I’ve been considering telling my birth story for months now. I’ve been putting it off because it’s hard to put it all into words. I finally decided to write the birth stories of all 3 of my children to give hope to others going through a similar situation and stress.
All 3 of my pregnancy and birth stories are unique. They all presented their own challenges.
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My birth story #1- IUGR and the struggles that came with it.
My oldest child was born in the spring of 2015.
When I was about 34 weeks pregnant, I went in for a routine checkup and my midwife ordered an ultrasound both because my fundal height was measuring small and she was certain my baby was breech.
I already knew my baby was breech based on where I was feeling movements and kicks. So, I wasn’t overly worried about the ultrasound at the time. I assumed she would be breech and everything else would come back normal.
I had a completely healthy pregnancy up until that point. I followed all the guidelines, ate healthy, exercised, took my vitamins, etc. I mean what could go wrong?!
Well, I had an ultrasound a few days later and I knew something was wrong when the ultrasound tech was unusually quiet. He started the exam chatting away but quickly became quiet. He didn’t say much other than that he got all the measurements they needed and that the midwife would call me soon with the results.
I received a call the next day (on a Friday) indicating that the midwife and several doctors had reviewed the ultrasound and they were concerned with my baby’s growth. So, she put in a referral for me to see a perinatologist for further evaluation. The perinatologist’s office was able to see me right away Monday morning.
Let me tell you, that weekend was AGONY!
Waiting for an appointment after receiving news like that is literally torture. I tried my best to avoid stress and to keep busy all weekend, but I was largely unsuccessful. I would find myself in the middle of something and I would just start crying. I was so stressed and worried!
Monday morning FINALLY came and after a series of ultrasounds and tests, I found out my baby had an intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). My daughter’s head was measuring 1 week behind and her body was 3 weeks behind her gestational age.
We were devastated. How could there be something wrong with this precious baby?! I followed all the “rules” and did everything right during my whole pregnancy. I had prepared for my pregnancy, I had prepared for birth, and I had prepared for after birth!
I could not understand how this could possibly happen. At the same time, I was relieved to finally have some answers and a plan.
The perinatologist was great about explaining everything and reassuring me that these things just happen sometimes, even if we do everything right.
Before the IUGR diagnosis, I was planning to have an external cephalic version to attempt to turn my baby if she remained in a breech position. However, the perinatologist, my doctor, and my midwife all advised against having a version due to the IUGR and the increased risk of a uterine rupture.
I wasn’t excited about having a c-section, but I also wasn’t excited about having an ECV either. A c-section was deemed to be safer and that was the option we chose.
The plan was to keep the baby cooking for as long as possible and as long as baby was getting the blood flow and nutrients she needed in utero.
So began my journey of non-stress test, biophysical profiles, and doctors visits twice a week.
I was in the routine of having my BPP over my lunch and then having my midwife/doctor’s visits and NSTs after I finished working for the day. This way I could save as much of my vacation time for after the baby was born.
The Delivery:
I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.
I worked, had my BPP over lunch and headed to my midwife appointment at 4:30 pm. Right before the appointment, I called my husband and told him that I thought things were good for another few days as everything on the BPP and the systolic/diastolic blood flow ratio had remained the same as my test earlier in the week.
My midwife walked into the room I was in and the first thing she said was “Looks like we are having a baby tonight.”
I was caught off guard and shocked. Everything was the same on the BPP and the blood flow percentile.
She explained that I was exactly 38 weeks and each week the blood flow percentile is supposed to decrease, which it did not. That meant my baby was not getting enough blood flow and needed to be delivered ASAP.
She stepped out to call the surgeon and surgical crew while I called my husband to tell him to get to the hospital ASAP. At the time, he worked about 45 minutes away from our hospital.
The rest of the evening was a whirlwind of emotions. I was immediately sent to the hospital to be admitted and prepped for my c-section. It all happened so fast.
My husband arrived 1 hour after I called him and I was already in the OR just waiting for him to arrive before starting the c-section.
The c-section went as planned. She took a couple of minutes to cry, which seemed like an eternity, but she came around.
We had a beautiful 5-pound 5-ounce baby girl!
After Delivery:
Once we were in the recovery area, both baby and I were monitored very closely. They discovered her oxygen was low and she was placed on supplemental oxygen. During this time, we tried to get her to breastfeed, but she was not able to.
We tried everything to get her to breastfeed… nipple shield, SNS nursing device, different holds and positions, but nothing worked! I can’t even tell you how frustrated and devastated I was!
I had prepared to breastfeed. I had gotten all the supplies and researched everything there was to breastfeeding and I was still unsuccessful. That’s a very defeating feeling, especially when your emotions are running high after birth!
Eventually, the midwife said she needed to eat and we needed to try something else. So we tried cup-feeding her, which also did not work. Then we went to bottle feeding. I pumped and we bottle-fed her both breastmilk and formula, but she still was not consuming enough and her blood sugar was dropping.
They needed to start an IV. Watching several nurses start an IV on a 5 lb infant was not an ideal experience! Don’t get me wrong, the nurses were great, but it was still hard to watch a sweet innocent baby go through that!
Before my baby was diagnosed with IUGR, I had this idea in my head of how my birth would go and that I would be able to easily breastfeed. I imagined a perfectly healthy baby that would be able to go home shortly after birth, but that was not my reality.
That was hard to accept!
Instead, I was worried and stressed. I was making decisions about giving my baby supplemental oxygen and starting IV’s… these were not decisions I thought I would have to make when I had created my birth plan.
Obviously, I wasn’t sleeping much. We were trying to get her to eat around the clock… I mean I know an infant eats often, but it was taking her over an hour to drink 5 ml and we had to feed her every 2 hours around the clock. So, from the end of 1 feeding to the start of another, we had about 1 hour. The nurses were great and helped with some middle-of-the-night feedings so we could get some rest.
And I still hadn’t given up on the idea of breastfeeding. I kept trying (unsuccessfully) during the day with the help of a lactation consultant. I eventually resorted to just pumping and bottle feeding until we could get things under control, but that was hard for me to accept.
FINALLY after 7 days, she was able to wean off of oxygen and drink enough on her own to maintain her blood sugar levels. We were able to go home 7 days after she was born and I was SO happy!
That’s not to say it was all roses after that. It was still challenging and we still had to feed her every 2 hours around the clock for several weeks after that. She still took a LONG time to eat, but she was getting faster and drinking larger amounts.
She eventually gained enough weight and by the time she was a month old, we were able to feed her when she was hungry and not on a schedule.
I kept trying to breastfeed until she was about 4 months old and she still hadn’t gotten the hang of it. At that point, I decided it wasn’t worth the stress and the time it was taking. I realized that it was ok. We bottle fed her pumped milk and that worked for us!
I am happy to report that she is now 8 years old! She is healthy, sassy, smart, and fun! You would never guess she had such a rough start to her life!
I wanted to share my birth story in hopes of helping someone else going through a stressful pregnancy or birth experience! I want to give you hope and to let you know that the stress and worry you are feeling is totally normal, but it gets better!
My advice is to do what you can, ask for help if you need, be patient, and be kind to yourself. It takes time and hard work but it does get better! There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
You got this mama!
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