Posts Tagged "c-section"

Shame on you Amanda Holden

Posted by cafebebemama on Feb 5, 2012 in Motherhood | 0 comments

This morning, while feeding Sam his morning bottle I was watching BBC Breakfast. While reviewing the day’s newspaper headlines, they announced one of the headlines reporting that Amanda Holden plans to return to work as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent as early as next weekend. Less than two weeks ago, Amanda Holden went into labour 1 week early and had her daughter Hollie delivered by Emergency Caesarian Section. Following the safe delivery of her daughter, apparently Amanda lost a considerable amount of blood, had to have several pints of blood in a transfusion and remained in Intensive Care for three days. She was not allowed to see her daughter for three days due to the severity of her emergency delivery, so say the reports.

The recovery time for a caesarian section is recommended to be six weeks. Obviously every patient is different. Some recover quicker than others. However, when you’ve had, what seems to be as traumatic a delivery as Amanda Holden has had, received a blood transfusion and been in intensive care, do you think heading back to work after two weeks would be sensible? I doubt it!

It’s one thing to reply to emails, take phone calls, handle simple business from home but to schelp yourself (albeit by a driver) into a location hours from your home (next weekend’s auditions are in Edinburgh, Scotland), dress up in some flashy numbers probably including high heels, sit for hours watching insane acts attempt to win a chance to perform for the Royal Family seems quite daft. Why on Earth would anyone want to be away from their gorgeous, squidgy newborn for a few hours much less a day? It’s not like Britain’s Got Talent is THAT important after all. Maybe if she was Prime Minister or President of the United States but a JUDGE on Britain’s Got Talent?? I think Amanda Holden’s newborn daughter, older daughter and husband are FAR more important, don’t you?

I thought I could just bounce back from my caesarian section following Sam’s birth. Granted, every day after delivery I felt better. However, I was tired, sore and didn’t have the same amount of energy and stamina as before. I pushed it too hard in the first two weeks following Sam’s birth. Walking to Ella’s school left me drained for hours and increased my blood loss. My body was telling me that it wasn’t ready. That was a 5 minute walk down the road! Just attempting routine household tasks ended up setting me back a day or two. My abdominal discomfort continued well beyond what it should have one day my knee suddenly swelled up dramatically. I went to the GP where it was determined that I had a Kidney Infection to go along with my c-section recovery. I was placed on a week’s course of anti-biotics and began to feel much better but that was two weeks post delivery!

Of course, provided she has medical clearance to do so, Amanda Holden is free to do what she likes. I just think that it’s daft! Taking yourself away from your familly and what should be your primary focus, pushing yourself physically when your body needs plenty of time, rest and support to recover is not sensible for anyone. When a celebrity does something so inadvisable it sets a precendent that none of us “normal people” can live up to. There’s already enough pressure on mothers to be able to fit back into their pre-pregnancy jeans within weeks following the delivery of their babies thanks to celebrities like Katie Price, Victoria Beckham and Heidi Klum. Shouldn’t we allow mothers the time to be mothers and recover on their own terms instead of setting unrealistic expectations as a society? The work can wait. Britain can wait. Babies are far more precious and the health and well-being of their mothers should be what we’re concerned about, shouldn’t it? I really hope that Amanda Holden’s physicians feel the same because they certainly should not be signing her off to return to work at two weeks post delivery.

So shame on you, Amanda Holden. Keep your comfy clothes on, scrape your hair back in a ponytail, skip the makeup and snuggle up with your so-longed-for Hollie Rose. That’s where Britain wants to see you…not on our televisions, just yet anyway.

Sam- His Birth Story, Part One

Posted by cafebebemama on Feb 4, 2012 in Bebe, Motherhood | 0 comments

If you hadn’t been keeping up on Twitter, I went into hospital on Monday 21 November after noticing some light spotting bleeding. I had placenta praevia and our elective c-section had been scheduled for Friday 2 December. I was adamant, in the meeting with the consultant, that I wanted an elective c-section. Ella’s emergency c-section after failure to progress in labour was traumatic and terrifically unpleasant. I wanted to have a controlled, semi-peaceful birth and was confident that an elective c-section, while stil MAJOR abdominal surgery, would be the best for all of us. I was also adamant that if I went into labour early, I still wanted an elective c-section. Thankfully, the placenta praevia necessitated that.

