Birth and mother hood experience?

Question

I'm not really asking a particular important question here I just like to read about people's experiences. I want to know about all the mums who have had a baby been through the pregnancy and birth whether natural or c-section and to hear what you had to go through and whatever else you would like to add. I think it might help people who are pregnant and have alot of questions with no experience or no idea of what is to be expected.

Answer 1

Okay, I've given birth three times, so I'll start with Baby #1:

My pregnancy was pretty uneventful for quite some time, with a due date of 12/29/1989. But in October, I was diagnosed w/pre-eclampsia and put on bed rest to keep my blood pressure down. My doctor was also concerned that the baby was measuring really large for dates, yet I did not have gestational diabetes and the amniotic fluid level was normal. In early December '89 I had to be hospitalized for four days because my blood pressure was just out of control, although I'd followed my doctor's orders for bed rest on my left side (my b/p was 172/110). On the morning of December 20th I woke up with a horrible headache and was seeing "floaters" (or spots) before my eyes, which are big red flags for worsening pre-eclampsia. My face (eyelids in particular) was also swollen, along w/my hands and feet and lower legs. I went to the doctor, who sent me directly to the hospital. He said there was no way he could induce my labor because my cervix was still too high and thick and he couldn't get in there to break the amniotic sac so they scheduled a C-section for a few hours later. Meanwhile, they put me on an IV of magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures (which can happen in pre-eclampsia). Because of the size of the baby, I had to have a classical incision (not the bikini cut; the vertical incision from the belly button down to my pubic area.) Turned out I couldn't have vaginally delivered the baby anyway--he weighed 10lbs 12oz and was 9 days EARLY! Recovery was painful, but within a few weeks I felt pretty good again. I didn't have a lot of help because my husband worked the night shift at that time, so after major surgery, I was the one getting up in the middle of the night to feed the baby and sure enough, he had colic, so I spent many nights just sitting there rocking him and crying right along with him.

Baby #2:
My doctor (a different one than the first one) wanted me to attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after ceserean), although I told him that I had a history of delivering a very large baby (which is called macrosomia). He wasn't too concerned, and we went with the VBAC plan anyway. My due date was 11/05/1991 and that date came and went. I told my doctor I was concerned that the longer I went past my due date, the larger the baby would be, and he agreed and said that if I hadn't gone into labor spontaneously by 11/18, he'd induce me. Labor began for me in the middle of the night on 11/13, and I went to the hospital. They said I was in labor, but they sent me home anyway, and told me to do household chores and whatnot, anything to keep me up and moving to let gravity assist with labor. So I did, and throughout that day (11/14) the contractions got worse and worse, and by about 7pm, they were just unbearable. At 7:30pm on the dot, my water broke--and I don't mean it leaked, I mean it GUSHED uncontrollably, and from that point forward, my contractions intensified so badly that I don't even know how to describe it. But the best way I can describe it is, to me, it felt like (sorry for the TMI) the kind of really bad stomach cramps you get when you have a stomach bug/diarrhea, only multiply that pain by about 50. My mom raced me to the hospital and that time, they admitted me but when they checked me, I was only dilated to 1cm (which was a shock because I was having the urge to push and was SURE I was about to deliver the baby on the way to the hospital!) Throughout the night, everytime they checked me, I was STILL at 1cm (!) and they would not give me an epidural because they claimed it would slow down my already slow labor (thank God they don't do that anymore; they'll give you an epidural earlier now!) but they did give me Stadol in an IV though it didn't take away the pain, it just took the edge off. Every hour or so throughout the night, they checked me and I still was at 1cm, yet my labor was so painful and hard that I was screaming. Finally, about 7am on the morning of 11/15/1991, my doctor came in and I was bawling. I told him, "I can't do this anymore." He agreed--saying the baby was just too big plus she was showing signs of fetal distress-- and we went for a C-section a few hours later. The reason my cervix wouldn't dilate is because my baby was 9lbs 11oz (no, I didn't have gestational diabetes that time either) and they called it "cephalopelvic disproportion" (translation: baby's too big to deliver vaginally.) Again, the recovery was painful (I think even more so because of the 31hrs of labor I experienced before the C-sec, not to mention having a toddler at home and a husband who still worked nights, so most of the care of my baby and toddler was up to me, and it HURT!)

