Induced early, failure to progress, emergency section, spinal headaches!

[fluffandnonsense]

Feel like I've been run through the absolute mill. I was induced last Monday due to obstetric cholestatsis at 36+6 weeks. On exam my cervix was very high and hard but around 1-2cm so with some brute force and 2 separate midwives they managed to break waters. I was then put on the drip and contractions gradually started. It was then that my midwife discovered my iron levels were so low I should have been given a transfusion before even being considered for induction. She was very cross and annoyed that this hadnt been picked up. After that contractions were mild and sporadic never seeming to get into a steady pattern. By 8am the next morning I had only progressed to 3-4 cms. I was given a sweep and contractions became more regular and painful. I was left until 12pm but had only got to 5cm. By this point my daughter was starting to struggle so I was taken for emergency section which was pretty terrifying. I ended up needing 2 bags of transfused blood.

Afterwards I've felt quite ill and in alot of pain. I started having headaches the day I was discharged. Within a day they were so bad I could hardly see. I ended up being readmitted with a spinal headache so basically a hole in the bag of fluid around my spine causing low pressure around my brain. The solution was an epidural procedure where they pump my own blood back into the same site to create a seal over the hole. I had to lie still on my back for 5 hours and the whole time battling with trying to feed my daughter as we are breastfeeding.

I was lucky that a friend of mine called in help and I has a breastfeeding coordinator come to help me feed while lying totally incapacitated on my back. My nipples are already sore and scabbed so this just made them more painful.

Afterwards I was allowed to get up and about but although my headache had gone the pain in my back was so bad I started passing out. I had a panic attack at this point as I thought something was really wrong and they had caused nerve damage.

I'm now at home and recovering but finding it hard to come to terms with all that's happened. It feels like everything that could go wrong did and I'm now just waiting for something else to happen.

I'm still pretty much stuck in bed and have been for over a week. I'm going slightly stir crazy

Congratulations on the birth of your DD thanks and at your birth story - you have truly been through the mill.

I hope you are starting to feel better and are getting all the support you need now you are at home. I bet you can't wait to feel up to going for a walk, or just having a change of scene.

I found it essential and unstoppable useful to talk about my birth experiences to (more or less) anyone who would listen. Trying to make sure I understood what had happened, when and how. And my experiences weren't as traumatic as yours.

When you are feeling stronger, you should be able to access a service at the hospital where you talk through your birth notes with a specialist midwife - it can be a really useful way of understanding a difficult birth.

^^ that was meant to be some for you. Sorry.

Thank you MrsCakes. I was offered a debrief but said no but now I'm thinking maybe it would help me to make sense of it. This is my 3rd baby and first section as the other two were natural deliveries. I feel a bit cheated and hate the fact I now have a huge scar across my stomach.