On Monday 21 November, one week after turning 41, I went to the toilet around noon for a routine wee and noticed some spotting. My heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t bright red bleeding but it definitely was spotting. I waited for a bit, checked again and was assured that it was continuing. I phoned Mark first to tell him and told him that I would be ringing the hospital labour ward. After I rang the maternity unit, they told me that I definitely needed to come in. Panic stations!

I wasn’t packed and the hospital bag that I had started for the baby was only partially ready. I rang Mark back to tell him to come home, had a quick bath & got dressed, packed the baby’s bag, packed my bag and waited for Mark to come home. We had Ella with us as it was a non-school day. We didn’t want to ring Mark’s parents to worry them nor did we really have time to drop Ella off at their house. All three of us journeyed the 15 minutes or so to Peterborough City Hospital. We had been instructed to go to the Maternity Triage area where they would handle us. We arrived in the waiting area at 1:45pm and thus began my stay in hospital. I wouldn’t leave, in the end, for 5 more days. I hadn’t packed for that! I thought, silly my, that I might be having our baby on Monday 21 November. Everyone else had different plans.

Eventually I was taken through to be examined. We had rung Mark’s parents and asked them to come to the hospital to collect Ella as we weren’t sure how long we’d be there. Ella was bored and wiggly so Mark took her down to the lobby get some treats and shortly after they left I was called back to the exam room. After checking me, they determined that it seemed to be an “old” bleed but they were still concerned enough to admit me. At that point I was given the first of two steroid injections to help Bebe’s lungs to mature should he or she decide to be born early. At this point I was 37 weeks + 5 with a scheduled elective c-section for the following Friday at 39 weeks + 2. It was during my time in triage that Mark brought Ella back up to say goodbye to me which made me cry. I didn’t know what was happening and my daughter was leaving me…it really was hard for me.

I was then tranferred onto the Maternity Services Ward. This is the place where women being induced or checked for ante-natal problems are sent. Also, this is the post-delivery ward in Peterborough City Hospital. Thankfully, the hospital being just a year old meant that everything was nice and shiny and clean. The wards were HUGE with 4 beds and plenty of room around each bed. We were even afforded the luxury of a television, albeit, without freeview or satellite! There was one large toilet/shower room for the 4 berths to share which was far better than when I had to schlep myself down the hallway to a communal toilet when I was in the old hospital for Ella’s labour and delivery.

I shared the ward with a slightly chavvy girl who was being monitored (and later turfed), a diabetic woman at 34 weeks pregnant who was refusing to eat and/or take her medication and a woman being induced and beginning to labour across from me. When I was admitted, no one really explained anything to me. The midwife on shift told me that I would be seen by the consultant in the morning. That was it. No explanation of how long I might be staying or what I could expect. Mark stayed with me for a short while but I felt it was more important that he collect Ella and take her home so she could have a normal night in our house. He went to his parents to collect her and then brought Ella back to see me. We had a nice but short visit and then when it came time to say goodbye, Ella grabbed onto me and sobbed. Poor thing, she didn’t understand why her Mummy couldn’t come home with her. We’d really never been separated with the exception of 2 nights apart in her whole life. We both cried and then Mark peeled Ella off of me and bundled her into the car to go home. Bless her, she fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Thankfully, there were no restrictions on mobile phone usage and I had had the presence of mind to pack my BlackBerry charger so I was able to Tweet and email everyone to give updates. I also managed to write, over the next 3 days, 3 blog posts with my two little thumbs tippy-tapping away. A miracle! The next morning (Tuesday) a rather horrid and totally unfeeling, thoughtless Consultant rolled up, reviewed my chart, said I would be staying at least another day and night and that was it. No discussion about anything. No questions. No niceties or anything. I was left staring open-mouthed as he turned on his heel and went to the next bed. Thus began the pattern for the next 3 days. The consultant would roll up in the morning at some point, look at my chart, tell me I was staying and leave. Each day I wondered when I would be allowed to go home. Each day, no one filled in that answer. Finally, one afternoon, I think Wednesday, one of the midwives finally said, “More than likely they’ll keep you here until your scheduled elective c-section.”

