JADE'S POSITIVE INDUCTION

JADE’S STORY

FIRST-TIME-MUM TO BABY JOSEPHINE

A POSITIVE BIRTH STORY ABOUT BEING INDUCED

Hello. We have a wonderful baby girl called Josephine. She was born on the 5th April and weighed 6.5lbs.

We ended up going into Kings to be induced, my biggest fear, as my waters broke but I had not started labour 24 hours later. I had also already had a swab that came back testing positive as a carrier of Strep B so they wanted me on antibiotics during labour, even though 1 in 5 women are carriers and Kings don't routinely test for it...they wouldn't do antibiotics at home due to risk of me going into anaphylactic shock (the antibiotics are very strong) and as my waters had gone there was bigger risk of infection... in the end we talked it over and decided to go in to hospital.

All was a good as it possibly could have been and I firmly believe that was because of all the work we did with you and the practice, so a huge and very heartfelt thank you.

WHEN THINGS DON'T GO TO PLAN...

We went in friday mid morning and as soon as we agreed to the antibiotics to be given on a drip we were left until 6pm without anything...busy day on labour ward. Then had 6 hour pessary which did very little until hour 4/5 when we went for a walk round camberwell and David had a burger in Nandos! Thought we were about 2.5cm dilated in 10 so went back at 12 midnight and put on tens machine. 

The consultant came by at 2am and wanted us to go on to an oxitocin drip. We asked to wait and be monitored for half an hour to look at contractions (because we wanted to avoid the drip if possible?). The midwife coordinator seemed to just want everything to be done asap as was very busy and kept putting lights on that we'd switched off. She checked me and said I was 2cm. I think she may have been fibbing a bit and I was a bit more.

We agreed to go on oxytocin drip at 2.30am and they got it organised at 5.45 am. Consultant said not to check me for 4 hours after they put me on the drip - maybe they thought progress would be slow.

After 2 hours, I was in lots of pain and thought I might need an epidural and that I wouldn't last the 4 hours without knowing how I was progressing. Luckily after 2 hours there was a shift change (at 7.45) and the new midwife wanted to check me. I was 9cm and at that point had gas and air and she was born at 10.29am.

I refused the epidural when I heard I was 9cm as I didn't want to slow things down and maybe need another intervention (forceps, c section).

David said I was very driven throughout.

I remember picturing lots of jelly fish floating up! 

"I ENJOYED LABOUR"

I enjoyed labour and felt like I could really feel her getting closer and thought that every push was a step closer to meeting her. I didn't tear, so that must have been thanks to the perennial massaging and a very careful midwife (she was fab). I didn't end up seeing any of the midwives from our home birth lot as they had 5 births that night and couldn't be with us. 

David was amazing and said all the right things. It was a very happy story given that it was what I feared the most and I think you should take most of the praise for that.