Right here is mine :

Contractions start 3.11 am Wednesday morning (15th sept), bearable but still there nonetheless. Contractions coming every 10 minutes can’t remember how long they were lasting.
As I’m staying at DP’s house (we weren’t due to move into our house for 2 weeks baby wasn’t due for another 3!!) I have to drive home to my house which is 2 minutes round the corner. Time this right then set off. Get home and have a bath and some painkillers. Settle down to try and get back to sleep- no chance. Decide to pace round the garden in a big circle- get some worried looks from neighbours as look like a mad woman in dressing gown and slippers running round her garden at 6 in the morning.
Contractions still steady and getting closer together. My sister drives me to Argos to get the Polaroid camera I wanted. She makes me sit on a bin bag so if my Waters break I won’t ruin her car seat. Argos isn’t that busy, but my sister recognises some friends and starts to chat .I have already bought the camera and want to go home. She chats to them for about 20 minutes while I look like a raving Looney breathing and swaying my way around Argos....when she says goodbye she says...”oh sorry got to go me sisters having a baby “reply is “what? Now?” she says” yeah that’s why she’s walking round looking like a right T**T!!”

Go home spend some more time running round the garden etc....was quite a long first stage and wanted to spend as much time as possible at home.
Eventually go into the hospital the next day, had been using tens machine at home for a while. They make me wait in the corridor where they are watching me with a camera (they told you that on the tour) to see if I’m actually in labour. As I can’t get comfortable and am still walking round swaying through contractions I am cleared for entry.
I’m taken to the ward and am examined 5 cm dilated, asked if I wanted some gas and air...didn’t really need it but had heard how good it was so accepted. DP had a go too.

Midwife came round saying the labour room I had requested was now ready. I had requested the birthing pool room.
Stripped to just my vest top and got into pool. (Obviously I took off the tens machine!!Lol)
It was night by this time, lights down low etc etc very relaxing....midwife gave me one of those long tubes like floats to help support me...didn’t work just nearly ended up drowning!!

Labour was progressing normally but at 9cm Waters hadn’t broken so the midwife said I had to get out of the pool for ARM. She also said that meant I couldn’t go back in the pool(I don’t know why and which I was extremely peeved about as I wanted my birth the way I wanted it!!)

Anyway ...broke my Waters Still only using gas an air....Was pushing for a while...told the old chin on yer chest thing ( note I felt extremely uncomfortable like this as had been kneeling in the pool which i felt more comfortable with .Midwife told me I couldn’t do that out here I had to lie on my back!!!)

Ended up with an Episiotomy extended into a second degree tear. Wasn’t nice....stitches hurt like hell as she had anesthetised me then left me for too long so when she came back to stitch me up it had worn off(in my opinion !!I felt every stitch and it was worse that the labour and birth i had just been through.)

She had even said “don’t get up...your insides will fall out “when i had asked if i could use the loo after the delivery of the placenta and before the stitches were done. Didn’t make me feel nice!!
Oh yeah delivered on 17th September at 3.14 am.
And that’s my short lol account of my birth!
xx

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Sarah love, that makes me feel very sad. I hope you would be able to tell her where to go if that was tried again now.
KS x

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Kentish Spitfire
Moderator, Student Services
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"It's better to be thought a fool - rather than proved a fool!"

OK - bare with me as my first DS was delivered nearly 19 years ago.
July 12th, 12 midday, (38 weeks pregnant) attended my friends M & S seconds party. Picked up a friends child and got very embarrassed as I wet myself a bit when I picked her up. I kept quiet and just put her down, went to the loo and thought everything was going to be ok.
It happened again about an hour later as I was saying goodbye, but again I ignored it. I wasn't due for 2 weeks, had been convinced I was going to be 2 weeks late, so in my head, I had another 4 weeks to go. From my friends, I went straight to an antenatal appointment.
I sat in the waiting room and chatted to one of the other women. When I got called, I stood up and realised I had left a puddle on the chair. I just turned around and said 'oh, I hope my Waters have gone, otherwise I have wet the chair!' (good job there was only that one woman there!).

Told midwife and she used one of those cotton bud things (name escapes me atm) to check the fluid. She thought my Waters had gone, but wasn't sure as the swab didn't change colour like it should. She advised me to go to the hospital for a check up.

