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'Sunny side up?'From: Sandra (anonymous@obgyn.net)Sun, 21 Jan 2001 09:55:33 -0600 (CST)
My baby is now one year old. Looking back on my difficult birth experience, I am hoping to avoid the same situation in future pregnancies. I will try to briefly summarize my labor and delivery. I am a 32 year old woman, and this was my first pregnancy. At 38 weeks and 2 days my water broke spontaneously around 10:00AM. I went to the hospital with contractions that were hardly recognizable. After my first exam I was found to be 1cm and completely effaced. My blood pressure was slightly elevated, but I hoped this was due to my rushing to the hospital (it had crept up a bit at last couple of check-ups). Pitocin was started almost immediately. Even in this very early stage of labor I felt an immediate sensation of painful pressure in my rectum with each contraction. I wondered if I needed to empty my bowel. During the check for dilation, my doctor was able to ascertain that my bowel was empty. Looking back now I wonder if this could have been a sign that the baby was posterior. I spent the entire afternoon with contractions increasing in severity and duration. I was given two separate doses of Nubain to help me relax. My high BP continued to be a problem, so the staff had me on my left side continuously. Second check of cervix in late afternoon showed 4cm... My left hip was killing me, so I begged to be able to try laying on my right side instead. Upon changing position, though, the baby's heart rate began to drop. The nurses threw me back on my left side and jack-knifed my right leg. This seemed to corect the trouble. After the next check, I was still only 4cm. At this point, I had a bit more bleeding than what is expected, I guess. My doctor hiked up the Pitocin even further and gave me 45 more minutes. Last check found still 4cm, so with my BP still up and baby's heart rate still inconsistant, he urged us to go for a c-section. Twelve hours after my water broke, my daughter was born... 7lbs. and perfectly healthy. The doctors made no comment at this time as to what may have caused our labor to stall out. I was feeling a bit foggy and didn't think to ask about her position. My chart at the OB's office states only that I had "failure to progress" due to CPD (head too big for mom's pelvis.) I wish that during the c-section, the doctors could have noted the position of the baby as they delivered her. My doctors have never been very forthcoming with information. They seem to work on a "need-to-know" basis, an old fashioned view that keeps women in the dark. And so, bringing my concerns up to them at this stage is a mute point. I am currently on the hunt for a new OB/Gyn. If I could speculate that my baby was posterior, I could plan for a VBAC next time with reasonable optimism. A posterior presentation would be easier to accept than the more vague diagnosis of CPD. I understand that a woman with posterior presentation has an increased chance of the same problem in subsequent pregnancies. I have also read that there are exercises which can help prevent or correct a posterior presentation in the weeks leading up to delivery. Does it sound like my baby may have been posterior? If so, what signs point in that direction?
-- I hope you can help me shed some light on my birth experience. Thank you!
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