

Maddie’s heart rate then dropped and they were worried so they had to stop the hormone drip. They also expected me to be alot further along than the 7cm too. It was at this point after the examination they realised that Maddie was back to back which is why most of my labour was through my back and bum!! How they didn't realise this before, I do not know.

They then gave me options at this time:

1. Wait to see if baby’s heart rate improved and start the hormone drip again and see in another 4 hours again if I’d dilated anymore. If I hadn’t, it would result in a c section.

2. Opt to have c section at this point.

By this point I was absolutely drained and fed up and couldn’t believe I’d not progressed. Even if I went with option 1 and the heart rate had improved and back on drip again, what’s to say that the hormone wouldn’t have dilated my cervix anymore and it would be a c section anyway. Maddie had been working so hard to come out and clearly tired from the heart rate dropping. With her also being the wrong way round back to back, after discussions with Jacques (and my mum who was also there at this point), I decided to have a C section.

Going into theatre I was sooooooo hungry, all I wanted was food. I felt sick from being so hungry too. I even asked for some food haha. They had to give me some anti sickness but I threw it all up before the c section.

During the c section Jacques was able to video it, which I know may sound disgusting to some people, but it truly is amazing having this video and seeing Maddie being born. During theatre, the staff even commented “Oh she was never coming out” and “Oh that is a big baby!” LOL. So I think I made the right decision at the end - 9lb 9 she was!!

I ended up having to stay in hospital a week because my body was fighting an infection and Maddie and I were both on antibiotics. I'd also lost alot of blood so had to be kept in until iron levels were back up again.

I can honestly say that week has been the hardest week of my life yet... but it was all worth it, because I have the most amazing thing ever - a daughter, Madeleine.

My labour did not go to plan at all… but I used every single technique and knowledge from The Positive Birthing company before I went in. I was so positive. I honestly believe the tools I learnt got me through the labour and having Jacques by my side, knowing exactly what I wanted.

To all the pregnant ladies reading this - if you haven’t, you should do hypnobirthing. It will change your complete outlook on pregnancy and labour.

As much as this may be a negative labour story to read, it’s also a positive story because I had choices and also now have a beautiful healthy baby.

Be confident. Be brave. You will get through it… xxx