Drove home and packed a bag, phoned husband and waited for him to come home from work and then went to hospital about 6 pm. I was examined and was found to be 3cm and a definite SRM. They wanted to keep me in that night to see what happened and offered to induce me the next day if nothing happened over night.

Hubby stayed with me and at 8 pm we went down to the antenatal clinic for the last parentcraft class. We didn't tell anyone there what was happening, but one of the mums noticed that my eyes glazed over every 10 mins. This was because I was having very mild niggles, that just made me wonder if they were the start of contractions.

At end, hubby went home and I went back to the ward, saying I would call him if anything happened. This was about 10 pm. At 11 pm, I told the midwife I was too uncomfortable to sleep and she advised a sleeping tablet as it was 'just excitement'.

By 1 am, I was pacing up and down the corridor contracting every 3 mins with not a single midwife in sight. Went back to bed but couldn't even lay down. At 2 am, told them that i needed something for the pain, so they gave me 2 paracetamol and told me that they would arrange to take me down to the delivery suite so that I 'didn't keep everyone else awake'. They phoned my DH and he came back.

At 3 am, they told me to walk to delivery suite, but I had one contraction as i got off the bed and another before getting to the next bed, so they got a chair for me and wheeled me down.

I don't remember any further examinations. However my DS was in the OP postition and my back was in agony, so I asked for pethidine (which didn't work at all) and Entonox which was fantastic. I used it solid for hours and hours.

The midwife came in a couple of times, but kept telling me that she was looking after 3 women and the others needed her more, so I was left to get on with it. I started incoluntary pushing about 6 am, but my OH was adament that I should carry on breathing through, so I was virtually pushing myself off the bed with each contraction to prevent myself from pushing.

Eventually I screamed at him to get the midwife as I was going to push whether he liked it or not. So he did (very quickly). I was examined and was told, oh yes, you are fully, push with the next contraction...hahaha... I never had another contraction. I waited aobut 10-12 mns and then decided that I would push anyway. My DS was delivered 1 hour and 1 min later at 08:46

Unfortunately, he was a compound (hand) presentation and I had a nasty 3 degree tear which was not stictched for nearly 3 hours, by which time I felt every stitch.....it was agony and i couldn't sit down properly for over 3 weeks.

At the time, I felt this was all normal - but obviously, it was gross negligence from staff who were given too many women to look after. However, it didn't stop me going on to have 3 more (which I will tell another day!).
KS x

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Kentish Spitfire
Moderator, Student Services
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"It's better to be thought a fool - rather than proved a fool!"

I delivered my first ever baby about a month ago, it was awesome, i had to work with another midwife who wasnt actually my mentor, which spoilt it a bit coz i have a real bond with her and wanted her to be at my first!

but anyway, it was this lovely polish couple, and one thing that really stuck out for me was the woman's eyes, which were bright blue and really fearful the whole time, but she ended up with a nice normal delivery and intact perineum, and the dad was just in floods of tears afterwards!

It was this 8lb something chubby baby girl, and while the mum was having a shower she asked me to hold her, and i just sat staring at this baby, holding back the tears, thinking how incredible and bewildering it all was and how i had helped to bring a human being into the world! it's difficult to describe exactly how it was and how it felt, but i won't ever forget it! xxxx

Well, you asked for them so I thought I would add my birth stories....

My eldest, now 3 years old was born at 32wks. I was still working full time and had felt unwell at the weekend. On the Sun I'd gone to hospital for monitoring as was having regular contractions, trace showed no uterine contractions and no dilation so was sent home....pain continued so phoned in sick on Mon and went to docs - was told it was "ligament pain" and sent home to take paracetamol, GP said he would refer me for physio but warned me that by the time I got an appointment I'd have probably given birth anyway!, Tues still in pain so stayed home from work, pain progressed and worsened at night...barely slept, got up at 3am on the Weds morning and sat in the bath til 6am to try and relieve pain. As I got out of the bath whilst drying myself noticed blood on the towel (didn't realise it was my show at the time as I hadn't even been to any A/N classes!), phone delivery who advised me to go straight in. I didn't even take the baby things because I didn't think I was in labour.
Upon being assessed in delivery (around 9am) they told me again that no uterine contractions were being picked up but upon VE was found to be fully effaced and 2 cm's dilated. At which point I started to cry...they explained that I couldn't go home and would be staying until I'd had my baby, had steroid injections and was moved onto delivery suite. Progressed slowly and I eventually got the urge to push but after an hour of nothing happening I was exhaused, M/W suggested having a wee - I didn't feel able to even get up at this point so was catherterised and after a few pushes my beautiful 4lbs 8oz son was born. My perinieum was intact and I used only Entonox. He was taken to resus trolley and cleaned up/checked but was breathing well on his own so had a 2min cuddle before he was taken to NICU. He stayed in NICU for a week and then we spent a further 2 weeks on a transitional care ward....

