Birth story - Kate and babies Felicity and Eleanor

💥Triggers : use of word contraction, 2nd Degree Tear, Failed Epidural, baby requiring help after birth

I went in for induction on the Monday 17th August at 12pm, they put my husband and I into a private room on the HDU as the induction ward was full.

After checking me and finding I was about 2cm dilated (mostly due to being my second time) they started at 3:15ish with the 24hour pessary.

We put a movie on but by 3:30 I could feel contractions starting which was great as it took about 15 hours for my first child’s induction to feel anything at all!

By 3:45 they were getting more painful and I started using my up breathing, by 4:30pm I was on TENS and gas and air because I couldn’t just breathe through them without some help.

I was hooked up to the CTG the whole time as they like to keep a really good eye on twins, and it was showing my contractions ended up being so strong they didn’t have any kind of break between them. They normally have a beginning middle and end but these were so close I couldn’t tell them apart. This was really overwhelming and although I found it hard I managed to keep calm using my up breathing and having Tim stroke my arm.

By 8pm I had been moved onto the delivery suite, the transition to delivery threw me a little as I had a good rhythm going and I started to feel like I couldn’t cope. They checked me again and I was still only 2cm despite having had zero break between pains for over 4 hours, at this point I used my BRAIN and decided I couldn’t continue to breathe through it anymore and I wasn’t coping and it was more important that I stayed calm, so I asked for an epidural. I am so so glad I did.

Turns out the midwives were watching my monitor and didn’t know how I wasn’t already on strong meds!
They got the drugs to me really quickly and the Dr decided to do a low dose spinal block to give me instant relief and then I had an epidural put in so I could manage my pain for the rest of the Labour but still keep active as they knew it was important to me that I could still move around.

Both were amazing, I was so relived to be able to breathe again I gave the midwife a huge hug! I’m so glad I chose to do it because I was not coping at all by that point.

I then just chilled, slept a bit and bounced on a ball for 13 hours, all while my very uncomfortable constant CTG said I was having 7 contractions in every 10mins which was starting to worry the midwives so after having a chat about the risks and benefits, we decided to give me drugs to slow it down as they worried my uterus would get too tired and the babies would start getting distressed. As twin vaginal birth has a higher rate of turning into a c-section I felt it was worth trying. This slowed them to 3/4 in 10mins but with much longer peaks which was really encouraging.

With each epidural top up I was starting to feel some pain but only a little so I ignored it.
They then checked me at 9am on Tuesday and I was only 4cm which was a little discouraging but my waters were bulging so they broke Fliss’ waters to help speed things up.

I then very quickly started to feel the very peak of my contractions and it was really intense after not feeling much of anything for so long!

I made sure to focus on my breathing and do really nice big breaths, the midwife even commented on them!

They gave me the max they could with the epidural and it didn’t even scratch the surface! I quite quickly found myself kneeling on the bed doing my best up breathing and ended up with gas and air again to help me focus. I thought of the affirmation ‘every surge brings me closer to my baby (babies)’ a lot around this point!

Next thing I knew the doctor was saying my epidural was leaking so they were going to put in the strongest stuff they had but couldn’t tell me how much would actually go in! As they told me this I started wanting to push and really felt my contractions changing to a downward movement and I could feel the birth canal fill up as she came down.

I ended up just on gas and air pushing out Fliss and after not long pushing she was born at 10:42 Tim cut the cord and she was passed to him as they had to get me ready to deliver twin 2.

They held my stomach to stabilise Ellie so she wouldn’t move and go sideways. They had to give me drugs to up my contractions as they had started to go down and the risk was getting higher for Ellie. They asked if I was happy to be moved onto my back to get better look at Ellie and make sure all was well, which I was happy with.

I was very surprised when I turned around and found it was no longer just the two midwives but there were about 10 people in the room! They all had a job to do! I ended up putting my feet in stirrups as they realised she was coming footling breech and wanted to get the best view possible to help if she got stuck at all.
I did a big push and Ellie’s waters went everywhere and then with a few pushes Ellie had come out feet first, and after some very big active pushes, her head came out which was really hard work!

Ellie was then rushed to the resusicare in the room as she was born the with cord tightly around her neck, completely white and struggling to breathe. The Neonatal team who were in the room just in case did an amazing job with her, and after a few tense minutes she got better and was given to Tim.

I was struggling with some shaking and feeling a bit in shock so couldn’t hold either baby at first but the midwives did try and give them to me which I really appreciated but I said no as I was worried I would drop a baby.

I had the injection for third stage, and the two placentas came out in one. I couldn’t believe how big they were! They thought they were probably 3kg worth of placentas! I had stitches for a 2nd degree tear which has been a bit sore but not too bad.

We stayed in a private postnatal room for one night and went home the next day once they were happy a Ellie was okay.

It was all really positive despite being a bit dramatic at times! Being able to control my breathing was so key and I felt so much more empowered and determined to be part of the conversation in my own birth this time around.

Thankfully I had wonderful midwives who totally understood and respected my wishes, it was clear they had all read my preferences when they were really on it with making sure my lights were dimmed and the room was calm, and once it had changed with the pain relief etc, checked if I was still happy and asked what they could do for me. It really was a breath of fresh air!

I’m so gutted PBC didn’t start until the month after my first was born, it would have made my first birth so much better!