Baby #3:

Very uneventful pregnancy. My due date was 5/28/1996. But at my 6wk checkup, my doctor said I would very likely have another C-section because the odds of having another large baby were pretty high. He said the ONLY way he'd even consider a VBAC delivery was if the baby weighed less than 8lbs, which he said he "didn't see happening." I had no complications in that pregnancy, but sure enough, the baby always measured large for dates (again, no gestational diabetes that time either) and since my doctor was going to be out of town on my due date and he didn't want me to go into labor while he was gone, he scheduled my C-section for 5/20/1996. The baby weighed 9lbs 12oz (would've easily been 10lbs+ if I'd gone to my due date or beyond, the doctor said) and there was no way I could've delivered him vaginally. I had my tubes tied during that C-section. That third pregnancy was the most uneventful; everything went really smoothly, which just goes to prove that even in the same woman, no two pregnancies are alike.

After each C-section, I had the most intense, uncontrollable itching of my life (they said it was an after-effect of the anesthesia) so they kept shooting me up with Benadryl in my IV. I also got the shakes really badly each time, and they said that was due to the sudden hormone changes associated with giving birth.

They also made me get up and walk (after the epidural wore off), no matter how much I wanted to stay in bed, because it speeds recovery and prevents blood clots from forming in the legs. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to feed my babies and the nurse would be like, "okay, let's go for a walk," and I would be slowly hobbling down the hallway, pulling my IV stand w/one hand and the nurse supporting my other side, while I cried the whole time. You do NOT get to rest in the hospital! Maybe right after your C-section, but as the anesthesia wears off and you can walk again, they will MAKE you get up and walk. It's torture (I have very little pain tolerance, though) but you have to do it because it really does speed up the healing process.

Another thing is if you choose not to breastfeed, they no longer prescribe medication to dry up the milk, so you have no choice but to let the milk come in--and THAT HURTS like hell. But whatever you do, don't express the milk to relieve the pressure because that will just make your body produce MORE milk, and the pain cycle will continue. My breasts felt like giant bruises and they were so engorged that I had to wear a sports bra to bind them because even the slightest movement of my breasts, even from walking or God forbid, bumping into something, was excruciating.

After a C-section, they also will not let you eat until you've had a bowel movement (which is NOT fun after you've had a C-sec!) I ended up, all three times, having to have suppositories and STILL had trouble going. And I was so hungry I could've eaten my own hand!

Anyway, short story long (ha!), there's my three experiences with childbirth. Hope that helped!

Answer 2

Good question. The main problem I had while I was expecting was I had no idea what to ask! I had no idea if what I was feeling was normal. I had one by the book pregnancy ( I even went into labor on my due date, but didn't deliver because I was in labor for 25 hours. I should have just gotten the stupid epidural first and not waited 22 hours to do it!) and one by the other book pregnancy where I threw up every day for three months!
It's tough because you don't know you're being unreasonable. You don't realize the hormones have kicked in and you are a raving lunatic. It's not until later that you think, wait, did I really do that? Yep. And most people will understand, or at least pretend to.

Answer 3

My pregnancy was far from the normal & usually pregnancies don't go this way so don't read to much into it!!!

When I was 4 months pregnant I got an ultrasound that said my son had a cyst on his brain & had to go through lots of genetic testing then 2 weeks later had another ultrasound & it was gone but they couldn't tell me for certain that he was going to be ok. Then when I was about 6 1/2 months my liver started over producing enzymes b/c my body couldn't handle the HCG hormones that my body was producing due to my pregnancy & I had a horrible rash all over my belly. I had to start going to for non-stress tests twice a week and already started weekly doctors appointments. I was having true contractions that were going off the monitoring chart several times during the tests. It was about 7 1/2 months when my high risk ultrasound doctor moved my stress tests to his office & they saw my contractions and put me on tribunline (sp?) to stop my contractions (even though it didn't work). When I was about 8 months I started having ultrasounds every week because my amnioic fluid was to high & my OB/GYN told me I could only work 1/2 days. I got 2 sets of steriod shots so that my son's lungs were developed because they didn't think I was going to make through the month. When I was 36 weeks I had an unltrasound on Tuesday & then another 1 on Friday of the same week & my water had dropped 5 points. I had been having contractions every 2-5 since 2am on Friday. The doctor said I had been leaking water & I needed to go the Labor & Delivery part of the hospital. So I did and they sent me home since I was not dialating even though they could see my contractions. Saturday I went back b/c I was still having contractions & by then they were really painful but they sent me home again b/c I wasn't dialating. By Sunday afternoon I was deathly sick, could not walk, 104 temp, and very very dehydrated. They finally admitted me, my son's heart rate was 230!! It was not til Monday morning that my doctor came in saw me and immediatly took me to the OR for an emergency c-section. I had been leaking water for a week and got an infection.