Thanks to the placenta praevia and the fact that I had had a light bleed, there was no telling if or when a proper bleed might start. The danger, with placenta praevia, is that if a major bleed starts, it happens FAST with very little time to get help and the result could be death. The doctors at PCH didn’t want to risk me leaving hospital and having a major bleed. Totally understandable. But it really didn’t help that this wasn’t properly communicated to me until I was in hospital for 3 days. I also wanted to discuss moving up the date of the elective c-section. It seemed to me that keeping me in hospital for 11 days was far more expensive and pointless than moving up the date of the c-section, especially considering that by the Wednesday I was 38 weeks pregnant and had had my 2 steroid injections as well. The consultants wouldn’t even discuss it. They gave me answers like “statistics”, “reports”, “studies” and said it was best to wait as long as possible and get to 39 weeks. I argued that if I went into labour and/or had a bleed then the elective c-section which was scheduled for 2 December would then become an emergency and/or crash c-section, potentially under general anaesthetic which could be far worse for myself and the baby. They didn’t listen. They were aiming for 39 weeks. I was stuck. I was depressed.

Mark and Ella were having to fend for themselves, I was lonely and depressed and all I wanted was to hold my baby. The lunatic in the bed next to me was driving me to distraction and I had nothing to do. It was not a good thing. I honestly don’t know how women who have to be in for much longer manage. Part of my difficulty was that no one was telling me anything until Thursday. Finally on Thursday, the same humourless consultant who I had seen on Tuesday told me that there was no chance I was getting out and that I would just have to wait until the following Friday for my scheduled elective c-section. I sobbed. He stared at me. He said nothing but just stood there and stared at me. Finally he backed out of the bay and left me sobbing. The midwife came over to me and wrapped her arms around me and just patted my back while I sobbed. I just wanted to go home. She brought me some tissues and left me in peace. I curled up in a ball on my bed and was miserable.

I spent the rest of the day sitting up in a chair, watching telly, pouting miserably and checking Twitter. Then, around 3:30pm my comfort midwife came in and asked if I had been put on the monitor yet that day. I hadn’t so she wheeled in the machine, strapped me up and started monitoring me. As the minutes ticked on, I began to feel “tightenings” in my belly. I started looking at the monitor each time they started and watched the numbers go up and up. They started to be more than “discomfort” and became properly uncomfortable. My spotting had picked up a bit that afternoon and now with the “tightenings” starting, I began to wonder if Bebe was planning on an earlier entrance. It was Thanksgiving in America after all. It seemed fitting!

The midwife came around to check the tape and was shocked to see all the spikes and dips in my feed. She asked me if I could feel the contractions. I said yes. She said, “Well, we’ll keep you on the monitor for a while longer then.” About 30 minutes later, after continued tightenings and definite “discomfort”, the midwife came back. She didn’t like the frequency of the “tightenings” and called in one of the junior consultants to look at the tape. They decided that it was time to bring in the consultant to have a look. Then, after a few more minutes, they decided to transfer me to the labour ward. It was about 5:30 by this time. I rang Mark and told him to get to the hospital as I was being moved to the labour ward which scared the bejesus out of him. The midwife and junior consultant brought a wheelchair around and started packing up my things to transfer me to the labour ward. It seemed that Bebe indeed wanted to be a Thanksgiving baby.

Next installment: Labour ward, Arterial Bleeding and the C-Section…

A Different View on C-Section

Posted by cafebebemama on Nov 24, 2011 in Bebe, Blogger Love, Little Miss Adventures, Motherhood, NaBloPoMo | 10 comments

A Different View

Yesterday there were guidelines released by NICE which effectively give the go-ahead for all women in the UK, potentially, to request an elective c-section regardless of medical necessity. This is not a “green light” to enable the “too posh to push” brigade but what it should do is open the door for discussion about the POSSIBILITY for an elective c-section.

There has been a ton of press and criticism about this change. There are many who are weighing in on the subject. Currently 25% of births in the UK end in c-section however only 10% of those are elective c-sections. What is supposed to occur in conjunction with these guidelines is increased services for women to counsel them through their fears about natural childbirth and as a last resort, a c-section could be offered.

