Contractions started but not consistent, 24 hours later it was taken out and I was told my cervix had come forward, I was 1cm but still not effaced at all. They said they could break my waters and start me on the hormone drip but that wouldn’t be fair and they wanted my cervix more favourable so I then had 2 prostin tablets inserted one after the other again, 6 hours apart causing non-consistent contractions. Sunday morning I was told as soon as labour ward was free I’d be transferred and have my waters broken. 

We waited all day Sunday and constantly were given false hope. It got to Sunday evening and it didn’t look likely. This was so upsetting considering I’d been in hospital 2 full days and expected to have my baby. 

Luckily at 9pm I was transferred and examined and told I was still only 1cm so they broke my waters and put the hormone drip in but I was warned this would be an extremely long and intense labour - I didn’t realise how intense it would get so quick. 10 minutes In and I was struggling and asked for an epidural to be prepared as the contractions came hard and fast. From the anathetist entering the room it took 2 hours for the epidural to be fitted as I was contracting so quickly and they were so painful I lost all control and i could barely sit still, to top it off the doctor really struggled fitting it and even got it in the wrong place. Little did I know at this point I went from 1cm not effaced to fully dilated in those 2 hours explaining why I was in utter chaotic agony.

The midwives did not know this either and the plan was to examine me 4 hours later. The epidural really really helped but I still felt some pain. 6 hours into labour I had a vaginal examination and the midwife was extremely shocked and said ‘oh my god your baby is right there’ my husband looked and could see his hair - he had apparently been right there for a number of hours but I felt no pressure and nobody expected it to have gone that fast. 

Suddenly babies heart rate dropped to 70bpm as his head had been squished for so long and because I had such a fast intense labour. The midwife told me to push even without contractions, 20 minutes in and she started preparing to ‘cut me’ I knew this was serious as his heart rate had been so low so I pushed with everything I had and managed to get him out after only 30 minutes of pushing and just before the midwife was going to cut me. 

Luckily baby was perfectly healthy, little to my knowledge because I was so out of it I was bleeding heavily, doctors rushed in, my placenta forced out, lots of medication given to stop the bleeding, it eventually stopped and I had one internal stitch and a couple vagina grazes but that’s it. 

After birth I sadly didn’t get to enjoy my baby as I was vomiting constantly, I was delusional and ‘not with it’ at all, I didn’t get skin to skin or even to hold him properly for hours - apparently this is because of how hard my body worked so quickly and intense that I was suffering extreme exhaustion. Baby even had to be given forumula as he needed feeding but the midwives could not allow me to try breastfeed. 

Finally 24 hours after birth I feel normal and I get to bond with and enjoy my baby boy Oscar, born 18th December at 05.13am weighing 6lb 9oz.