I thought I would share this, even though it’s been so long. I’m pregnant again and think about this birth often. I have a daughter, who was breech so I had to have a c-section with her. That one was pretty unremarkable. But where I live since my first born was c section I have to continue having c sections unless I leave the state. So when my son was born, I already knew it would be a c section and so did the hospital.

The father of my son and I split up when I was 3 months pregnant. My son was pretty much not supposed to happen. At the time I conceived him, I was told that with my health there was no way that I was going to conceive him, and I had surgery braclets on my wrist for surgery in a few days when I found out I was pregnant with him. The father and I...we literally had just met. I found it wasn’t going to work so we split up. I had a very rough pregnancy, I was sick all the time for the whole 9 months. I had a very irritable uterus and kept thinking I was in labor when I wasn’t (since I technically didnt feel my labor with my daughter) so I would have Braxton Hicks that were close together and painful. And nothing I did helped.

The morning I was in actual labor, I woke up and KNEW I was in labor. I don’t know how to explain it but the contractions were just different. The pain was different. I started timing them and they were ten min apart.

(This was on a Monday) Friday when I had my app, my doc had told me if I was dilated at all that they would be performing a c section immediatly. So i knew I had to go in as soon as I realized I was in labor. I checked in at 10am. They monitored me until 3 pm. When I first got there they said I was dilated to a 2. But they wouldn’t do the c section (different doc). By the time I left I was dilated to a 3. The doctor said I wasn’t progressing and needed to go home because I would probably be this way for a couple weeks. I. Was. Furious. I knew I was in labor. I told her, I’ll be back later. She said “no you wont”.

I went home and tried to relax. I was nervous to eat anything because I didn’t want to throw up during my c section I took a bath and was still having consistent contractions. My friend picked me up and we rode around for a while. By 11pm, my contractions seemed to be 2 min apart. So we went to the hospital.

I was still only dilated to a 3 and after pumping me up with water (saline drip) they slowed my contractions down to every 4 min. I told them I wasn’t leaving.

So by 1am I try to sleep a bit. The nurses kept saying they would discharge me in the am and that I wasn’t in labor. I was furious they weren’t doing the c section, especially because I was dilated. They put me and my son in danger.

By 2 am I sent my mom home and sister. My best friend stayed with me. She was sleeping in the chair that kind of pulls out into a bed.

By 3am...my back started killing me. (It hadn’t at all during the whole thing.). After an hour I paged the nurse. I asked if she could bring me a heating pad, because my back hurt so much I just wanted to relax at that point. (Already on 20 hours with no sleep). She decides to check me...and freaks.

Suddenly the whole place is blowing up. They have to do an emergency c section and they have to do it RIGHT NOW! I was dilated past a 7. My bestie was watching the monitor and we were waiting for my mother to get back to the hospital because she was going into the surgery room with me. They almost didn’t allow me to wait for her, because there wasn’t any time left. They shoved the catheter in me BEFORE numbing me. (Painful while you’re going through a contraction) and rushed me down into the surgery room.

Suddenly, I panicked. Everything was happening too quickly. The anesthesiologist was trying to put the needle in my spine (spinal block) and I had to yell at her to hold on. By then my contractions were literally 3 min long with a 1 mon break. And I didn’t even feel that 1 min. She told me there wasn’t any time to wait that she has to do it then and even though I was having contractions she would still need to put the needle in my back and I would just have to force myself to hold still.

Any one who has gone through intense labor knows by that point it’s harder than hell to sit still.

I told her she needed to wait “one fucking min” (excuse the language but I was seriously pissed off by this point.) they waited. I took a few deep breaths and calmed myself down enough to survive the next half hour. (Surgery to me is very traumatizing).

The surgery itself wasn’t bad. I’m pretty sure my water had been leaking though previously since when they cut me open, there was no water breakage

I got to hold my beautiful boy

If I had tried to listen to the doc, I could have hurt myself and my son seriously, by having a home birth.

If you know you’re in labor, you stay, get help, or go to a different hospital (if you can.).

Sorry for the long story. Hope this helps others!