My youngest is now 12 months, I had a fab pregnancy - felt really well and had joint consultant/midwife care. I was scared about Prem labour but I ended up giving birth the day after my EDD!!! I started contracting around midnight on the EDD, by 2am I was getting contractions every 5 mins so got up and rang hospital because was not sure when to go in/how long to stay at home due to prev Prem labour! They advised me to make my way in, on arriving was only found to be 2 cm's so sent off to wander the hospital corridors at 4am, went back onto delivery around 5am but still not progressed much - they weren't happy for me to go home as it's a fair distance from where I live so I bounced around on a birthing ball and had a long soak in the bath. I'd wanted a water birth but they said they hadn't enough staff to use the pool room
I can't remember when I started pushing but it was a long time, I was physically and mentally exhausted and everyone started to panic as I stood up to pee in a bowl as I couldn't make it to the toilet and I lost a lot of blood, they hooked me up to CTG and noted that baby was getting distressed so they were trying to get me to push as hard as possible before the registrar came back....in the end, the senior M/W and registrar decided I wasn't pushing properly (I was trying I really was!) and they strapped me to the bed in stirrups, still pushing and then a consultant came in and they explained they needed to get him out quickly. I really didn't want a section so kind of agreed, I'd refused all drugs apart from using Entonox, in the end they used a ventouse to help him out and placed him on me. I remember feeling very numb inside and thinking...that was horrible. They gave me a pessary and explained they needed to stitch me "oh, did I tear?" I said..."no, we had to cut you" said the midwife. I ended up with a 2nd degree tear and not the calm water birth I'd wanted. I wanted a water birth with minimal intervention and ended up with a frantic delivery with 2 midwives, consultant, registrar, paediatrician as well as my DH in there with me

My experiences have spurred me on to want to become a midwife
x

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Karen
Starting access course Sept 08 (hopefully!!)

Here is my birth story, I have had 3 children sadly only 2 are with me now and my nicest experience of childbirth was also my saddest..

