HypnoBirthing® UK

[babyboos]

Hi guys thought it was about time I told my story before I forget the gory details.

I was fully expecting my baby to come 07/05/07 for some reason this was in my head as the day. The hospital said 24/04/07 from my scan pictures and 26/04/07 from my LMP.

I was checked daily and they wanted to do a membrane sweep which I refused one week past dates when I was still at -3 and 3cm effaced, as I had been since week 38, although baby all this time had been in perfect positioning - thanks to my daily affirmations I think.

They had me booked in to be induced on the thursday 10/05/07, though I was not going to actually agree when I got their and spoke to the consultant, but instead insist they do further tests and scans before going down that route to try and buy myself more time, but I was still convinced in the back of my mind that my wee man would be with us on 07/05. The extra two weeks was also great for extra daily practice as I had worked up until Good Friday. I was living, breathing, sleeping hypnobirthing at the end.

07/05/07 came and sadly when I went to bed at 10pm I had suffered from severe hiccups and felt mild nausea but put that down to dinner and the raspberry leaf tea I was drinking by the gallon load near the end.
3:30 woke up slowly feeling strange it took a few minutes to filter through that I had what reminded me of menstrual cramps, these became stronger and more irritating so I stumbled down the stairs to get my hot water bottle to help sooth them.

Popped the hot water bottle against my abdomen and felt no real relief in fact the exact opposite - the pain became more intense although still a constant cramp like feeling. I tried to go back to sleep and use my glove anaethesia but really struggled to get on top of the waves of pressure which were building up inside my lower abdomen.

I woke my partner and he went to get a cup of coffee to help him wake up and brought in the canldes etc to set the mood in the bedroom as we both realised now something was up and probably I was experiencing very very early labour, although the constant pressure was not something we had been told about, and there were no "contractions" or rhythm to the surges at this point if this was indeed what the pressure was.

We tried the TENS machine to allow me to try and gain control of the situation as my breathing and anaethesia just weren't getting to the root of the pressure. He called our local hospital for advise when I became increasingly frustrated with my ability to keep control, and they advised him to bring me right in. We had planned a water birth so I jumped in the shower to wash my hair and body in readiness, although we both thought we would probably be sent back home anyway and we were just first time parents panicking. my partner had a shave in case it was time and pictures would be taken - he hadn't shaved for 4 days having started paternity leave prior to our little one coming...

In the shower a pattern to the pressure started to emerge and it was one minute of milder than I had previously been experiencing pressure then intense gut wrenching twisting pain which stopped me entirely in my tracks only to ease after 30 seconds to nothing again, most peculiar. It made drying and dressing quite time consuming and I required assistance, hating to be touched during the intense pain episodes.

We grabbed our bags, notes and jumped in the car, I was most comfortable on my hands and knees by this point so rode to the hospital on the back seat - highly illegal as no seatbelt on but there was no way I could sit down.

Arrived very quickly at hospital (eyes closed the whole way) - Taken after a few moments to an initial observation room and asked to provide a urine sample, which took a wee while due to the one minute apart 30 second long surges(?), and eventually managed to wash my hands and get back into the room, and with assistance up on the table which they wanted to me lie flat on, but I had my kness pulled right up, and said no way to 25 minutes in that position, but I would allow them to check out our heartbeats etc and find out if these surges were indeed contractions/surges.

They had trouble distinguishing baby's heartbeat from mine (and it appeared to be at 85 and not returning to above 100 as it should we now know with each surge) so the midwife called for assistance and the wheeled me to another room - my partner asked for a pool room - they said they doubted we would be going in the pool for a while, they did not actually tell us there was any need for concern at this point, just that they wanted to do an internal and had to do that in another room incase another person arrived in labour as they only have one initial consultation room...

We were a bit concerned as we had both said we get a pool room or we really kick up a fuss but we thought okay wait and see what happens - we still weren't sure if this was true "labour". Very quickly to midwives came to the new room and said they had to do the internal - I said okay and they said I was still 3cm effaced at -3, they now explained about their concerns regarding the heartbeat and they said they wanted to rupture my mebranes and attach a heartbeat monitor to the baby's head to get a proper picture - we asked if this happened could we still use the pool - as we had heard stories of people being not allowed in the pool if their membranes were not intact - they said no I could still go in the pool if it was appropriate.

