my long and crazy birth story
So the 2 weeks leading up to the birth, I had been in and out of the hospital for PIH aka Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. I wasn't quite full term yet and my blood pressures were borderline high. They had me repeating the 24 hour urine collection to monitor my protein levels in my urine. Monday May 15 my doctor sent me back to the hospital because my BP was 160/110 this time, however, I was officially full term at 37w 1d. My protein level in my urine came back even higher so I was developing preeclampsia so my doctor made the decision to induce me. My induction started on Monday at 9pm. First they inserted a catheter with a balloon into my cervix and combined with pitocin, that quickly dilated my cervix to 4cm. By midnight I was dilated to 5-6cm. It was going a lot quicker then I expected to I decided to get the epidural while I could hold still. This seems like where the fun started. They started my epidural and my BP tanked from 145/90 to 60/30 and I passed out. The baby's HR dropped from 130 to 60. Before I knew it I had a room full of nurses and doctors throwing oxygen on me and inserting internal monitors up my vagina. They turned off the pitocin to let me recover and that slowed down everything. I didn't have another contraction for another 6 hours. Once my contractions started back up they were not effective so once again they stopped my pitocin and started over. Finally around 8pm Tuesday (23 hr into labor) I was dilating quickly again and was up to 8cm. By 11pm I was fully dilated at 10cm and started pushing. I pushed for 2+hours. The doctor came in and watched me through 2 contraction and said the baby wasn't moving down like they thought he would be and didnt know why. At this point I was beyond exhausted and my doctor suggested c-section and I was like Yes! After 27 hours of labor/ no sleep/no food --I was DONE. They rushed me into the OR and realized why the baby wasn't advancing. His head was hyperextended instead of the tucked position, so his back of his head was touching his spine. His shoulders were stuck in my pelvis and took 3 people and forceps to pull him out. Once he was out they realized the cord was wrapped around his neck 4 times. He came out pale and limp, not breathing. But thankfully was able to be resuscitated quickly. At 2:26 am Wednesday May 17, my baby boy let out his first wail. 6lb 6oz and 20.5 in. He ended up spending his first 24 hours in the NICU for precaution. We ended up spending the next 4 days in the hospital because my BP but now we are home and healthy! Looking back it was the hardest thing I've ever done, and somewhat miraculous. Every bit worth it though!
tl;dr - preeclampsia forced induction at 37w1d, 27hr labor and 2+ hr of pushing with failure to progress = emergency c section. Multiple complications in the OR including the cord was wrapped 4 times around his neck and his fetal attitude was reversed with the head hyperextended instead of flexed in the pelvic outlet.
Ezra Carter H.
5/17/17 2:26am 6lb6oz 20.5in
Photo was taken minutes after he was born, still really pale 😕
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