"Pregnancy Care and Birth"

My story relates to my pregnancy care and birth.

I selected GP Shared Care and was assigned Box Hill for my birth with an estimated due date (EDD).

On the evening before my EDD, I began to experience early signs of labour. These contractions continued throughout the next day and I waited for them to gain intensity and consistency before contacting the birth suite, as I had been advised in my midwife appointments.

In the early hours of the next morning, the contractions were occurring consistently 7 minutes apart so I contacted Box Hill Birth Suite for advice and next steps. I was advised that it sounded as though I was in early labour and the best place for me to be was at home while this progressed and to call back when the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. The midwife ended the phone call by saying hopefully we’ll have a baby in the next 24 hours.

Mid-morning that day, the contractions were 4.5-5 minutes apart consistently for an hour so I called back for the next steps and advice. I was told to continue doing what I was doing, that I was progressing well, and to call back when the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and they would assess if I should come into hospital at this point.

Approximately 3 ½ hours later, the contractions reduced to approximately 20 minutes apart. They continued to remain sporadic in frequency and intensity for the remainder of that day and the next,  ranging from 3 minutes to 20 minutes apart with no prolonged break.

Early in the morning after these two days, the contractions were occurring 4.5 minutes apart and my spouse called the birth suite for advice and next steps, communicating the fact that the contractions had now been occurring for 3 full days. As they increased in frequency closer to 3.5-4 minutes apart, my spouse called back three hours later am and we were invited into the hospital for an assessment.

During the assessment, the contractions reduced in frequency and intensity, however, an internal examination confirmed I was 2cm dilated. The midwives were pleasant and informative. At the end of the assessment, I was advised to return home and continue with the early labour at home and to call back when the contractions were established at 2-3 minutes apart, at which time “active labour” would have commenced and I would be able to return.

Upon returning home, the contractions increased in frequency and intensity, however never established a pattern close enough to 3 minutes apart. They ranged from 2 minutes to 8 minutes apart from this point until the next day when in the evening they died off again, coming every 15 minutes. At this point, I was beyond exhausted from 5 full days of contractions and I felt deflated and that when active labour was established that I wouldn’t have the energy to go through labour. I was following all of the medical advice that had been provided to me and I felt as though it still wasn’t enough to allow me to call the hospital again as I was not displaying the correct signs. I emotionally broke down and my spouse was concerned for my physical and mental health.

That night my spouse called the Box Hill birth suite and was assisted by a very friendly, understanding and helpful midwife. She was compassionate to the circumstances and was the first midwife we spoke to that left us feeling as though we had a plan in place. She explained that Box Hill was currently at capacity, however, she would contact a different hospital (see that story here) and see if they were able to take me for an assessment ASAP with intent to create a plan for next steps (e.g. next day induction). Within 10 minutes she called back confirming that the other hospital would be expecting us when we were ready.

We arrived at the other hospital approximately one and a half hours later where I was immediately attended to and assessed. An internal examination found I was 4.5cm, almost 5cm, dilated. The midwife performed a stretch at the same time to encourage labour and in the meantime, an induction was booked for the next morning at our original hospital. After an hour, after all, monitoring had been completed, the midwife returned to advise that she had discussed with the on charge and said we were welcome to stay for an hour or 2 to see if active labour would establish. We decided to stay and shortly after, I was in active labour.

A few hours later, an internal examination was completed with the intent to rupture the remaining waters as they believed this was slowing the progression. I was 8cm dilated, the waters were ruptured and the baby was assessed. It was at this point, for the first time in my pregnancy, I was advised that the baby was breech. From here, an emergency “code green” caesarean was organised. My baby was born approximately one and a half hours later with my birth complications listed as breech presentation, breech undiagnosed, primary post-partum haemorrhage (1L) and a tear in my uterus. Due to the undiagnosed breech position that the baby had been in for most likely a number or weeks or months, my baby’s complications are bilateral hip dislocation.

TAKEAWAYS

1. Being pregnant for the first time, I feel that my labour symptoms were waved away for 4 days leaving me with no plan and a feeling as though my body wasn’t doing a good enough job at establishing labour. Although the staff on the phone and in person at Box Hill birth suite were courteous and polite, I feel as though my symptoms were being treated as opposed to me as a person. I don’t believe I should have been sent home from Box Hill the first time without a firm plan for further assessment or induction.

2. Undiagnosed breech - I understand that an external examination of baby’s position is never guaranteed, however, I believe as my baby would have been in this position for weeks or months, I feel disappointed that this was never detected. It was not picked up during my multiple GP appointments, at my in-hospital midwife appointments or at my assessment at Box Hill. I was not offered a 3rd-trimester ultrasound which could have picked this up earlier, nor was any bedside ultrasound offered at my assessment.