What type of bed was I forced to give birth on?

[Bloodybrambles]

I arrived into hospital at 4cm after showing signs of infection during my home birth.

The next 12 hours I spent squirming around on this ‘bed’ before having a C-section for failing to progress.

I’m now pregnant again and I’d like to put on my notes that I do not want to be on my back, on this stupid couch. I spent the whole 12 hours getting tangled in wires or kept sliding down the stupid thing. The midwives kept dragging me back up the ‘bed’ or pushing me away from the sides.

I was told that baby didn’t like any other position than me being on my back. The only time I had any relief was when I was able to sit up for my epidural. I think DD was back-to-back.

It’s like some weird fever dream as women on TV/social media seem to give birth on an actual bed. I’m not sure if I started off having sheets/a pillow and they fell off too or I was on this bare medieval method of torture the whole time.

My understanding is that babies can be distressed in certain positions when their cord is being compressed during contractions. Therefore your midwife may have asked you to stay on your back for that reason. Or she may have been unable to get a CTG trace on the baby when you were moving around.

Have you had a birth debrief? Your hospital should offer you the opportunity to review your notes with a staff member. It might give you some more insight into what went on and help you decide the mode of delivery for your next baby.