Traumatic birth, pregnant again

[Scarlett92]

Hi,
New here! I had my little boy In june after a pretty straightforward labour, was consultant led due to BMI so had growth scans which showed he was large. Amniotic Fluid upper limit of normal. Went in on the Monday with RFM had a sweep then induced Tuesday. Had pessary for 24hr then put on hormone drip. Waters were popped which was quite a traumatic experience and was told had undiagnosed polyhydramniosis. Left on hormone drip more, having checks every four hours only getting to 4cm. Was having 4in1 contractions. Told to be on drip another 4hrs (16 in total) to then be told emergency CS needed. Had LO 6pm Thursday. Taken to HDU for bad reaction to Epidural. Discharged on Saturday could Barely walk out the ward in tears through pain. Car ride home was horrifically painful. (1st baby thought this was to be expected) should have had MW come out on Sunday. Never came. Monday never came. Tuesday came and told her belly was swollen dismissed me. I kept bleeding from blood thinning injection site so went to nurses and was dripping in sweat. Got sent back to HDU. Tried 10 times to get canular in with no success. Had ultrasound on my veins and finally got it. Spent next 10days in hospital with major infection in wound and womb. Told it was Endometritis. Infection markers over 300 (normal

Oh man that sounds horrific. No wonder you've got concerns about a second birth.
Debrief sounds like a really good idea, letting midwives know about your concerns too so they can signpost you to the support that will help

Oh god you poor thing, that does sound like a horrific experience!
I had a pretty traumatic 1st birth (no where near that bad!) where I had 3 days in labour and ended up having episiotomy in theatre and was so drugged up I barely remember it

I had a debrief... it helped a lot.

My DD2 is now 10 weeks old, when I became pregnant I was dreading it. I was debating asking for an elective c section as I was so nervous. After the debrief and discussing my worries with the midwife each time I felt much more confident. I ended up having my daughter with only gas and air just 10 hours after my contractions started! No complications this time at all.

It’s hard because I was the same but try and just go into it with an open mind and not worry too much. No matter what happens you get a baby at the end of it xxx

My goodness yes that sounds very traumatic. Yes definitely a debrief!
I would also suggest you approach the consultant (I’m assuming you will be consultant led for this one) and the sort of framework you want to ask is ‘x happened in my first pregnancy. Obviously that was traumatic and unpleasant for me - how will you manage me to reduce and minimise the chances of this recurring? What will happen if it does recur?’
If they start to dismiss you with assurances it probably won’t, just push them to explain to you WHY - and do t ever be afraid of asking them to repeat until you’re satisfied you understand.

Hi,

Thanks all so much for your replies, I’ve booked in to have a debrief so hopefully it will help me calm down.
Yes consultant led this time around, I’m just not one of those types of people to question everything but I’m going to pull my socks up and do it!!

You’ve hit the nail on the head, as soon as you have your baby it’s all worth it at the end!

WOW!! Well done you! That’s an achievement in itself. Thanks for the tips