C-section

I am 21 years old this was my first pregnancy and first delivery. I have epilepsy so the whole pregnancy and delivery was high risk and it couldn't have been worse. I was admitted with high blood pressure on 10/15 at 39 weeks, I was enduced on 10/16 at 7 at night. At 2 in the morning I asked for an epidural. The anestheisiologist came at 3 and began the procedure. I was really nervous and asked how long they usually take, she replied about 20 mins. so I relaxed and she began. It ended up taking an hour and a half to complete it. She had put it in the wrong spot and hit a vein so she had to take it out and start all over(the whole time my contractions were less than a min, apart). Finally after all of that she put the medication in and I got relief but it doesnt end there. I was in labor for about 28 hours when they realized she was sunny side up. They told me that durring pushing she would most likely turn by herself. She didnt. I pushed for an hour and finally they told me I would need forceps to help turn her and if that didnt work I would be having a c-section. By this time my epidural had just about worn off and i had the extreme urge to push but i was told not to. They brought me down to the or and began the forceps, they got her turned but she wouldnt fit so i had an emediate c-section. They gave me a spinal and started. It didnt kick in yet because i could feel everything. I ended up passing out from the pain and waking up 30 mins. later. It was a terrible experience and no one in my family has ever had a c-section so i have no one to relate to..i guess i was wondering if any one has had a similar experience and if its going to be this bad next time.

[tam2girls]

I am so sorry that you felt everything and if it was that immediate they should have given you a general. I had a c section with my first and that was due to labour not progressing after 36 hours and only getting to 4 cm I had miconium in my waters and the baby began to get distressed. I ended up having a emergency c section and was given a general because the doctors were afraid she would be still born. I found that out later. I never had a problem with the c section because I had a healthy little bub and I managed to sucessfully havce a Vaginal birth with my next 2 pregnancies so just because one goes wrong does not mean they all will. I would pehaps suggest that you talk to a counselor about the way the c section happend just to talk through your fears now so that they will be delt with when you get pregnant next time. Good Luck I hope you and bub are happy and healthy and now you can just sit back and enjoy being mum.

[christinajs]

It's been almost a month and she and I are doing well, im healing nicely and shes healthy as well. Im just so glad to hear im not the only one who has had some problems with labor and delivery. Like I said no one in my family can relate they have all had 5-7hour labors and easy deliverys. Thanks for the support!

[peekawho]

I'm so sorry to read of your experience with childbirth.  As you said, things did not go well at all.  
I will make the observation about your comment that "things couldn't have gone worse".  Yes, indeed they could have gone very much worse.  You are healthy and your daughter is healthy.  So in that respect at least....I'm very grateful for that.

But, you did experience many unwelcome complications of childbirth and anesthetic problems.   It is terrifying to undergo some of these, and I sympathize completely and wish you healing and recovery in the future.

Epidurals are not always easy.  They are a "blind" procedure...that is, they are done almost entirely by feel.  Everyone has a slightly different anatomy, and this often make the placement quite tricky.  Blood vessels surround the epidural space, and when the anesthesiologist hit a blood vessel, that was an unlucky event that happens occasionally, even to the most skilled.  It is frustrating not only to you, who is undergoing an hour and a half of agony and contractions, but to the anesthesiologist who wants fervently to help you and get you relief.  

A posterior, or sunny side up baby, is another unfortunate position that can complicate the birth process.  Many babies in this position CAN be delivered safely, but the rate of intervention is higher.  It makes the largest diameter of the fetal head have to pass though a very small area.  If you push for a long while and the baby is making little progress, it is then an educated guess on the part of the physician, if there is any possibility that the fetal head can be turned and the delivery facilitated by forceps or vacuum.  
It did not work well in your case.  This does not happen often...but it did happen to you, very unfortunately.

At this point in your case, it was now imperative to deliver immediately.  Babies do not in general tolerate a lot of mucking about after a failed forceps rotation, and it is URGENTLY important to deliver right away.  It is entirely possible that her heart rate was dropping--you did not say, and they may not have even indicated this to you.   Your epidural unfortunately was partially worn off to allow you to push hard during the delivery attempt.
If an epidural is not working extremely well, then a spinal was done because the anesthetic effect us usually complete and rapid.  

Again, almost unbelievably, it did not work well for you.  It sounds like there was no choice but to begin with less than perfect anesthesia, in order to safely deliver your baby before oxygen deprivation from the prolonged delivery attempt brain damaged her.
This is obviously NOT optimal, but very rarely it must be done.  It sounds like chaos was occuring at this point.

They may have given you drugs immediately when she was delivered to help you go to sleep during the repair after she came out.  

-------------

It was obviously a completely traumatic event for you, and is frankly horrifying that all these things lined up to happen to you.  Sometimes a woman may have one or two of the events you described...but you had them all.   I'm sure it was beyond a nightmare.  I am so sorry.

The good news is that your next delivery doesn't have to be that way.  If you choose a scheduled C/Section, there will be plenty of time to be sure the anesthesia is working to its fullest, and hopefully things will go smoothly and you will recover very quickly.

I am grateful beyond words to hear that at least you have recovered from your ordeal, and that your daughter is healthy.  I wish you the best in the future.  Thank you for sharing your story.

Peek

[pertykitty]

im so sorry to hear of your experience.  it sounds just horrible, but like peek said you are both here and healthy.  i wanted to share my c experience to maybe help you in your future plans of baby #2.  my second c was very simple. it was uncomplicated, light pain after (normal post surg discomfort), and if i could have gone home that day i would have.  please dont let one bad experience ruin your future plans out of fear.  

next time you have to really relay this experience to the drs, nurses, and anesthesiologist (did i spell that right? lol).  they will do everything they can to help your delivery be a more favorable experience.    who knows, maybe your next wont be face up (my son was reason for my c) and you can easily deliver vaginally.  

[tiredbuthappy]

there is a girl on the Pregnancy 18-35 forum, Riot_Queen, who had a similar c-section experience. She is about to have her second c-section and is terrified. I suspect the second will be much smoother for the reasons peek listed. You may want to contact her, especially after she has her baby next week.

[alikat1205]

yes, i had a horrific c/s.  no one gets me either :).  i suffered a complete uterine rupture and placental abruption during pushing and was rushed to the OR.  like you, my epidural had partly worn off so i could push, and at that point my anes tried starting a morphine drip.  it didn't work nearly fast enough, and my dr. began cutting while i could feel way too much.  i know not all c/s are like this, but mine was, and yours was, quite frankly, a nightmare no one should have to experience.  while i am sure you are glad to be here with a healthy baby, that in no way diminishes the loss you had, of a happy birth, of a birth without so much trauma.  you are allowed to feel bad about it and still be happy your baby is here.  this does not mean that any subsequent c/s will be like this.  they don't usually go like this!!!!