Having flash backs of my awful labour

[PinkBump2022]

My labour with one of my children was not so good and it was very prolonged and in the end they pulled the red button on the wall and about 10 people flew into the room and wisked me off to theatre. I remember lying down on the theatre bed and them all shouting my name telling me to stay with them, I had an overwhelming feeling of relaxation like I was floating off on a cloud, they then tipped the bed onto the left side and said my bp was plummeting. I’d been in labour for 4 days by now and mt baby’s heart rate dipped and wouldn’t come back up. She was born within seconds by forceps and it all seamed much better but we spent about 5 hours in recovery and my machine kept alarming.
did anyone else have a very similar experience? Im now 23 weeks pregnant and worried about how labour will pan out and as the time gets closer the worse I worry

[Speccybibliophile]

My first labour was similar was prepared for emergency c section but managed with episiotomy and ventouse. I had a birth debrief with the head midwife which really helped. This was organised by my health visitor a few months after my daughter was born. You could ask your current midwife to help arrange this for you. You could also ask for counseling.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, you're over halfway through! I'm 39 weeks and 1 day myself. Hopefully we both have an easier time of it second time around.

[Speccybibliophile]

Just to add, as far as I know you can request a birth debrief at any time, so don't feel as though too much time has passed.

[Loulou1712]

I had a very traumatic first birth, so much so that we said we'd never have any more children. We eventually decided that we didn't want her to be an only child so had another, when I was pregnant I had a birth debrief which really helped, it showed me that what happened wasn't my fault which really helped. I was actually booked in for an ELCS at my request to mitigate risks but went into labour the day of the section, and was persuaded to try for a VB, and baby arrived 2 hours later In the pool. I'm not pregnant again ... The fear is still there but I know my body is capable 🥰 you got this!

[badg3r]

You can ask for a debrief for your previous labour. They can help you to understand why it happened ans if it likely again. If you are really nervous maybe you can find out about an elective c section too - options, when you would need to decide etc. Then you have a backup plan if you get more and more anxious in the lead up.