Birth story - Amy and baby Meadow

*Trigger Warning* - use of word contractions (not triggering for me), polyhydromnios, episitomy, stitches.

I wanted to write this post and share my story as I found it hard to find others diagnosed with polyhydromnios towards the end of my pregnancy and hope it helps reassure someone in the future

Pregnancy

I absolutely loved being pregnant, and actually felt really sad about it being over! Fortunately I only struggled in the first 13 weeks with nausea, no appetite and extreme tiredness. I was put on iron almost straight away and lived off tomato soup and cheese on toast (I still can't look at them in the same way). Luckily I work from home so hid it very well by resting my head on my desk between meetings.

Our 12 weeks scan was brilliant and I just sobbed with relief and excitement! We told our friends and family and everyone was thrilled, so lucky.

Once I hit that 13 weeks mark I felt a weight was lifted and my appetite came back. I was a new woman with glowy skin and shiny hair!

I stayed active throughout labour and walked my dogs everyday on my lunch breaks, which was tricky in the first trimester and towards the end when my energy started reducing.

I bought the PBC pack in the black Friday sale when I was around 25 weeks pregnant and started it shortly after, which was a great amount of time to watch a couple of videos each night before bed and revisit some for a refresher before the birth. My friends recommended PBC to me and I knew I wanted a natural birth as much as I could. I told all my friends and family my plans for a positive experience and how much I'd love a water birth but was open to any pain relief. I put it out there as much as possible and my partner was fully on board with my choices.

At 34 weeks I was sent for growth scan number 1. I had a high BMI during pregnancy, which was my only risky factor really until this point, and they saw accelerated growth when measuring me. Off I went for the scan where it was found baby was measuring just fine, although predicted to be 8/9lbs at birth, and they told me she had a tuft of hair

At 38 weeks I was sent for growth scan number 2. This time for static growth. The plotting on the chart hadn't changed in two weeks so off I went again. Just excited to see baby again!

At this scan they informed me I had excess water around baby and we were diagnosed with polyhydromnios. They immediately recommended induction to avoid the risk of cord prolapse if I went into natural labour. At this point everything changed.

I was devastated and sobbed on every health care professional in sight that day! I didn't want to be induced, on a drip and I knew I wouldn't be able to have the water birth if I ended up on a drip. I'd also need to give birth on the Dr led birth suite next door to the MLU.

However my PBC kicked in and my partner and I used BRAIN to work through the decision. The amount of water I had was just over the threshold for our trust so the drs had to advise induction however we could decline it.

After many tears we decided to wait one more week and see if the baby grew any more into the water, if it reduced with rest (I was still working at 38 weeks ) or if baby was in a funny position and bulging the waters and we came back at 39 weeks.

We had our third growth scan at 39 weeks where there was no change. I spent the week chatting to friends and in my due date FB group where others said 'just because you're induced doesn't mean you can't still practice your hypnobirthing techniques' and they were right. I panicked when I heard about induction thinking I would be strapped down, miserable for days, no water birth etc. But the drs reassured me that I could have a water birth if contractions kicked in after they broke my waters. It was the thought of being trapped on a shared ward that bothered me the most. I wanted to stay at home in my calm environment for as long as possible.

I was also offered and accepted a sweep at 39 weeks thinking they could kick start something before my induction which was booked for two days before my due date.

At 39+5 we headed into the hospital on a Monday morning giddy and excited to start the induction. I had done a complete 180! I spent the week finally finishing work and repacking my hospital bag now knowing I would potentially have a few days on a ward before moving to the birth suite. I had my headphones, affirmation cards, funny podcasts, calming spray and all the snacks. I knew that when I was going home I would be taking my baby with me.

The induction took two days and I was moved onto the suite on the morning of my due date when contractions had started overnight, slowly but surely! I can't say being on that ward was fun at all but I went for walks with my partner, out to the hospital cafe and the midwives were brilliant. I had a ball and again tried to stay as active as possible. I'd told them all my plans to avoid the drip and get in the water and everyone was onboard.