They released the protective fluid from around my baby and it flowed dark and thick with meconium, another two midwives entered the room - they tried unsuccessfully to attach the head monitor and suddenly a registrar appeared at our side and told us they were very concerned about the baby and they felt that it was imperative we deliver immediately - as I was still a long time away from reaching 10cm and they felt it would be too dangerous to leave the baby in such a meconium rich environment incase he took it in, if he hadn't already done so.

They got a few seconds of heartbeat and it was still very low - this helped us make the decision to go ahead with an emergency c-section, as he was more likely to ingest the meconium if he was in distress, which the lowered heartbeat suggested he probably was. We had no real choice really, they were going to do the c-section and I doubt we could have come up with any valid arguements against.

I was rushed to theatre and used my hypnosis skills to stay still and quiet whilst a spinal was inserted - they had wanted to give me a general but I didn't want to be groggy and sick with a newborn. Before the screens were fully up he was out, 20 minutes from arriving at the hopsital although it felt longer in some ways. My partner only rushed into the room as he was being lifted out and he saw this green still form rushed out the room.

Apgar was 1, 3, 5, 6 we were later told, and our baby was in special care for over a week on antibiotics and multiple lung x-rays and cleanouts. I was not allowed to see him for over a day, and then only because my partner found a wheelchair and took me along bumping all the way as the chair had 2 flat tyres.

My hypnobirthing helped to keep me calm in the days spent in hospital, dealing with so many people and decisions being made about our baby, without our consent, or even discussing options with us. We had to really fight to breast feed and not have our baby given formula, after his first 5 days on exclusive glucose water.

We were so glad to get our little pincushion home a week later, although we did feel a bit rushed a the end due to 13 babies requiring care in a 10 maximum SCBU unit, strangely our little one and the girl behind him were suddenly fine to go home.. Wierdly she lives one house up and opposite our home!

He had a follow up visit at the hospital last week and his lungs are doing well. He had both inhaled and injested lots of meconium and the reason he got in such distress in the first place was the cord was wrapped around his neck, reassuring us that next time - oh yes we will go through this again!

We should be able to use our hypnobirthing and get in a pool - although they do say it is more likley to have multiple c-sections, due to low lying placentas in second pregnancies - we will see...

Our wee boy is lovely and very lucky to be alive and we cherish him dearly. We go to baby music and movement, yoga, and massage classes with him and he is in the 98 %ile for height and weight. He regained all his birth weight plus some before he came home on my delicious and nutritious breastmilk.

Although maybe not used as fully intended my hypnobirthing techniques were very useful and I will definitely be doing a refresher for the next one...

[Danielle]

Unfortunately you didn't get the experience you wanted and some people might say 'at least you both ok...' I know from the birth of my sons that when it doesn't go to plan those kind of comments don't help.

I can't believe they didn't let you see him to start with, it has been proved that the parents touch an help them recover.

Enjoy him while he is still a baby they grow up too fast and congratulations.

[babyboos]

we were quite upset at not being allowed to see him, myself especially as at least dad saw him being swept off and then later that day when I insisted one of us get to see him when they said I couldn't..
but we understood when speaking to the doctors later that he needed to go immediately to resus and to get his stomach and lungs suctioned so appreciate why he couldn't hang around in the theatre for us to see him, but really we still don't understand why they made us wait so long to see him after he was sent to SCBU, and refused to let me get out of bed to go see him until the next day - they wouldn't let us take the bed to see him (and I know people with premature babies have done this so not going to be setting a precedent), or provide a wheelchair for me to go I would have signed any waiver they wanted.
I don't care how much pain I was in or the side effects I had from the surgery I just wanted to see him and making we wait so long was really hard to cope with, we did have some issues bonding and it was only sheer perseverance and blo*dymindedness which resulted in us breastfeeding, and continuing to do so for so long. They gave him a dummy to shut him up as he was crying so much and waking the other premature babies up, which really messed up his latch, and we have managed to wean him off it but he still roots around for it especially when tired.
I wonder if we would have had an even harder time bonding if we hadn't done so much prebirth bonding and affirmations?