"Childbirth"

I gave birth recently to my first baby. We arrived in the middle of the night to the maternity ward to find out I was already 8cm dilated! We got into the pool but, unfortunately, 4hrs later we’d had no progression so the doctor was called to consider whether I needed pain relief. By the time the doctor arrived however, things had moved along so I was allowed back in the pool. Two hours later, still no arrival of baby, so I got back out of the pool and tried different positions on the bed. Again, the doctor was called back and discussed that I would probably need an episiotomy. A little while and an episiotomy later, as everyone was getting ready for suction, I gave one final push and my daughter was born, surprising everyone in the room, around half 10 in the morning!

During the process I felt like the doctor made several unnecessary comments including, I recall, oh, you were in transition, that’s why you were afraid! and, are you worried about the pain down there, are you afraid to push. Meanwhile, I was going purple in the face, holding my breath while pushing/bearing down. While I don’t think they were meant negatively, I found it quite unnecessary and condescending. I couldn’t/didn’t say anything at the time, as you’re so caught up in what’s happening and I was very tired, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like I should say something. I also wasn’t aware when/if the episiotomy had even been done by the end and had to ask the midwife. I appreciate the doctor not wanting to stress me out telling me she was about to do it, but I think communication could have been better. I also think more time could have been spent going through my options i.e. the episiotomy.

Also, I originally wanted a natural third stage, but due to my extended labour I was given the medication to induce delivery of the placenta. In of itself, that was fine and I appreciate why it was done. However, the midwife (I believe a senior midwife, not my MGP midwife) who had arrived near the end gave me the injection into my leg with no warning. I was surprised by the pain and asked what it was, to which I recall they replied, oh, I thought you wouldn’t notice! Working in healthcare myself, I feel it’s really important to explain to your patient what’s happening and to gain consent so this mindset is quite surprising and disappointing.

However, overall, while I had an extended second stage which was very tiring and fairly stressful, I felt very well supported by my MGP midwife Claire and the student midwife Nikki. Karen (or Karan?), one of the ward midwives, was also very kind to me when I was exhausted and emotional after being transferred to a room after the birth. Another midwife who is also a lactation consultant (can’t remember her name sorry!) was also very helpful. The ward/midwives were obviously very busy, sometimes it took a while for them to answer the call bell or bring meds/ice packs to me, but I appreciate it’s a busy time of year for babies and the pressure healthcare is always under. I appreciate the care I received from everyone on the maternity ward.