Trigger Warning: The following post contains potentially upsetting content about pregnancy, labor and childbirth.
I never thought about writing a birth story or why it would be important. It wasn't until I saw an article on how writing your birth story can be therapeutic that I gave it some consideration. Not only that...but over time details fade, and therefore it's recommended to write your birth story within the first month after giving birth.
Friday, November 15th
I had a routine appointment early Friday the 15th at 36 weeks and 6 days. Starting at 34 weeks I had weekly OB appointments where my blood pressure was checked, and my urine was checked for protein. Since I have lupus this increased my risk for preeclampsia. Mayo Clinic defines preeclampsia as "a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often the liver and kidneys." My blood pressure hovered around 140/90 at the appointment as it had the week prior and the week before that, and my doctor said "Well, we're going to have a baby." I had been diagnosed with Gestational Hypertension at the time which inevitably led to me being diagnosed with preeclampsia after I gave birth. We always knew this was a possibility, but Ryan and I were still shocked.
I immediately got on the phone with my mom as we walked to the front desk, and she quickly began looking for a new flight for that day. All we had to do at that point was just wait for the hospital to call us with a room ready for my induction. In my head, I was convinced it would take a couple of days, but with our luck, we got a call six hours later, and I was told to come in as soon as possible. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 pm, and we got to our room at 7:30 pm. At 9:00 pm I was only 1 cm dilated, and the doctors decided we would start with Cytotec, also known as misoprostol, which we could do every four hours up to six doses. Cytotec is meant to thin out the cervix.
Saturday, November 16th
I did four rounds of Cytotec which brought us to around 1:00 pm on Saturday, November 16th. I was only 2 cm dilated, so the midwife and doctor on call decided it was in our best interest to insert the Foley bulb which is a catheter that is supposed to soften and open the cervix as it expands with saline. At 2:00 pm this was placed and at 3:00 pm I had tapped out and practically begged for the epidural. I am not going to sugarcoat it because I am no hero... I demanded an epidural. At 4:30 pm the midwife removed the Foley bulb and to everyone's surprise, I was 5cm dilated. As they removed the catheter my water broke which I could not feel at all.
As my water broke everyone in the room acted calm, but one after one nurses kept showing up in our room. The next thing I know I am being flipped over on my left side, and then on my right side, and back and forth. I was given a shot of terbutaline to slow down my contractions. I was told the baby's heart rate had dropped, and they needed to get it regulated or else I would have to have an emergency C-Section right then. Fortunately, they were able to get his heart rate back up without decelerations, and they let me rest for a few hours. Around 8:00 pm they started me on pitocin which is a hormone that is supposed to strengthen contractions. From 8:00 pm to 5:30 am they administered pitocin on and off while closely monitoring the baby's heart rate for decelerations. Around 6:00 am we were recommended to have a c-section by the midwife and doctor on call, and by 6:15 am the baby's heart rate started to have significant decelerations so we began to prepare for an emergency c-section.
Sunday, November 17th
It was honestly a whirlwind. I could not believe how fast things moved from that point on. The entire prep lasted about 10 minutes as they pushed tons of medication through my catheter for my epidural, through my IV and orally. As they rushed me to the operating room I kept saying I was going to throw up over and over again, and someone handed me a bag to throw up in. This was not the glamorous scene you see in the movies... that's for sure. The operating room was filled with nurses and a couple of doctors, and as they strapped my arms down I finally acknowledged that I was extremely terrified.
It took about eight minutes to get Asher out of my uterus with a lot of tugging and pulling. The nurses kept telling me to relax my stomach; over and over again I heard her say, "You've got to relax your abdomen, sweetheart." My body was just reacting naturally to what was happening and no matter how hard I tried to relax I kept tensing up and fighting their tugging and pulling. The nurses suggested general anesthesia to the anesthesiologist since I could not relax my body, but fortunately, they were able to get Asher out just before that decision was made. In hindsight, with my unicornuate uterus being much smaller than a normal uterus this was most likely why it took them so long to get him out. They said "Time 6:44 am," but we heard no crying. They bagged him since he was not breathing, but shortly after the nurses said, "He's crying. You did good, Mama. Can you hear him crying?" When we finally did hear his cries my husband started to cry. With all of the medication I was under I couldn't cry, but believe me I cried many tears after. My husband made his way over to cut the cord, and then they brought Asher over to me. They put him next to my face and we took a picture. All two minutes of seeing him, and then they rushed him out with my husband to the NICU.
...And there I was alone. My anxiety was heightening and I asked the anesthesiologist if something was wrong, and she said no. I proceeded to say, "Do you promise?" She said, "Of course! They are stitching you up now!" It wasn't until they moved me from the table to a bed and into the recovery room where my mom was that I felt a shred of relief. That relief was replaced with even more anxiety as I wondered where my baby was. After about 15 minutes my husband came in with Asher and I started crying, and then apologizing for crying. My room was a revolving door of nurses who were congratulating me, drawing blood, hooking up fluids and medication to my IV and taking my vitals.
I was told that if my blood pressure did not come down they would have to put me on a Magnesium drip. I did not know what a Mag drip was, but I was told that I would be on it for 24 hours and on complete bed rest. I did have preeclampsia which could lead to eclampsia, and with only one kidney we could not take any chances.
Monday, November 18th
I remember very clearly at exactly 8:00 am they turned the magnesium drip off. After an hour I was told I could get up and walk around. I had no idea how difficult that would be. I had been bedridden since I had gotten the epidural on Saturday. It took me 45 minutes to stand up from the bed and walk 5 feet to the chair, and I couldn't do it myself. This is how the first five days went. I would need help to and from the bathroom, to shower, to stand up...I couldn't pick Asher up or change his diaper, and I needed help to feed him. I felt completely helpless. It wasn't until Wednesday the 20th that I did my first lap around the hospital. Every day after I got a little better.
7-Day Hospital Stay
One day turned into two, three, four and eventually 7 days. There was an infection in my body and the doctors couldn't let me leave until I went 24 hours without a fever. They also couldn't let me leave until my blood pressure stayed below 140/90. My tiny veins made things difficult resulting in four IV changes even after a visit from a PICC team nurse who used an ultrasound. Ultimately I was put on labetalol for my high blood pressure, the typical stool softener and mylicon (gas pill) for after birth, two different types of antibiotics for an infection, iron infusions as I became anemic and pain medication. Since I cannot take ibuprofen because of my one kidney, they would alternate between Tylenol and morphine.
As for baby Asher, on Wednesday the 20th, his bilirubin levels were too high, and we were both moved to the pediatric floor. Luckily, he only had to spend 24 hours under the blue light. The next day his bilirubin levels were cut in half, and he was technically allowed to go home.
On Friday the 22nd, Asher and I were finally discharged and allowed to go home.
My birth experience was nothing like I expected. I luckily had no birth plan except for that whatever happened we would do what was best for the baby. I learned so much about myself, and what I'm capable of. I also learned how caring others could be....my doctor and my nurses were amazing. I cannot say enough about L&D nurses except that they are one of a kind. And to my family...they supported me in one of my greatest times of need and cared for my baby when I couldn't.
Birth story shared by Elizabeth Bradley, founder and CEO of Connecting Mothers Initiative.
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