On the morning of day 3 they were happy with my progress and they agreed to send me over to the birth suite. Finally!!

Labour

Finally labour time! When we made it to the birth suite I was 1cm and nicely effaced. I felt so lucky to have midwives that were open to everything and they kept telling me, it's not just about how my cms you are dilated, we're looking for other positive signs. And this really helped and reassured me.

Around 11am my waters were broken by a Dr which was the strangest sensation but not at all painful. Due to the excess water we were monitored the whole time with wireless devices so straight away I was up and on the ball and the countdown started! The risk presented by the excess water had mostly passed and the cord and baby were fine. We had four hours to get into established labour and if not then the drip was going on.

I paced the room, bounced the ball, swayed etc and the midwives said I was doing everything I could to get the baby down - UFO!

Contractions were coming but not at the level or strength they wanted. We weren't hitting the four in ten that they needed to see. They were very sporadic and often coupling together (when two back to back came without a break) and so the drip went on around 3pm. I wasn't that upset about it either, which surprised me! I remember asking the midwife, what else can I do. And she said you've done everything right. I had done all I could to get the baby down by staying upright and moving, upbreathing through everything, having a joke with the midwives etc! So it was the right thing to do.

Once the drip started the contractions really ramped up and I requested pain relief, paracetamol and codeine. I continued upbreathing but was sick a few times so was also given antisickness medication.

Around 5.30pm, I hit a wall. And looking back it was the start of transition but at the time I just wanted to lie down. I'd avoided the bed all day staying on my ball and wanted to have a lie down. As soon as I got on the bed, baby was upset and they quickly moved me into a side lying position. I felt so tired all of a sudden and the pain had really ramped up! I remember saying 'asking for a friend....how does the epidural work...' but my amazing partner and midwives knew that wasn't what I really wanted, and offered me gas and air. They wanted me to work up the pain relief options first before diving into the big stuff and I am so grateful they did. As soon as I smelt the gas and air I was sick, so that was off the cards immediately! I also found it didn't help with my upbreathing as you breathe in and out of the tube. My upbreathing was better.

Shortly after they offered and gave me pethidine instead. The midwives prepped the epidural just in case in the background. This helped massively and around the same time I felt the natural ejection reflex kick in. Looking back this was the most surreal and amazing sensation. The mooing started! And my midwife said let's have a quick examination, as I hadn't been examined since the waters had been broken earlier that day. Again so fortunate to have midwives who left me to get on with it!

To my complete shock she said I was fully dilated and starting to push. It was mind boggling. I was so excited, scared, amazed and just shocked we had got to this point so quickly! And then my body took over.

After 30 mins of pushing and an episitomy Meadow was born at 7.25pm on her due date. To be honest down breathing was out of the question at this point as the pethidine really chilled me out to the point where I didn't open my eyes the whole time

Before starting PBC I cringed inside out at the thought of an episitomy. It made my toes curls thinking about it but I'd done my research, the midwives explained it so clearly and I had been occasionally doing the perineal massage to prepare for it. Again it was nowhere near as bad as I expected due to fully knowing what to expect!

I opted for the injection for the placenta and the vitamin k injection both of which were super quick and easy and I delivered the placenta around ten minutes after she was born.

One of my midwives was a student (her 37th birth!) And she was fascinated by the placenta. She brought it over to me and whilst I had my stitches, with local anaesthetic, she talked me through how it works and gave me a close up view of it! It was so interesting but it did make my bf a bit green around the gills for the first time that day.

We stayed in hospital overnight where I was on a drip due to blood loss and were discharged the next afternoon. It was completely not the birth I had planned and wanted for the first 38 weeks of my pregnancy and the decision to be induced was 100% not on my radar at all. But I used everything I had learnt to make the right decisions, be informed about my choices and that stuck with me all the way through my labour. My girl is absolutely perfect and would 100% do it all again

And a final mention to those amazing midwives at Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre. They all looked after me so much, I was sad to leave them behind.