I am writing this on behalf of, or rather about my friend.
She is diabetic (type 1, not gestational) and has had an ok pregnancy, apart from struggling to get proper advice from anyone about what might occur during the birth and diabetes. She knew that a c-section was possible. However she did have an iriittable uterus towards the end so has been having quite regular contractions for about 3 weeks.
She was finally told they would induce her at 37 weeks which was sunday of last week (not sunday just gone). They would give her a trial of labour and if this did not work, or she was labouring too long they would give her a c-section. They would not give her a definitive answer as to how long "too long' would be.
So, she went in for induction at 3pm, and was given a pessary at 5pm. She started having proper contractions after another pessary on the Monday, but was not dialating. She had the max number of pessaries over the next couple days, and continued to have contractions, painful, tiring, stressful, but not dialating.
On the Wednesday they said she would go down to the Labour Ward and have her waters broken. This was due to occur at asap, then 3pm, but did not happen until 3am on the thursday morning as there were no beds. They broke her waters immediately, and nothing happened other than the continued regular contractions.
Obviously by this stage she was exhausted. They let her continue to Labour until midnight on Thursday/Friday when they then decided to give her a c-section. She had been/her family had been trying to ascertain if/when this would happen, but no answers, they just announced this was happening.
Baby was born, sugars were fine. Friend's sugars not so good, but they stabilised.
However her and baby went downhill and had to have antibiotics. She had developed a severe infection, which we found out yesterday was a form of blood poisioning, as a result of her waters being broken for so long, or so she was told.
She has been very unwell, baby has been unwell, but not as ill as she had. She has not been able to breastfeed due to the blood poisoning, has not been able to feed her bottles as too weak/sore, has been unable to hold her for long. She is struggling to maintain her sugars, they are low and she can't get them above 4, but staying at roughly 2 (should be 6? I think), and has been told if she is unable to stabilise them she wont be able to BF at all. Before they knew she had this infection she tried feeding, and her sugars plummetted. She was not allowed visitors until yesterday other than her DP and her mum as she was too ill.
My DH went to see her yesterday (I am not allowed as I have tonsilitis) and he is quite worried. She is better than she was, but a bit distant from the baby, is very negative, and the experience has absolutely drained her - not surprisingly.
So, what I think I am asking is, how common is this infection after your waters broke? Should she have been left as long as she was before have a c-section after breaking the waters? They say this is the reason, if so, if they left it too long, did they screw up? could this have been avoided?
Also, is it standard to leave some-one for 4 days being induced, when they are clearly exhausted, when she was not showing any signs of progress, when a c-section has always been a strong possibility, and without a plan of when they might do a c-section. Ie, Trial of Labour until Wed at 3pm and then if not moving forward a c-section?
I am just worried that this experience has been so traumatic for her it might affect her bonding with the baby.
I just feel so crap for her, and I cant even go and give her a hug and tell her how beautiful her baby is.