Question for those who have had babies

Wish i had listened to the midwife and not had the epidural that nearly killed me. I spent a week in hospital after i was readmitted after having my son. My spine was punctured 8 times because the anaethestist couldn't find a gap large enough to put the needle as i have very narrow disks!

I was tested for MRSA, Menigitis etc but they couldn't find out what it was. I had inflamation in the white blood cells and a massive lump full of fluid on my spine.

I still suffer with the condition now, hellish night sweats (caused by the inflamation in the white blood cells) and constant joint pain which i will be on medication for, for the rest of my life. I still have no idea what it is.

I was sterilised a short while after the birth of my son because if i was to have another child i would be unlikely to survive the birth. :frown: 2 children is enough for me anyway :happy:
 
This isn't actually what you asked because it's before the baby is born - but with my first I wish I'd known that lying down really doesn't help the pain and that despite how much the contractions hurt, you really are better off standing up and walking around if you can.

Re different levels of care in different hospitals - my first and second babies were born in different hospitals and I'm glad they were the way round that they were. At the first hospital me and hubby were left pretty much to ourselves, someone just popped in to check every now and ten and stick the gas & air on my face. At the second hospital it was much more managed, the staff wanted me to lie flat on a bed and have monitors everywhere, including a clip on the baby's head. When I found out that this was just 'routine' and there was no problem with the baby I was able to refuse - if it had been my first I wouldn't have had the courage and I would probably have ended up like everyone else that day who had forceps or a c section, instead of a normal birth - I actually stayed in the tv room and watched neighbours in between contractions right up until it was time to push.

I had my third and fourth babies at home and had a lovely service - two midwives all to myself, really relaxed atmosphere and my children were able to see their new baby brother before they went to school. I wouldn't have liked to have had my first one at home though, I liked the security of being in hospital and the fact that you didn't have to worry about anything else apart from yourself and your baby while you were in there.

Another labour tip - if your baby is stuck with his back to your back (face to pubes) squat as low as you can and with any luck he'll spin round and shoot out - I wish the midwife had told me that an hour earlier, it would have saved a lot of effort!

I wish I'd known that a lot of men are jealous of their babies, maybe not in a nasty way but it must be hard for them to suddenly have all their OH's attention suddenly focused on the baby instead of them. I wish I'd known that having a baby isn't like having a dog - that you even have to take your baby with you when you go for a wee and that they always start crying when you're trying to get some jobs done or the evening meal ready, so your OH comes home and wonders what you've been doing all day.

I'm sure there's more but it's a while ago now!
 
Thses stories are priceless and will form the basis of the first chapter.
There is such a variation in care/competence levels, and some of you have really been through the wringer !
Please keep the stories coming, they are invaluable.
I knew I could count on you :biggrin: Thank you !!!!!
Sarah xxx
 
the stories I could tell you of Doctors ect WHILE I was pregnant would make your hair stand on end,
Such as the doctor that told me I was losing my baby at 19 weeks and then expected me to drive myself half an hour to hospital? and the consultant who sadly told me the baby had no heartbeat... but had just forgotten to check there were batteries in the dopler machine? all seems quite funny now, but at the time they wondered why my blood pressure was high and I was suffering with stress rofl!
 
These stories are great, they are bringing back memories!

I would like to know why when you are 2 weeks over your due date and have to be induced why they dont scan you to measure the baby (especially if you look abnormally huge), this would have saved me the 20hrs labour before a c-section to deliver a 10lbs 10oz monster.:eek:

If you are going to try breastfeeding then it would be really nice if you someone could come and show you how to do it. My first few attempts were terrible, because I had her by c-section I still couldn't really move from the spinal tap & had a catheter so had to ring the buzzer so someone could pass her to me, and when someone asked me if I was having trouble told me to help myself to formular at the end of the ward (hello, i cant walk yet!) luckily the next morning I had a lovely midwife who helped me breastfeed her properly for the first time.
 
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