You really want horror stories?! Really?? Well ok, but maybe also to help me come to terms with the fact that I am putting myself through this again [daft eejit emoticon]...
Try term+12 days in sweltering June heat. Waters finally went thursday lunchtime. Had mw appt that pm anyway so toddled (sorry, at that gesatation that should read waddled) along, she said to go to local hospital for "quick check up, but they'll probaby send you straight home". So, nearly 1 hr drive to nearest hospital, plus drive home to pick up the bag, and swallow a quick cup of raspberry leaf tea, lol!
Got to hospital feeling fine, they put the CTG on (monitor which straps round your belly and reads baby's heartbeat and your contractions). Oh and they did an internal to check my waters had gone - lets just say it was unequivocal, lol! (think niagara when the speculum went in!! ) But then they said the CTG showed the tightenings were too strong to go home. B*llocks. They were just BHs and no worse than I'd had for the last 10 weeks, but because of the distance home, that was it. Stuck in flipping hospital. I wasn't allowed a bath even because of the risk of infection.
Didn't sleep all night, just emotions I guess. All next day paced up and down the hospital and all round the grounds. By evening, getting stronger pains. Eventually paracetamol wasn't enough, so friday night moved to labour ward for gas and air (mmmmmm, nice stuff!).
Examined by senior mw who immediately said, "baby's OP" (his back to my back, the wrong way round) "it's going to be a long, difficult labour. You can try gas and air, but you're as well off having an injection and getting some sleep"
So I tried G&A for a bit, but the contractions just kept coming and going (typical for an OP labour), so by about 1am I had morphine. It's just like they say, it doesn't take the pain away, it takes you away from the pain. But it wore off after 3hrs, I forget but I think I was only 4cm then (very upset to hear this, wht a wimp!) so they said I needed synto (a drip to make the contractions come better), and there's no way I was having that without an epidural, so the anesthetist was called. He was just brilliant, and I swear (I am not brave BTW) I barely felt it go in. Honestly. The one thing I never wanted during labour was an epidural, but in the end it was fine. Weird to have no feeling (I swear at one point I was heard to say, "what the heck am I leaning on here? Oh, it's my leg!"), but I promise it didn't hurt to get.
So the contractions sped up, I got some sleep. They checked me at again at lunchtime saturday, by which time I was 9cm!! Yay......except, suddenly all we could hear on the CTG was ds's heart beat go thopthopthop..thop..thop......thop............thop.........................................thop
thop
thop
Cue massive panic, people piling into the room. I was rushed to theatre for emergency c-section under general anaesthetic (not enough time to top up the epidural). The worst thing was being wheeled along the corridoor, knowing my baby was dying, and having to leave dh at the doors to labour ward because he wasn't allowed in theatre. I was so scared and just sobbing. (and god knows what the poor mw thought as I couldn't let go of her hand - surrogate for dh, lol!)
Anyway, they thought they'd have a last listen for ds's heart when we got to theatre: thopthopthopthopthopthopthopthopthop!!! The wee bugger was back! So they got dh into theatre and then had a long chat with us. Basically, I could have a c-section if I wanted (but under epidural), and get it over with, but medically they were happy with ds and if I wanted to continue labouring I could. I passionately didn't want a c/s, for lots of reasons but not least because we live in the middle of nowhere and not driving for 6 weeks is a complete arse, so we went back to labour ward.
I was left for a bit, then re-examined. Only 9 1/2 cm, and the registrar said I would need a c/s (cue sobbing from idiot me again not wanting a c/s!!). So she got the consultant, sho examined me, and said she reckoned actually I was now fully! Whew. So they started me pushing. About an hour later and the head had dropped (really they strated me pushing far too early, when the head was too high, but I understand why), but both me and ds were tiring and his heartbeat was dropping again with and after contractions (called late decelerations and a sign of foetal distress). So the registrar decided to use forceps. But she couldn't get the blades on (apparently, not only was ds comping the wrong way round, but he was also trying to come with his hand up the side of his head! D'oh!). So guess what? Round to theatre again for c/s. By this time, I'd accepted the fact that we'd tried as hard as we could and a c/s was necessary. But the consultant decided to try one last time with the forceps - and she got them on. A few heaves, wrenches and pushes and out he came. I had an episiotomy and 2nd degree tear, and ds was fine though his head had big cuts on and was bleeding lots (his Harry Potter scar now).
dh said "oh, it's a boy". I said "what the hell else was it going to be causing all these problems?!" So it was 18.45 on saturday (having gone in thursday afternoon) and exactly 2 weeks overdue we had our son.
Wow. I'm sorry this was so long. And I've been crying as I'm typing! But I think I'm really ok about it, because having been through it once, it just wouldn't be so bad again, though I can't tell you how much I long for a nice "normal" delivery! Put it this way, though, from about 32 weeks I'm spending all day on my hands and knees (the best way to turn an OP baby!).
Well, UD, you wanted to know!