Georgia's story - Charlotte

CHARLOTTE

On 14 April 2006, I visited my specialist as I was three days overdue. He did a scan and noticed that there was not very much fluid around my baby, so talked to us about inducing me as I had also noticed that the baby's movements had decreased. It was agreed that I would be induced the next day.

The next day we headed to the hospital at 7am. I was examined by the midwife and got comfortable in the bed that I would give birth in. At 8am, my specialist came in and checked my cervix. It was not open or even thinned out so he used some gel to soften it up.

At 9.15 I started to feel what felt like mild period pain. I didn't think much of it at first but about 15 minutes later, I noticed that the pains were coming frequently -- about every seven minutes and lasting for about 45 seconds. It wasn't uncomfortable -- more exciting and a bit nerve-wracking knowing that things were starting to happen.

By 11am I was starting to get uncomfortable, having to breathe through the contractions, which were now coming every three to four minutes and lasting 45 seconds. I continued this until 1pm, when the specialist came back and broke my water (man, that hurt!). I was offered an epidural, which I accepted, as the syntocin they give to induce labour can make things move very fast and be rather painful. I was also having strong contractions by this time and needed to go to the bathroom, which I did before the epidural and got told off for taking too long!

The epidural went in about 2pm and was great although I could still feel things on one side of my body. The midwife agreed that I could have the stronger epidural, which makes you lose the feeling in your legs too, and this totally took away the pain. The syntocin was started at 2.20pm and continued through the afternoon.

About 4.30, my baby's heart rate started to dip. The midwife was unsure why this was happening but it was enough for her to wonder if I was going to need a C-section, so I was given all the drugs to neutralise the acid in my stomach. I was feeling like I needed to change positions so, with a bit of help, I switched sides and instantaneously, I felt pressure, meaning the baby had moved right down. My specialist walked in right then and examined me. He agreed that it was time to push.

It was 5.10pm and Josh asked how long this would take. The answer was, "Oh, about an hour-and-a-half of pushing". I was shocked, thinking, "How am I going to do that for an hour-and-a-half?"

The specialist had to visit someone else but said he would be back soon. In the meantime, I was to push with the midwife's help, which I did two or three times. She then got a slightly panicked look on her face and asked me to stop as she needed to find the specialist -- the baby was coming out now!

She ran off to find him and they both hurried back into the room. After three more huge pushes, Charlotte Emalee-Rose was out, weighing in at a healthy 8lb 9oz. So much for the hour-and-a-half -- I got her out in 25 minutes of uninterrupted pushing!

I had a slight tear, which needed only two stitches, but apart from that, I felt great. Charlotte was put onto my stomach and looked at me with big blue eyes. There were no tears or screams, just snuffling that I will never forget.