I agree, women should not JUST be given the go-ahead to undergo major abdominal surgery on a whim. However, if they are provided w/ the services that are required for counselling and after careful consideration on the part of mother, consultant, midwives and counsellors, a c-section is deemed to be the best option for mother and baby, then it should be permitted and scheduled. If there is no medical necessity for a c-section and there are no other emotional grounds for it to be granted, perhaps mothers could be given the option of a c-section but have to pay for it?

The whole natural birth vs c-section debate is a controversial one. The whole of the UK is debating this one at the moment. One of the big complaints that opponents to c-sections have is that women have not considered the serious risks of having what is effectively major abdominal surgery. There is also another debate (with some “statistics”) about the effects of mother-child bonding as a result of a c-section delivery and concerns about the development of allergies in the future if babies are not born “naturally”. This is the area that I want to focus on because I have “been there, done that” one time and am preparing to do it again. I’d like people to be aware that a c-section does not have to be the horror that some people are making it out to be.

Ella’s delivery was by emergency c-section. After failure to progress, an emergency c-section was ordered. The emergency c-section was not pleasant and I’m still not entirely sure what went wrong but suffice it to say, we got Ella out and Mummy suffered a fair bit.

What didn’t happen, however, was a problem with bonding. The minute I saw Ella, I fell in love. Despite not being able to hold her in theatre, I looked into her big, dark eyes and fell head over heels in love. When I was taken into recovery, Mark was with Ella and we marvelled over what we had created. I was given skin to skin time with Ella and knew that she was the best thing I had ever done. Yes, the first 24 hours were difficult as I couldn’t get out of bed due to the catheter but I was able to lift Ella from her basinette, cuddle her and attempt breastfeeding.

By the next morning, I was able to get vertical and it was a very strange feeling. I felt like my stomach was going to fall off, basically. I had some pain but nothing that paracetemol couldn’t handle. I was shuffling around quite a bit but could still tend to Ella for everything she needed. When we finally went home 2 days later it was with no meds or major physical issues except for moving decidedly slower. I was able to do what needed doing without discomfort.

There were moments where I realised that I had stretched too far or fast but I was able to be back to mostly normal within two weeks. Pushing a pushchair was tricky at times and lifting it into the boot was out of the question. I couldn’t drive, based on insurance and medical recommendations but got by just fine. Ultimately, despite Ella’s c-section being of the emergency variety, I recovered very well and relatively quickly and didn’t suffer any bonding or depression issues. Ella arrived without incident, hasn’t suffered from allergies and has been a very healthy child for 3 1/2 years.

We survived an emergency c-section and recovered well. I don’t regret a thing. Due to medical necessity plus additional risk factors, I was immediately referred for consultant care for this pregnancy. The consultant was keen to steer me toward the VBAC mode of delivery but I was keen to steer toward an elective c-section. I had researched everything and am fully aware of all of the risk factors for an elective c-section. I presented my case and based on my risk factors and previous emergency c-section, the consultant agreed that an elective c-section seemed to be the best option. It wasn’t until week 36 and the news of a placenta praevia that we actually got a delivery date (2 December) which is, unfortunately, a date which seems to be set in stone at the moment.

What I resent in this debate is the idea that I am too posh to push or that I don’t know what I’m getting myself into and am just choosing the easy option. None of that is me. I know very well what I’m in for. I’m making an informed decision, taking ownership of our delivery and doing what I think is best for Bebe and me. I’m grateful to have this option with the NHS as we most definitely could not afford to go private. In fairness, I have a medically necessitated c-section but again, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I know recovery will be more challenging this time thanks to this being a 2nd c-section and having Ella to tend to as well but I will be sensible in what I do to be the best Mummy/Me I can be. A c-section is a serious procedure but it doesn’t have to be the nightmare that many are claiming it is. We had a very positive outcome with Ella and will hopefully have the same with Bebe.

Have you had a POSITIVE c-section experience that you’d like to share? Please share the link to your post in the comments below.

