Madalyn's Birth of Cody

Madalyn's Birth of Cody

A few days prior to my 20th birthday I found out I was expecting! I had suffered with PCOS formally diagnosed when I was 18 and we were told that falling pregnant without medical intervention would be virtually impossible, as I hadn't had a menstrual cycle in over a year. 

I was 6-7 weeks along when I found out I was expecting, the pregnancy started off fairly smoothly with no complications just the usual morning sickness. At 15 weeks I started bleeding heavily and was admitted into the hospital I was planning on delivering in. After 5 days of monitoring I was sent home and put on bed rest. For the next month I was in and out of hospital with large bleeds, every time not knowing if we were in the process of losing the pregnancy.

Things had been okay from a few weeks until I was 24 weeks pregnant and my waters broke at home at exactly 11am. We called the private hospital my obgyn was at and he said to not bother coming there because they would just transfer me to the public hospital anyway! We got to the hospital at midday, at that point in time I was in a state of shock and emotionless, I don't think I really grasped or understood what was to come. 

I was quickly taken to the labour ward so the doctors could assess what was going on, my boyfriend then arrived. I wasn't contracting but I had lost part of my waters. The neonatal pediatrician then told us what to basically expect if they were to deliver my little man at that gestation the survival rates and asked a question which will stay with me for the rest of my life
" Do you want us to resuscitate him"

After an ultrasound scan showed I still had an acceptable amount of amniotic fluid left, I stayed in the labour ward for 3 days for constant monitoring until I was moved up to the ward.

Over the next 3 months the hospital became my home, nurses became my friends and daytime tv became the highlight of my day! 
We had many labour ward trips during my hospital stay as I had constant contractions and interventions to prevent labour & infection.

At 36 weeks my contractions became regular and I was 2cm dilated, I was taken down to labour ward at 9pm on the 30th October 2009 and given pitocin to help the contractions along. After 3 hard months I was finally going to meet my little boy.

My doctors said their would be no problem delivering 'Cody' at 36 weeks.

After 8 hours of no drugs, my cervix hadn't made any changes and the nurses said it would be best if I agreed to an epidural. After having the epi we had 3 preps for a c-section as my son's heart rate kept dropping. 
They completely broke my water bag just before giving me the epidural.

At roughly 1pm on the 31st October 2009 I was 10cm and ready to push. Just before I commenced pushing my temperature was at 40 degrees, apparently as I was close to birthing they would wait to give me antibiotics after my son was delivered.

At 2:48pm my beautiful little boy was born. He was placed on my chest but he was having breathing difficulties so the neonatologist and pediatricians who were in the room took him and checked him over. I don't recall much of what happened after but I do remember telling them to look after him and my partner went with them to the NICU.

After I had showered and was stitched up from my episiotomy, my partner came and told me that they wanted me to come and breastfeed my son. 
Going through the NICU doors was a frightening experience, as I didn't think at 36 weeks we would be in there.

He was on a heart rate monitor at this stage, I attempted breastfeeding but he turned blue and the nurse called for help and I got up and left. It was a terrible feeling. 
Once up in my room I remember having a panic attack and being terribly upset. This wasn't normal I was meant to have my son there with me.

That evening the nurses in NICU called and said he had been moved to SCN3 and put in a humidicrib and on CPAP (breathing support) I rushed down there and didn't leave his side. 

He spent 1 week in intensive care and was born with chronic pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome from an infection in my waters.
He birth weight was 2665g.

Cody celebrated his 2nd birthday just over a month ago now, to date he has had 16 hospital admissions for respiratory related problems. He is my miracle and I am extremely blessed to have gotten from 24 to 36 weeks.

In the future when I am mentally prepared to have another child I wish for a natural home water birth with no intervention and a fantastic pregnancy!

I hope you enjoyed reading my story.

tags: premature rupture of membranes, PROM, premature, NICU, birth, birth stories, birth stories on demand, Pitocin, epidural, birth stories with pictures, hospital birth, CPAP