Birth story - Lauren and baby Edison

*Possible triggers *- Contractions, being sick, induction of labour, emergency caesarean, previous miscarriage, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, high blood pressure.

I know everyone says it.. but this is a long one!! Up until 24 weeks, my pregnancy was pretty straightforward, although I was very anxious, due to a previous miscarriage at 12 weeks. I had found out there was no heartbeat at my 12 week scan, so I had a few early scans this pregnancy for peace of mind, but still felt very nervous and worried when it came to each scan, that we may get bad news again. But all was going swimmingly this time and baby was growing and doing well. At around 22 weeks I started having an uncontrollable itch, worse at night and mainly my hands and feet. I called triage and was told to take anti-histamines, but also mentioned it at a routine midwife appointment at 24 weeks where it was taken really seriously. To cut a long story short, I was diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis. (ICP or OC) I was instantly told I was looking at an early induction, possibly 37 weeks based on my current liver levels, but possibly earlier if bile acids got higher. So any thoughts of a water birth or midwife led unit birth went out the window. BUT I didn’t see this as a negative, I had time to get my head around the fact that my birth would just be a bit different than I might have originally planned. My priority was getting baby born as safely as possible. I had weekly blood tests from 24 weeks, weekly monitoring on baby from 28 weeks, and growth scans every 4 weeks, so we were very well looked after.

We started the online hypnobirthing course when I was around 30 weeks pregnant and found it SO useful.. the science behind birth fascinated me & made me feel really empowered about what my body was about to do!

Anyway.. on to my actual birth! I was very lucky that the medication I was put on to control my liver levels worked for me, but a few other issues arose as we neared my due date. I was tested for gestational diabetes twice because baby was measuring off the scale at every growth scan, (but thankfully tested negative both times) and the fluid surrounding baby had reached slightly abnormal levels also. My blood pressure seemed to rise week on week too, and one of my liver function levels went through the roof in my last weeks of pregnancy, but not the one that could potentially harm baby thankfully. But an induction was planned for exactly 38 weeks, and I felt, based on the growth scans and possible risk to baby in terms of the ICP, that this was the correct choice. I did question whether a planned c section may be a better option based on baby’s size, but the consultant assured me that wouldn’t be a problem! Baby was estimated at 8lb 5oz at my 36 week growth scan.

The day of induction came and I had to go in alone because of covid restrictions. My partner waited outside until I’d been examined to give some idea of how long it may take. After being examined I was told my cervix was closed and I wasn’t dilated at all (which I expected at 38 weeks) so the process was going to be a long one. She then inserted the pessary. I sent my partner home, went for a walk and then tried to relax as much as I could. I started having period type cramps, and was already having Braxton Hicks before the pessary had gone in, and these seemed to intensify a little, but I had no real pain. A mixture of anticipation, excitement and the cramping getting worse meant I didn’t sleep much that night.. We would finally be meeting our baby sometime soon!!

Around 5:30am I turned over in bed and felt a giant pop, and water flooded the sheets. Either my waters had just gone or I’d majorly wet myself The midwife confirmed that yes my waters had just gone.. all on their own after one pessary!! & I was 2cm dilated. I was absolutely ecstatic because I thought that probably meant that I may avoid the hormone drip, which had been my main concern coming into induction. I called my partner and told him to come over, but that there was no rush as they were waiting for a spot for me on labour and delivery.

Over the course of the next hour the cramping and pain hugely intensified and I was quite shocked at how quickly things had escalated in terms of how I was feeling. I was still on the ward, but ended up on all fours on the bed, up-breathing because of how thick and fast the contractions were coming, with no breaks in between at all. There was still no space on the labour ward, but the midwives could see that I was deep in the throes of labouring, and moved me into a side room. (Although this room had no bed- I ended up on large foam puzzle type piece on all fours ) They examined me again and I was now 4cm dilated. My partner had been waiting outside, but they allowed him into the side room. I felt immense pressure in my pelvis and back at this stage and almost felt like I needed to push, and said this. The midwife explained that baby’s head was extremely low and that was probably why, but obviously at 4cm, I still had a long way to go. I did question as to why I was in so much pain, as I normally have a very high pain threshold, but no-one could explain that one. They gave me gas and air which I tried, but I didn’t like the sensation at all. It made me feel very paranoid, and caused me to be very anxious over the health of the baby. Despite the fact that I was constantly hooked up to a monitor and his heart rate was just perfect. So I just focussed on my up-breathing and tried to get myself into my own zone.

