"COVID impact on my pregnancy experience and birth"

I suspected I was leaking amniotic fluid early one morning. I had a monitoring appointment that day as I had experienced lots of episode of RFM, I asked my midwife to check me and because I was only 36 weeks they could only offer the amino-sense colour change pad. The pad didn’t change to blue so we were both happy that it was possibly just urine/excess discharge.

A few days later and I had another monitoring appointment. I mentioned to the midwife that I had been feeling really run down, head ache and just generally feeling poorly. I also mentioned that I had been experiencing frequent incontinence since Friday evening. They asked me a series of questions which lead them to assume my waters had broke. They contacted DAU and they wanted me in to be assessed straight away. 

Upon arrival to DAU I was greeted and assessed within minutes. I had a speculum examination and some swabs taken, the swabs came back to show my waters had ruptured (PPROM). Within minutes the room was filled with several different doctors and midwifes preforming scans and giving me lots of information. Understandably I was in shock and took none of this information in and was worried about the health/future of my unborn child. This is where I needed the support of my partner, especially after suffering 2 consecutive miscarriages before this pregnancy, one in 2018 and the other 2019 I was worried it was all going to go wrong again. 

I was admitted onto Wheal Rose ward from DAU, I was told if I didn’t go into labour naturally by 37 weeks,  I would be induced. I was also told there was no visiting on this ward which meant I would now not see my partner until I was transferred to Delivery Suite, whenever that may be. 

After the shock of everything that had happened I now had to spend the next few days alone, and my partner was also alone at home worried about his unborn child and myself. This understandably was upsetting and stressful for both of us. 

37 weeks came around and I hadn’t gone into labour naturally. The midwife came round and I was induced at 0730. I was induced with a pessary and was told I would be transferred to Delivery Suite when I was in active labour, or if the pessary didn’t work I would be transferred at 0730 (earliest) or 1330 (latest) the following day to be put on the synthetic oxytocin drip.

Labour began progressing and by the afternoon I took a trip to the bathroom and realised the pessary had began to slip out. The pessary was replaced a short time later. I was told my cervix had thinned, shortened and I was now at 2cm. I was told I could have it replaced once more after this, however if it came out again I would need to be transferred to Delivery Suite to be put on the drip. 

After a few more hours of contractions I was offered more paracetamol, codine and my second bath. I went to the toilet before my bath and when I removed my underwear the pessary was lay in the maternity pad. I pulled the nurse cord and they came into the bathroom, they told me to have my bath and we’d replace it once I was out. 

After that my pessary was replaced and I was told I was “a good 2cm” I was placed into the CTG for more monitoring. 

About an hour after having it replaced, I was offered pethidine and was torn between what to do, after much thought and upset I took the midwifes offer and they went away to sort the medication. Over an hour passed and the midwife eventually returned to give me the pethidine. 

After an hour of slipping in and out of rest/consciousness I had a massive build up of pressure in my bladder,  so headed to the bathroom. The pressure was so much I couldn’t urinate and I noticed my pessary had came out for the third time. 

I told the midwife assistant and they informed the midwife who was trying to see if there was room for me on delivery suite. I text my partner to tell him to start making his way from Helston.

Whilst this was ongoing I began to have intense contractions very close together with a massive build up of pressure. I thought I was starting to panic through the contractions, but later I was told this was involuntary pushing. 

After handover a new midwife came to see me and asked if she could assess me after my next contraction. The contraction passed and they managed to carry out the assessment. They informed me the reason I felt like I did was because my baby was here and ready to come into the wold. The next thing I remember was telling someone that they needed to ring my partner he was still 9.3mile away from the hospital. The lights went on and the doors were opened and I was moved up to Delivery Suite. As we got to delivery suite and I’d moved to the bed I asked another midwife to ring my partner again, he was just entering the hospital. By the time he got past security and they had rang up to see if he could come in and got up stairs, I had been in the delivery suite for a short time. As he entered the room and moved to the opposite side of me baby was already on her way out and our little girl entered the world a few minutes later.

Through the entire pregnancy I have had to go to every appointment on my own without any support from my partner. I have then had to endure a two day hospital stay alone without any visitors, an induction and 14 hours of labour alone!!

My partner got to spend a few hours with us which was lovely that Delivery Suite let us have so long together. 

I was then transferred to Wheal Fortune ward with our child. This was also scary, being a first time mother who had been alone for the majority of three days, to then be left alone again to look after our new baby. 

Since the birth out baby wasn’t the easiest of starts which has obviously added to my stress. Every time I think or talk about my hospital stay/labour I break down, my midwife has now referred me to Birth Reflections as she thinks I may have PTSD from my experience. 

No woman should be made to labour alone, this has had a massive effect on my partner, myself and the start of our life as a family. I feel rules need to change regardless of COVID. Every woman is different and a 4cm rule to be classed as labour is frankly ridiculous, considering the fact I wasn’t checked for hours, my partner could’ve easily missed the birth of our first child if it wasn’t for me knowing my body and messaging him.