Yes, I want a c-section and No, I’m not too posh to push

Posted by cafebebemama on Nov 9, 2011 in Bebe, Blogger Love, Motherhood, NaBloPoMo | 14 comments

Approximately 8 1/2 months ago we found out that instead of remaining a family of three, we were to become a family of FOUR before 2011 was done. Bebe wasn’t entirely planned but it was a more than welcome happening. Now, at 36 weeks pregnant, we only have 3-4 more weeks to wait to meet Bebe and introduce him or her to our family and the blogosphere. Oh and have our lives turned upside-down once again.

When our pregnancy was confirmed through two Morrisons-own pregnancy tests and eventually, a booking in appointment and scan at 11 1/2 weeks, I began to think about the delivery. Yes, I know, I have an over-active imagination and tend to worry. So sue me. I have written a post, Labour & Delivery- My Choice, about our first delivery experience with Ella. It was not a pleasant one and definitely is not something I want to repeat. As a result of our somewhat traumatic first delivery experience, I knew what I wanted for our 2nd delivery. Yes, I want a c-section and no, I’m not “too posh to push.”

There are new NICE guidelines regarding women, c-sections, the NHS and rights. I would like to preface my situation with the fact that I do have several risk factors that are working against a natural delivery for Bebe. First of all, I am 40 (41 next week) which is not really a MEDICAL risk factor but puts me in a category that is immediately referred for consultant care. I also have asthma which is managed very well by daily medication. The two largest risk factors, however, that are making my case for c-section more favourable are the fact that I have had a c-section with Ella’s birth (emergency) and I currently have a low-lying placenta which, if still in the same place at tomorrow’s scan and consultant appointment, immediately puts me into the “medical necessity” category.

So there we have it. I have some risk factors that have brought forth the discussion with the consultant regarding Bebe’s delivery. I met with the consultant way back at 17 weeks as I had been referred to her due to my risk factors. At our meeting nearly 20 weeks ago, her primary goal was to convince me to try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarian) as was to be expected. I listened to her but then stated my case. Not only do I have several risk factors but I have some real post-traumatic issues which are still unresolved regarding Ella’s delivery. Our delivery experience was horrid and physically damaging to me ultimately but never had any effect on my bonding with Ella. What I was able to communicate to the consultant was that I wanted to have a positive birth experience that I was fully in control of, that I was fully aware of the risks of a repeat c-section and the recovery period for major abdominal surgery. I was also very aware of the desire for the NHS to keep natural birth rates high and discourage c-sections.

The consultant listened to me, took into account my risk factors and medical details of my first delivery and agreed that, yes, I presented a fairly strong case for a repeat (elective) c-section. This was noted in my maternity notes. There was no date agreed upon but an appointment was made for 36 weeks to discuss the options. This is what we will be attending today. The definitive decision about our delivery for Bebe. What has changed since week 17 is the currently low-lying placenta which may or may not have moved. We will find this out immediately before our appointment.

I have had many people question WHY I would WANT to have a c-section. I can assure you that I am not too “posh” to push but yes, I do have fears about my body’s ability to birth a baby in the “natural” way. To tell you the honest to goodness truth, I’m not entirely sure that I was made to BIRTH babies. I provide a wonderful home for my babies but I seem not to be able to get them out in the usual way. I also have fears about the c-section but I have more faith in the medical profession and a c-section than I do in nature. I know it’s major abdominal surgery. I know any number of things could go wrong. I know my recovery will be slower and longer. I know it’s not going to be easy or pleasant but it’s what I want, what I believe will be best for me and for Bebe and what I feel will be the safest solution for both of us.

So yes, I want a c-section and no, I’m not too posh to push. Today, when we meet with the consultant, I will be talking to her about scheduling a delivery date for Bebe, asking what the c-section will be like (hopefully MUCH different to the emergency c-section we had 3 1/2 years ago) and feeling more confident that this is the right decision for both Bebe and Mummy. I’ve been given some amazing information about “natural c-section” from my friend Luschka at Diary of a First Child and I hope and dream that this will be possible for us. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Labour & Delivery: My Choice

Posted by cafebebemama on Jul 13, 2011 in Motherhood | 16 comments

The birth of my first child, Ella, was not a pleasant one. Thankfully there was not one thing wrong with Ella and she never stressed or suffered a bit. Unlike her Mummy. Ella was nearly 2 weeks overdue. We were scheduled for induction on Sunday 1 June, 2008. Ella was born Tuesday 3 June, 2008 by emergency c-section at 1:50am after induction, Syntocinon, Epidural x many and failure to progress at 3cm. Following her delivery I lost 1.5litres of blood and was left weak, pale and fairly miserable.