I was 30 weeks pregnant with a little girl, we already had a boy and we was over the moon to be having a girl. I always had this feeling of dread though and I could never explain it then and still can't now but all I can say is deep down I knew..
I woke up on the morning of the 7th July feeling funny. I went to the dr's and told them how I felt which was a dull ache in my left hand side, the dr checked my urine and wrote me our a prescription for some antibiotics (which we later find out I didn't even need).
All day I had this ache and then come 5pm my partner leaves for work as he is on nights, at 5:30 I get a sharp constant pain across my lower back and middle of my stomach. I called the midwife and told her how I had been feeling and about my visit to the gp and she adviced to go to the antenatal ward as urine infections can bring on labour she rang ahead and I was met by a lovely midwife. I told my partner that I was going up and would call him when I knew something rather than him come home if he didn't need to, our little man was with a friend so off I went. I arrived and was asked all the usual questions and then it dawned on me I hadn't felt her move all day, the midwife got a pinard and had a listen in but couldn't hear anything, she went off to get someone more senior I overheard her say my stomach was wooden to touch! She returned with a registrar again a lovely woman, she also had a listen with the pinard but again couldn't find anything I was starting to get anxious by now but for some reason was able to stay to calm (I think I knew in my heart what was coming next) she got a portable scanner and scanned me, I looked at the screen and all was still no movement, it was then that my feelings became real and she told me my baby had no heartbeat. My heart was crushed and I felt like I couldn't breathe, I cried and didn't think I would stop as far as I was aware I was out of the danger zone once I hit 13 weeks. I asked for my partner to be called who arrived in a flash with various members of the family, we was taken into a side room and given a leaflet to read though, the way in which the midwife and registrar treat us was amazing she took her time to explain what she thought had happened 'a concealed Placental Abruption' but they couldn't know for sure until after delivery and maybe never would know. I was told I would have to deliver naturally and I couldn't believe they was going to make me do it, how could I labour naturally my baby wasn't alive . I spoke to my aunt over the phone who lives in kent and I am extremely close to, she is doula and promised me she would be with me. I was allowed home to await my aunts arrival and to go home the next morning (saturday) to be induced. I don't know how but I managed to sleep well friday night, must have been the shock. Saturday arrived and I didn't want to go back, I couldn't go and say goodbye to our baby girl when we hadn't even got a chance to say hello. I got out of bed and dressed and looked out of the window and my partner was washing his car (it was all so surreal). My aunt took us to the hospital and stayed with us, we was told what would happen and was told we had to decide wether or not a PM was to be carried, it felt rushed but I now know that they had to make sure that we knew what we wanted we wasn't going to have alot of time to decide.
We decided not to have a PM we didn't want our baby girl to go through one.
Over the course of the weekend they tried to induce me it wasn't working then monday the 10th July I started getting tightenings, I can remember I was crying because it was my little mans sports day and I couldn't go so I asked everyone else to go instead and show him support. He had been told what had happened and that his baby sister couldn't come home but at the age of 4 it is hard to take things in.
My aunt and partner returned from sports day and we was told I was being transferred to delivery suite. On arrival I met our midwife who was the kindest midwife I had met she was absolutely brilliant and treat us with the upmost care and respect. The original registrar from the friday night returned to support us through aswell. After a short labour our baby girl was born at 8:34pm weighing 3lb 3 oz and she was perfect she just looked like she was sleeping except she never took a breathe. They opened up a special room for us so we could have her baptised and photos taken and memories made, we named her Cady-rene and she was loved and wanted so much by us all. We had our son brought up, I wanted him to meet her which some people don't agree with but it was right for us, he knew he was having a sister he was excitied about having a sister and we thought it would help him understand that she couldn't come home. Which it did.
The midwives and the registrar that looked after us from start to finish was amazing and we could not have done it without them, the midwife spent so much time with us afterwards and at home, she felt more like a friend than a carer.
We found out that the registrar was right and it was a concealed abruption that took our baby from us well she was 99% sure and we had 100% trust in her.
They gave me the courage to go on and try again which we did and we now have another healthy little boy who we love to bits, he is our sunshine after the rain and although there is still a huge hole where Cady-rene should be with the help and support we recieved we have been able to learn to cope with what we have been through and support others who are facing the same thing we did.

I am so sorry if that was so long, and I hope it hasn't offended anyone.
Donna
X xx X

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Doing my access course september 2008

that just made me cry dn85. So sorry for your loss my heart goes out to all of you xx

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Wolves Sept 2008
SM.NET Project Manager
SM.NET Wolves Student Rep

Donna
that is an amazingly honest open account of the birth of your daughter. I'm so sorry she was taken from you, but thank you so much for sharing something so personal and intimate
x

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Site Administrator, Student Mentor Scheme Manager

STMW 2nd year - no, really!

Oh Donna,

What a very moving post that is, I am sat here in tears reading it, in the nicest possible way.

I am so sorry to hear about little Cady- rene, she sounds such a special little angel, and I am sure she is looking down on you with love & pride now.

I hope that when I deal with parents going through what you have, that they can feel I have made such a difference to them a your midwife did.

Thank you so much for sharing this, it helps me to understand how the parents feel a little better, and I will always remember this when I am on shift.

Bless you hunni, sending you huge hugs and lots of love. xxxx

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Midwifemissy x

Student Midwife 2007
Student uni rep
Educational Resources Manager

PAB Support Worker

Donna, thank you for sharing your birth story. It was beautifully written and I have had a little cry. I have not had to experience anything like this and admire you for being so open about it. I have supported a dear friend through an IUD and several miscarriages after that until the birth of her bouncing boy a couple of months ago. She had a mixed bag of professionals and the care of the staff must have had a big impact on you after wards. I wish all staff could be sensitive and caring like yours were.

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Coffeebean xx


Student Midwife