Things you don't get told about Labor and Delivery.
Hey,
Following on from my previous post I decided to do another post about Labor and Delivery and this time I have chosen to share with you all the parts that you simply don't get told and then are not prepared for, well at least I know I wasn't.
My whole labor and delivery experience wasn't what I had expected at all, my whole pregnancy I had planned to have a water birth with gas and air so when I got told at the Hospital that it wasn't going to happen how I had planned it was a big shock but things do not always go as planned despite how much you may want them too.
Sometimes you won't realise when you're dilated...
My contractions became noticeable at around 11 pm and at 12:30 pm I decided to go to the hospital thinking that I would maybe only be 1 cm dilated if that, once I was examined I was told that I was actually 3 nearly 4 cm meaning that I then wasn't allowed to leave because I was now in 'active labor'. The reason why this is included in this post is because I would of had no idea that I was that dilated because the pain was so little, I was made to believe that you would be in excruciating pain at this point but for me that wasn't the case.
The after birth cramps...
This was the first thing that came into my mind when I was planning this post. I had no idea that this was even a thing let alone how painful it would be. After giving birth all your organs begin to move down and your uterus contracts meaning you feel like you're giving birth all over again. I remember lying there a few hours after Maci was born and my epidural was wearing off thinking that I was actually going to die, the pain was unbelievable.
How great Epidurals are...
When writing my birth plan at around 34 weeks pregnant I remember saying to my midwife that I did not want an epidural because of the horror stories I had heard. But I simply could not of given birth to Maci safely without an Epidural, it make the terrifying experience bearable and for that I would recommend it to anyone.
It's OK not to be OK...
Now this is a big one, as I said before I had planned a water birth for my whole pregnancy and I was so set on it happening that I hadn't considered what would happen if I wasn't able to have one. When I was told at the Hospital that I wasn't able to have one, I burst into tears. I hadn't considered or researched any other ways of giving birth and I felt totally unprepared for the biggest and let's face it, most painful experience I would most likely ever have to go through and that was utterly terrifying. For days after Maci was born I felt numb, now at the time I put this down to the fact I had to have a large blood transfusion after my Episiotomy but I think now it was because I was in shock. My 'perfect birth' and how I had planned it for months had happened and not how I wanted it to happen, I would get so frustrated with people when they would say 'But at least she is here safety' because of course they were right but it had happened how I didn't want it to happen.
(There are many things that could happen which you aren't told about beforehand, stay confident in yourself and you'll be absolutely fine!)
Until next time,
Stormydoos