Birth story - Arushi and baby Anjali

*Warning*: unplanned c section, complications with preeclampsia and not the most positive journey. Further anxieties with hospital stays and COVID restrictions. But it ends positively and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

PBC: helped with the breathing technique the most.

This is a LONG ONE and for the mums who had a c section and also preeclampsia. I’m also writing this 7 months since my daughter was born, as it’s taken a while to feel comfortable with writing it down...

My pregnancy was very easy going and many said I was flowing through it. Until around 6 months in at a routine checkup, my midwife said my blood pressure was higher than normal for me. She sent me in for a further check at the hospital (St. Michael’s in Bristol). At the hospital I had a blood test, urine test and was sent home as everything looked normal. This happened for a good 3 weeks in a row. Around the third week, I was told I was at risk of preeclampsia as my urine now started to show protein and I also had some swelling alongside the higher blood pressure - all the symptoms to prove it’s going that way. I was advised to stay overnight and this is when I started worrying... as I hadn’t ever stayed in a hospital and also because I didn’t know how long it would be for. The worst thing was, I felt absolutely fine. I kept being questioned about headaches, seeing spots or feeling dizzy - but I had none of these symptoms. So without feeling anything, my body was slowly doing something that could’ve risked mine and my babies life. It didn’t make sense.

Due to COVID restrictions, my husband bought my things but left me in the hallway, as he couldn’t come any further - so I was left alone without knowing what was next. It was blood pressure, urine checks and LOTS of blood tests (sometimes more than once a day which became painful). I was then sent home when all seemed fine. These hospital referrals happened a few times for the next 6 weeks (with different time frames when I was let home). I was also being checked twice a week at the hospital in case I needed to stay overnight. As amazing as this was with regular checks and staff being on the ball keeping us safe, I was getting fed up. I was bigger by this point too (and more hormonal/emotional!), so you can imagine how hard it was to accept the way I was spending the end of my pregnancy. Outside of these checks I was hooked up to the heart monitor to continue checking in on the baby and thankfully the baby was always fine. I was close to signing myself out on a few occasions because I wasn’t in the right frame of mind (it was having a really bad effect on my mentally), but kept being told I was at risk of a stroke or fit - so I had to stay. We always used BRAIN to discuss what was happening so we could understand as much as we could. We couldn’t tell anyone what was going on as it would make everyone worry, and that would put more pressure on us to keep them comforted in knowing everything was fine (even though we didn’t know if it would be).

So, at 36 weeks, I was put in a private room and, at 2am, they said it was best I had a c section later in the day, because the preeclampsia was now severe. I was also the highest risk patient on the ward . We were only a few weeks away from my due date, baby would be only slightly premature and further support would not likely be needed. I would have to have a steroid injection to support her lungs and a bit of uv light once she arrived.

On the day itself, though knackered, I felt pretty good - mostly as it would soon be over with! I watched ‘Queer Eye’ and my husband was able to stay with me throughout.

The c section itself was great - I used the techniques to create a playlist of my fav tunes (she was born to Boyz2Men ‘when water runs dry’ ) and the breathing took me into my own world. It was the best experience, and although I took a few weeks to come to terms with everything we had gone through, heal from the section and release all those hormones (!), I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I’m still on meds as my bp hasn’t returned to normal, but my darling girl keeps me more happy than I ever thought I could be. We called her Anjali (which means ‘special gift’ in Sanskrit).

Postnatal wise, I was kept in hospital as I could have been at risk of preeclampsia after giving birth - something else we didn’t realise until after, as it wasn’t explained.

So, as a new mum I was alone in the hospital with 4 hour checks and waking Anjali every 3 hours for feeding as she couldn’t wake herself. The care here was quite rubbish and I wasn’t even checked for my wound for it to be cleaned and the band to be removed - I hadn’t showered for 4 days not knowing if I could or had time to - one good midwife helped me and couldn’t believe I hadn’t been checked on. I had only a small number of midwives I could rely on. The rest were unemotional, quick and I kept being asked the same things with no one realising how exhausted I was. A doctors said I might be released only to find out he was wrong and had to be there longer.

Thankfully I was transferred to further down the ward where the care was amazing, with tips and help and actual midwives who cared.