The outcome was perfectly safe and healthy for Ella. The outcome for me was not. It was a thoroughly miserable experience, the whole of my labour and delivery, and is one that I look back on through partially closed eyes. I don’t like to talk about it; I don’t really like to think about it. The only bright spot was when they pulled Ella from me (which I couldn’t see) and I heard a quiet cry and they said “It’s a GIRL!” That was the one bright spot. The rest was horrible.

Before being induced with waves of Syntocinon in the early afternoon of 2 June, 2008, I was offered an Epidural. I chose that for my pain relief but unfortunately the epidural was “patchy” which left me with partial feeling down the right side of my body. I couldn’t feel the full force of contractions but I could feel pain and was ridiculously uncomfortable for the duration. The midwives continued to top up my epidural and then attempted to get the epidural to flow to the right side of my body by turning me slightly to the right so the epidural could “drift”. Fun. I was uncomfortable, couldn’t find a suitable position in which to be propped up (I couldn’t lay down because of the epidural) and couldn’t rest at all. The epidural and Syntocinon drip began around 1:00pm. Ella wasn’t delivered until 1:50am. I was chock-a-block of drugs for 12 hours. No wonder I was a mess.

For a long time after Ella’s birth I didn’t want to talk about what I had gone through. I still don’t like to share my “war story” but I have found a few women who went through similar situations which is slightly comforting. We didn’t necessarily plan to have a 2nd child but from the moment I knew I was pregnant with this baby, I’ve been fretting over what this labour and delivery experience might be like. I know that there’s every possibility that this labour and delivery will be entirely different. I’m not willing to take that gamble however.

I’m fully aware of the risks of a repeat c-section. I’m also fully aware of the risks of trying for a VBAC and “failing” and ending up in the same situation (if not worse) as last time. It’s my choice. I WANT an elective c-section. I want to know when this baby is going to be born so I can prepare Ella, our family and myself. I want to be calm about this delivery. I want it to be a positive experience where I am in control and am fully prepared for everything. I think the risks and side-effects will be less horrific if the delivery is a calm and cool one and not an “emergency” situation. Is this not my right on the NHS? I’m not “too posh to push”. I want an elective c-section because I feel it will be a far safer option for me and for my baby. I am choosing this.

I knew that my chances of getting an elective c-section were slim when I went for my referral appointment with the consultant on 4 July. The NHS hospitals like to keep their “natural birth rates” low. Peterborough City Hospital is no exception. When I sat in the appointment with my consultant, she shared with me, when I mentioned the desire for high natural birth rates, that Peterborough has one of the highest natural birth rates in the area. Woo hoo. Shall we throw a party?

I persevered, however. I pled my case. I related my first labour and delivery experiences. I mentioned all of the risks that I knew were possible. I told her that I had fully researched and was educated about the risks and after-effects of a repeat c-section. I related my feelings about such a negative first labour and delivery. I told her that I wanted a positive birth experience for what will be my final birth experience. I didn’t cry…I was prepared, educated and firm in my decision.

She agreed with me. But…she didn’t schedule me for an elective c-section YET. I will have an appointment with her at 36 weeks (9 November…God that seems a long way away) where we will again talk about where I am and how I feel. I will hopefully get a scheduled date then. I do not want to wait until I go into labour naturally. I want to be in control. Maybe I’m nuts. Maybe it would be entirely different. But this is what I want and I feel that I am entitled to get what I want. I will never have the perfect, Utopian, midwife-led birth that everyone dreams of. Because of my previous c-section and additional risk factors, if I go into labour on my own, I will immediately go to the monitored midwife unit where I’ll be strapped up to every monitor under the sun to make sure nothing goes wrong with this delivery. Previous experience tells me that intervention and me don’t mix.

I’ve carried on far too long here but I feel the need to get this out. What are your thoughts? Should women have a choice in how they labour and deliver? Why should the NHS have a say in your personal labour and delivery experience? What experience did you have and did it affect your subsequent deliveries? Feel free to share…