December 19 2009 was one of the best days of my life and also one of the worst. It was nearly the last day of my life. Early that morning I went into labour with our first child. It didn’t seem to take long for my little boy to arrive! All 9lbs 12oz of him! We were a little shocked to hear just how big he was, considering I was a petit 5ft 3, 110lbs. But I had the most gorgeous boy placed on my chest. Those first moments were unforgettable.
The rest of the day however is a different story. A complete blur.
I have no sense of time, not much memory of the medical details and jargon, so please bear with me.
Shortly after the birth of my son, we were left alone in our labour room for the first time as a new family. My husband sat in the corner, having his first cuddles with his new son. I lay in bed, resting and recovering. I felt terrible.
But hey, I had just given birth, so that’s expected right? This was my first child so I had no idea how I should feel! I felt weak, tired, and lethargic. Then that progressed to feeling dizzy, nauseous and faint. My midwife came in to check on me and do her tests. However she could not find my blood pressure. As in, there was none. Nothing showed up on the computerised machine or manually.
Within seconds, the room was filled with doctors, nurses and midwives. This is the point at which everything started to feel a little fuzzy for me. I remember doctors prodding and poking, whispering to each other which became more and more frantic. A consultant sat next to me, held my hand and said I needed to go to theatre as I was losing a lot of blood.
As they wheeled me out of the room, I glanced at my husband and my son, stuck my thumb up to them and smiled, trying to indicate everything would be ok. I don’t think I had any idea how serious the situation was!
While in theatre, I received two units of life saving blood while consultants worked hard to stop the bleeding. I don’t know how long I was in there, under anaesthetic. I was returned to my family roughly two hours later, and began my long recovery.
I received another blood transfusion the following day as I was not progressing as the doctors had hoped. It was a good 8 weeks until I could say I was fully recovered. My son’s weight and the fact I had a natural birth may have contributed to the postpartum haemorrhage I experienced. As far as I know, I am not left with any lasting effects and I should be able to go on to have more children although I do have a higher risk of pre and postpartum haemorrhaging for any further pregnancies.
I nearly died. However I was lucky to have the talented doctors and midwifes to get me through it! I don’t really talk about my experience much with my family. If I stop and think about it for too long it kind of freaks me out. It has definitely left my husband and I a little reluctant to have any more children. It’s a very scary experience, and I don’t like to worry any expectant mothers out there. It’s important to be aware of what can happen, but also, to know that there are preventative measures and treatments too.
Charlotte, Blogger, United Arab Emirates
www.sharky-knows.blogspot.co.uk