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Liam Stephen Heard

On Monday 26th May 1997 I had an 11.00am apointment to see my ob/gyn for a regualar check up on my pregnancy. When I got in he did a BP check and he found that my BP had risen to 150/100. Considerly up on my check a fortnight earlier. Not totally surprising though, because it had been slowly rising over the last 2 months. So at 36 weeks and 2 days he decided to hosptialise me and monitor what it did over the next 24 hours. Out in the the car I rang my husband Bryan at work and burst into tears trying to tell him that he had to come home and take me to hospital. I drove home and met Bryan, packed my bag and rang my dad, mum and sister to tell them what was happening. By the time I got to hospital 2 hours later my BP had dropped back to an acceptable level. Somethings just can't be explained. I stayed until the Wednesday when my parents took me back home. My BP had been fine the whole time I was in hospital and all my blood test came back fine. I was on strict orders to rest as much as possible. HUH what a joke! The only way you could make me rest was to watch me 24 hours a day, but slow down I did. On to weekly checks now my BP behaved itself for awhile.

On June 10 (Tuesday) I had my weekly check with my ob/gyn and my BP was a little high so he asked me to got to the hospital on Friday to have it checked. Yeh sure no problems I can do that. Friday morning I ring the hosptial and explain to them what was going on and was told to come in at 11.00am. Fine. I showered and got ready. Went to the bank and then to the hospital. They got me to take a seat for 5 minutes and tell me they'll be back to check it after I've rested. Fine, no problem. I was going nowhere. I'd repacked my bag in the morning knowing (gut instinct) that I was staying in this time. Got out my cheque book to balance it. Now what was the date today? Oh s--t!, it's Friday the 13th!! Back comes the midwife and sure enough I am staying all right. My BP is back up to 160/110. Two midwives check it just to make sure that it was correct, then go and ring my ob/gyn. When they come back and tell me that he is on his way to see me and will be in less than an hour, and he was! On comes the next round of blood test, fetal monitoring and complete bed rest. I tried to talk them into letting me go home to finish the very last of my packing and take my car home. No way! I'm staying!

I rang Bryan to tell him what's happening, but to stay at work until the end of the day and to arrange with my parents to bring him to the hopsital that night and to take my car back home. After I spoke to him I sat down and cried. Why was this happening to me? What about my baby? Would it be okay? My dr. said that I could go home for a few hours on Sunday but I had to promise to rest and do nothing. So I did. The next week dragged on so much.

On the Tuesday two of the girls grom my ante-natal class came in and where induced. At last I had someone to keep me company. The my dr. talked about inducing me on the Friday (20th June). I agreed that would be okay. He was inducing on of the other girls from class that day too. A couple of days before the induction I lost the mucus plug. Then on the night before the induction I started having come mild contractions about 5 minutes apart. I told my husband when they happened and after an hour he said that I should buzz the midwives. I did and of course out comes the monitor. After and hour hooked up nothing more is happening. So I am told to take my sleeping pills and get a good nights sleep. I send Bryan home and go to be hoping! No such luck. I wake up and it's Friday morning! D-Day! My sister came to support me and Bryan. I go to the delivery room to have my waters broken and a drip inserted. It's at this point that my dr. tells me that the babys' head still hasn't dropped! That I have a small pelvis and that I'm only 1cm dilated. He would give labour a go, but was also wanted me to aware that it may end up being a c-section. I was scared. I'd always been adamant that I wasn't having a c-section. Back in my room labour beings.

It's about 8.15am and the contractions are 2 mins apart but not that painful. The midwife comes back regularly to check my blood pressure, the baby's heartbeat and the contractions. The drip is increased frequently, but I'm still coping fine without pain relief. This isn't that bad. About 11.00am I felt this thud in my back and the pain from that was almost unbearable. At 1.30pm my dr. comes back and said "Well lets keep going until 4pm, increase the dose of the syntocin to the max and then I'll examine you. Just before 4pm I decide to go to the birth suit. When my dr. come back and checks me he tells me that I'm only 4.5cm. After 8 hours. He wants me to have an epidural to help relax the pelvis and see how we go.

Then if I do need a c-section it'll be under the epi and my husband can be there too. It's about 5.15 pm when the anaesthetist turns up and tries to do the epi. Agter 1/2 dozen tries he says it's in. The epi was the most traumatic part of it all. At one stage he hit a nerve and my leg shot out like a flash. The pain from him trying to get it in was increadible. I was sucking on the gas like there was no tomorrow. A second midwife holding me in the fetal position and stroking my head. 5.50pm the anaesthetist leave and clocks off at 6pm, saying that if it hasn't worked to get the other guy. 15 minutes go by and I said this isn't working. "Yes it is", replies this young new midwife with no children of her own. I insist that it's not. "Okay what am I doing now? Scratching my tummy. What about now? Scratching my bum! Oh maybe it hasn't worked." Then there was talk of inserting a catheter while I was awake. That sent me into hysterics. I didn't want a catheter to be done while I was awake. Then she checks my pad and saw that the baby had passed meconium inside me and that the baby was in distress. That is when I swore black and blue and told them to take the tubes and stuff out, that I wasn't having another f---ing epi, to get my dr now! give me a general and get this baby out! When my dr. came back and asked what was wrong and told my fears of the epi and catheter, he agreed to a general and to do the catheter while I was under. That yes the baby needed to come out now. By this stage my contractions had stopped all together and the drip was still on max speed. From that point on things moved quickly. An assistant surgeon, a paediatrician, and the anaesthetist where all called in post haste. My husband and I were both scared, and I was trying to reassure him. My parents and sister came to say goodbye. I could see that they all had tears in their eyes and trying to hold it together for my sake. Before I went under I asked my dr. what he thought I was having. He said that he thought it was a boy, beacause they gave the most trouble.

When I came to there was my husband in recovery holding our baby son all bundled up. He wanted to be the first to tell me that we had a son. Born at 7.10pm, weighing a very hearty 7lb 10oz.

Then later in the early hours of the morning my post natal bleeding was very heavy and not slowing down, the midwife wanted me to go to the toilet and empty my bladder to see if that slowed things down. I tried on a bed pan in bed, no luck. I tried sitting on the chair, no luck. In the end I asked them to help me to the bathroom. There they left me for about 15min and I finally I went. If I hadn't gone they were going to insert another catheter. No way was I going to have that. I'd sit till morning if I had too. I know that my story may sound awful, but it was all worth it. I have a wonderful baby boy who I wouldn't give back for the world. I don't know if I want to do it again, but I am glad I have one child who is perfect.

Incidently, breast feeding my son was also unsuccessful. Partly beacause he was too lazy to suck ofter the general and partly beacause I think that when he was born he got a bottle straight away and worked out that it just flowed into his mouth and didn't have to work for it. so for all those mums who feel bad beacause the can't breastfeed, don't. My son is healthy and being bottlefed.

Thank you for reading my story.

Elizabeth Heard