Finally a little while after my partner was allowed in, we were taken to labour and delivery. I was examined there on arrival and was now 6cm dilated. I seemed to be dilating very quickly, and my blood pressure appeared to be constantly on the rise too, so they kept me hooked up to the blood pressure monitor. At this point I requested an epidural, as there seemed to be no break between contractions and I was already pretty exhausted. The epidural was put in and I had instant relief and felt like a different woman!!! I was given a button to press for slow release of the drugs and was told if necessary this could be topped up again later.

My contractions did slow down after having the epidural, so I was then put on the hormone drip to try and keep things going at a good pace. I was also able to have a little rest at this point, although I was sick a few times. Around 1pm I was examined again.. and was now 9cm dilated!!! It seemed we were nearly at the finish line. At around 3pm I was examined again.. still 9cm dilated. The midwife said they’d give it a bit longer until the next examination as they felt the epidural had slowed my progress. In the meantime we chatted away, I felt very relaxed and was just excited at the prospect of soon meeting our baby boy. Around 5pm I started feeling some cramping in my stomach again, but relatively mild. Over the next few hours this pain intensified again and I was feeling similar pain to what I had felt before the epidural. The midwife couldn’t understand why, but I managed this time to use the gas and air and up-breathing to really get into my own zone and cope with the pain. It felt like there were no gaps in contractions once again though.

At 7pm a consultant came to examine me as they felt I still wasn’t progressing as they’d like and I was by now in intense pain. On examination he said I was still 9cm dilated, and he attempted to draw back the final part of my cervix, but was unsuccessful. He also declared that the baby was back to back, which finally explained why I’d felt such intense pain in my back and hips earlier on in labour and again now! No-one else had picked up that baby had got himself into that position until then. The consultant then said that we had two options.. we could wait another 4 hours to see what would happen, but his suggestion at this stage was to take me for an emergency caesarean. Baby was in no distress, but I had been in labour for 15 hours at this point and he was quite clear that in his opinion, waiting extra time would likely make no difference in terms of progress. I quickly discussed with my partner, but we both agreed that a caesarean was the safest option at this stage and we took the consultant’s advice.

Things then moved very quickly. I was taken straight into theatre where the anesthetist realised that the epidural had moved slightly in my back and so was no longer delivering any pain relief, and hadn’t been for hours! He mentioned at this stage that I may need a general anaesthetic if he couldn’t rectify that quickly. He was brilliant though, corrected the placement of it in no time and got me ready for surgery. My partner was sat next to me and within minutes of being on the table we heard our baby cry for the first time! On seeing him, and based on what our midwife said afterwards, we realised we’d made the right decision in going for the caesarean. His head was pretty swollen, and had pretty well got stuck.

My partner unfortunately had to leave around an hour after Edison was born, when I was taken down to the ward, because of covid restrictions. This was very hard on him and he felt like a loose part having to leave us both in the hospital, having just become a new dad. I had lost more blood in surgery than I should have, but my recovery was very straight forward and we were discharged 22 hours later.. which my partner was just thrilled about!

Everyone had placed bets on how big baby would be, as I kept being told he was measuring off the scale.. so we were rather surprised when he weighed in at an incredibly average 7lb 11ozs!! How wrong those growth scans had been after all!

Despite the fact that my pregnancy and birth didn’t go to plan at all, I still view it as a positive experience. Despite health issues, my body managed to grow a healthy baby and despite a few bumps along the road during my labour our baby boy was born safely which is all I could have asked for. There is a lot of stigma when it comes to c-sections, but they are no easy feat. Major surgery is not something to be sniffed at, and I feel that it was the best and safest option at the time for my baby to be born. I look back on my whole labour fondly, because it ultimately lead to meeting our boy.