Hi, I'm new to this, but have been reading the pregnancy and childbirth threads avidly since my third trimester.
I've got a 12 day old DD and whilst delivering was not straightforward, it was not as horrific as some other mums' experiences have been.
My problem is that I have not been able to urinate on my own since DD was born. What happened was my waters broke, there was meconium, I was told to attend the maternity assessment unit, which I did at 10.30 am the day before DD was born. At 12 pm I went up to the delivery suite with MW1. Because of the meconium I was induced and a drip was put in at 2 pm. I was given an epidural. At around 6pm MW2 catheterised me and over 1 litre was drained. DD was born 7 hours later at 1am assisted by MW3.
Eventually went to post-natal ward at 8am. At about 5pm I realised I hadn't wee'd, told the ward MW but didn't realise it was getting on for "handover" time. The night shift MW inserted a "stay in" catheter at about 10 pm and I drained 2 litres. I was hooked up to the bag for 12 hours, then told to try and wee. I tried for 6 hours. In the meantime I was drinking pints and pints of water (and coffee for my post-epidural headache, which felt more like I'd been hit with a baseball bat). Another catheter was inserted, again I drained 2 litres, then the catheter was kept in for 24 hours.
After that was removed, tried to wee for over 6 hours, still not the slightest sensation. Having spent over 4 days in hospital I was allowed to go home with a catheter kept in and a bag strapped to my leg.
3 days later I went back to the hospital. The doctors tell me that my bladder must have got distended during labour, and the failure to drain urine post-natally has worsened the condition. For the past 9 days I have been catheterising myself every 3 hours. I've been trying to use visualising techniques, and DH has made a special 'focusing' program for my ipod (I bawled the first time I heard it, realising how lucky I am to have his love and support).
I am being referred to a uro-gynaecologist, and DH has been doing some research on the Internet. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information around. All the Internet says, and the obstreticians say, is: it will resolve itself. It may take some time, weeks, months, but it will resolve itself.
Has anyone else had a similar experience, or know of someone who has? At the moment, I'm trying to accept the situation but when I think of how this could have been avoided if only the healthcare professionals had kept an eye on things, I just get upset and cry. Surely, there would have been something in those notes that all the delivery suite MWs seemed intent on filling about monitoring my urine?
I would love to hear from you mumsnetters. Sorry it's such a long tale.