back
to Birth Stories main page
This was my first pregnancy
and my husband and I were surprised to be having twins! Identical
girls was at first a scary thought since this pregnancy was
not at all planned but we soon grew to be very excited! I
planned to have a completely natural birth and all along was
discouraged by each of the doctors in the USF physicians group.
They said things like "don't try to be a hero" and
"why would you do that to yourself?" And when I
mentioned how opposed I was to a c-section, one of the group's
midwives mentioned that I would change my mind if I had seen
as many "dead babies" as she has seen. I was horrified
as was my husband but we were uneducated in childbirth (we
took the hospital course on childbirth which basically discussed
epidurals and c-sections). We were also completely convinced
by the doctors that since I was having twins it was extremely
high risk and because of this we completely entrusted them
with each decision along the way.
I had a completely healthy pregnancy with no
complications at all and had a doctor appointment when I was
just shy of 38 weeks. My blood pressure was elevated so they
sent me across the street to Tampa General Hospital to be
monitored. My husband met me there and a cervical check was
done by one of the doctors. It was more painful than any exam
I had ever had performed on me. Moments later I went to the
bathroom and my water broke (we suspect the doctor caused
this). This started the cycle of intervention. Oh and my blood
pressure returned to normal in a few minutes.
My water had broken at 4:30 pm on Thursday afternoon
and I was immediately placed on Pitocin. I was not dilating
and was strapped to several monitors. I asked if I could walk
around because I had read this would help. I was then told
I would need to stay in bed since my water had broken instead
of leaking all over the hospital floors. Embarrassed I complied
and continued to lay there. Still no progress and Friday morning
came. Still not dilating on Pitocin but I was still holding
out on the epidural. Friday night arrived and the doctor came
to inform us that he "had" to insert an internal
fetal monitor because it was more accurate. We trusted. This
was extremely painful and I was never informed of the risks
of the actual procedure that was being performed. I also never
asked, again, I was trusting. I thrashed and screamed and
bled. The doctor stood there and said "women usually
have an epidural in place when I do this." He then said
he would give us a couple of minutes before he tried again.
I was terrified and called for the epidural. The cycle of
interventions was continuing. I had the epidural inserted
on Friday night along with the internal fetal monitor.
Saturday arrived and there were still no babies
and I was still not completely dilated. By Saturday afternoon
around 5pm, I had finally dilated fully and they began to
wheel us in to the operating room (standard procedure with
twins at TGH). We arrived in the operating room and I was
lifted onto the table and directed to push. I felt nothing.
The doctor stood straight up and said "this baby is not
coming out!" It had been 50 hours of laying in the hospital
with no food or drink and only ice chips....I was exhausted
but still couldn't understand why my body was failing. I felt
that I was a terrible mom and accepted a cesarean. I saw no
other option. I lay there on the table and waited through
all the pulling and tugging and pressure for a baby to cry.
I heard it and then around the curtain I saw a baby, naked,
blue and screaming with arms and legs outstretched. It lasted
a second and she was gone. Then a minute later I saw my other
daughter exactly the same way and again only for a second.
They were gone and my husband went with them (I wanted him
to stay with them). I continued to lay there while the finished
me up. About one hour later we were all reunited to attempt
to bond. I didn't know what to feel. I was happy they had
arrived healthy but sad that it wasn't the birth I had hoped
for. Annabelle was born at 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches
and Abigail was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 20 inches. They were
born at 5:57pm and 5:58pm.....just in time for the shift change
and the doctor could go home on time. We all went home together
3 days later!
(note: see also Caroline
Leigh for this mother's VBAC story)
back
to Birth Stories main page
Home
• About Us • FAQ
• Schedule • Contact
Testimonials • Birth
Stories • Breastfeeding
• Pregnancy Tips •
Resources
|
