I had a terrible labour, but a brilliant birth

I found out I was pregnant in January 2008 after feeling sick and missing my period. At first I’d put the sickness down to Christmas excess, but after missing my period I thought I’d better do a test. It was a surprise to both me and my partner, Alan, but definitely a good one!

The sickness carried on and at my first scan I found out I was 10 weeks and my baby was due on the 8th of September. Alan named the baby 'Stumpy' as it waved its stumpy arm at us. 

As my pregnancy progressed the sickness drove me crazy, I was working in a gym so the early shifts were a killer. I would start at 5.30am but between 8 and 9am I would feel really ill. At my 20 week scan we found out I was having a little girl. The sonographer said she was 100% sure it was a girl as she'd rolled over and opened her legs. 

The morning sickness subsided at about 22 weeks so I could at last eat a proper breakfast again, however I had developed a dislike of mince so spaghetti bolognaise and lasagne were off the menu. When I started feeling her kick it was amazing, she developed a like of Britney Spears 'Piece of Me' so Alan renamed the bump 'Britney Bump'. I thought that as the sickness had gone I could carry on as normal for a while, but at 24 weeks I woke up with sharp pains in my lower tummy. It really hurt and my tummy felt like it was going hard then soft as well. 

I went to see my GP, but by the time he called me into his room I was crying in agony. He called an ambulance and I was taken to hospital. When I got there I was taken to the antenatal day assessment unit to be checked over. They checked whether I was dilating (I wasn't) and I was sent for a scan where they found I had polyhydramnios (too much fluid). I was still in agony and really scared. I wasn't far enough along to be attached to a monitor, but the midwife could feel my tummy hardening and told me I was experiencing 'tightening' or Braxton Hicks. As for the pain, no one really knew. They took a sample of urine and told me I could have a UTI and gave me pethidine for the pain. 

I was kept in for four days as they kept sending my urine to the laboratory and it kept coming back negative. Eventually the pain settled and I went home. I was signed off for two weeks, but by the end of the week it all happened again and I was back in hospital. These bad pains and Braxton hicks happened again at 31weeks then at 35 weeks they got so bad that on the monitor they were showing regularly. The neo natal ward was closed at the time so they were concerned about having to move me to a different hospital if anything happened. 

Every time my cervix thankfully remained closed. This time I was kept in for a week as I had a bleed as well as the tightening and pain. All the doctors and midwives had no clue what was going on. They just thought my baby was impatient, but my body was keeping her in. Her head had engaged really early so she was very much ready and waiting. After this scare things seemed to settle down. She started kicking all the time and you could see feet and hands coming out of my side like in Alien! It freaked a few people out but Alan and I loved pressing her little feet as she pushed back. 

I was seen in the Obstetrics clinic every fortnight and scanned at the same time as well as being told to see my GP or midwife weekly. At 39 weeks I developed Syphysis Pubis Dysfunction (pain in the groin, pelvis and pubic area) and had had just about had enough. I had fractured my pelvis two years before so the pain was made worse from that. I went in to see a consultant and was told I was 2cm dilated. She decided that as I had been through so much that the baby should be hurried along. She gave me a membrane sweep then booked me for induction the next day if it didn't happen over night. I went in on the 6th Sept and was still 2cm. They gave me a pessary and I waited. They came back at midnight that night to see if the pessary had worked. No change. The midwife said she'd see if she should give me another one or if the labour ward would break my waters. 

I went to sleep with only Braxton Hicks and the same pains I’d had throughout my pregnancy. The midwife got caught up dealing with another lady who'd gone into labour. At 2am I was woken up by bad period type pains and desperate for a wee. I stumbled to the loo and my waters broke in the toilet. I was shaking with shock from what had happened, I hadn't even realised I was anywhere near being in labour. The midwife said there was meconium in my waters so I was put on a monitor and was examined. I was now 6cm dilated and I called Alan and he came in. At this point the pains were in my back, but as I was on the pre natal ward I had no gas and air so was pacing about and worrying about waking everyone else up. My midwife called the labour ward who said they were busy and I had to stay there for now but when she came to tell me this she realised I was progressing too fast. She took me to the labour ward, put me in a room and gave me gas and air. She ended up delivering my baby. I was only pushing for about 15mins. 

The baby came in one push instead of head, stop, body, which meant I got a second degree tear. I was given some Meptid 5 mins before my baby arrived but it takes 20 minutes to work so was pointless really. It kicked in afterwards while I was being stitched up. Abigail Daisy was born at 4.54am weighing 6lb 14oz. My labour lasted 2hrs 44mins from my waters breaking. No-one knows what caused all the problems during my pregnancy. Abi was healthy and I was fine. I was told that I probably didn't realise when I was in early labour as my body had got used to similar pains throughout the pregnancy.