Good thing was my son was born completely healthy at 36 weeks 5 days.

Answer 4

With my first child I had intense backlabor..It was like my spine was burning- I wasn't expecting that I was expecting vaginal contractions.. So, I was in labor and didn't know it.. The only thing that helped was standing in a long hot shower.. I even went to the hospital and they told me it was gas... No gas I ever felt, so I went home and returned the next day and told them I wasn't going to leave unless I was leaving with a baby.. 24 hours later I had my first child.. I also had an epidural, at first I was afraid of the epidural procedure a long thin needle like an angel hair noodle going into your spine.. It wasn't that bad and I was "trying" to be still in position, and having contractions.. ! With my first I felt like my body had been through a war and I lost ! I felt like hell and looked like it too.. I had everything stitched.. The recovery took quite a bit longer as well...
With my second 2 yrs. later, I was induced.. It was like checking into a hotel to have a baby. I went into the hospital around 6am and was placed into a room w/ nurses etc... Had all my vitals checked, IV etc.. Given Potosson (sp) to speed along labor- I still had the epidural.. The main thing that was different from my 1st/2nd is that my doc. which wasn't my OBGYN told me to push/breath when I wanted- Which really helped my labor process.. Instead of breathing and pushing all the contractions I could pick n choose when I was going to push.. Around lunchtime my second was born. It was so much easier and I didn't have as much tearing/stitches or recovery.. I also looked a hell of a lot better ! That was just my own experiences..... Good luck

Answer 5

Maybe you are a first time mom. Well on my part i think you have to really go to your ob-gene once a month and take the vitamins the doctor gave you. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables coz its good for the baby.If the doctor told you to loose weight then do it. I even had spotting on my 2nd month but my doctor told me to drink the medication she gave me and have complete bed rest. All my 3 kids were born c-section because i have pre-ecclampsia. I had hypertension before giving birth. Anyway just do as what the doctor told you to do. And you have to expect for the worse scenario...
After giving bith, then you have to be really strong because babies have different sleeping habits. They may sleep in the morning and be awake at night or the other way around...
Good luck and i do hope that you can handle the situation.

Answer 6

My first pregnancy was back in 2003. I was told by the ultrasound tech that my baby had stopped growing. The next day I went to see my OBGYN and we talked he looked over the u/s report and told me that since I was still having sore breast that we could go ahead and carry the baby a little longer or have a D&C right away. I chose to carry the baby a little longer becasue in my heart I knew that it was going to be all right. We had another ultrasound about three weeks later and their was a little heart beat. We didn't get to find out the sex of the baby unitl 28 weeks becasue at the normal visit she would not corporate.I had gestational and had to watch everything that I ate. At 38 weeks I became very sick could not eat, or walk had a bad headache and was throwing up went to the hospital and my plattlets were low. They wanted to keep me over night but I refused and wanted to sleep in my own bed. Well the next night had to return to the hospital because I was throwing up again. They tryed to start inducing that night but I was having contractions but they were not causing me to dilate. Finally the next day he broke my water and it still did no good. We had a c-section and we brought our wonderful little girl into the world.

I'm 37 weeks pregnant with another wonderful little girl. Went for an ultrasound at what we though was 6 wk and all they say was a sac. They told us to come back in two weeks. We went back and their was a little heart beat. I had the worst morning sickness it lasted all most all day. I didn't have it with my daughter. Had and u/s at 18 wk 4 days she is measuring a week early and found out she was a little girl. Test for gestational and it came back normal at 19 weeks. At 28 weeks was tested again for gestational and it was still normal. Went for u/s at 32 wks still a little girl and she was measuring two weeks bigger. We have a schedule c-section for July 31.
I can tell everyone that every pregnancy is different. With my first no heartburn or morning sickness. With my second one I morning sickness for the first three months and the last month and half. I have heartburn since like five months.
If you do have c-section has soon as you can and they will allow you to get up and walk around. I had permission to walk at 6:30a and I was ready to walk at 7:00a. It may hurt but in the long run it is what is best for you.