"Oban and RAH hospitals, maternity"

I just wanted to share my story of my pregnancy to the birth of my beautiful baby boy.

My pregnancy journey started in Oban hospital. I was appointed Rosie as my midwife, who has just been incredible. Most of my appointments were done either via phone calls,video calls or visits to my home as we were in the middle of lockdown. Rosie always made me feel at ease and I was able to talk to her about anything. She was always honest with me but still remained empathetic. 

My pregnancy was relatively plain sailing, no major issues. I had the option of having growth scans after 28 weeks which was great as my husband had been unable to attend any previous scans. He was able to attend these ones. 

Everything was looking great until a few days before my due date. I had a video chat with the consultant, Dr Tibbo at Paisley, who wanted me to have another scan to check babies weight. So I attended that day and his weight had slowed a bit. I was advised to be induced on my due date incase there was a reason he hadnt gained weight like he should have. I was hesitant at first as I really wanted to go into labour myself and to also stay in Oban for my birth, But in the end, took the advice and I was booked in 2 days later to start the induction process in paisley. I was also given a sweep that day to see if we could get things moving.

I woke on Saturday morning and started to feel strong Braxton hicks which later turned into contractions. I had started to go into labour on my own! We made our way down to paisley as planned for our appointment at 3pm. I was given a gel to help start my labour fully at about 3:30pm. At this point I was told my cervix hadnt thinned fully yet even though I had been contracting regularly since 9am. I was a bit deflated but was left for a couple of hours whilst babies heart rate was monitored. I got to about 6:30pm and my contractions had really started to pick up. I buzzed for help as I was struggling with the pain, couldn't sit down and had a huge amount of pressure in my bum. The midwife went away to get me paracetamol and a birthing ball. I waited for a bit, then realised I was bleeding, so buzzed again.i was able to be examined quickly and was 5cm dilated already. I was whisked down to labour ward where I was examined again and was 8cm! My husband was called, he arrived 10 mins later. They continued to monitor babies heart rate which had started to slow. They needed to decide what to do. I was already almost pushing at this point! So with a team of doctors it was decided forceps would be used to get baby out as quickly as possible. If I could push him out before they were ready then great! So I started pushing for my life. The doctor who was helping delivery (I wish I got his name) was fantastic.  He talked me through everything and did not leave me out. He decided I would need to be cut slightly to give room for baby. He also had a feel to check babies head and realised the cord was around his neck. So he quickly used the forceps and got him out at 8:32pm. Luckily the smaller ones were used as he was almost out anyway. 

I tore extensively inside and as a result lost a lot of blood. So I was whisked away to theatre where I spent 1.5 hours getting stitched up. They thought a blood transfusion might be needed but over the next day I was monitored Bx they were happy that I didnt need one. Every single person who I came into contact with was just amazing. There was someone there holding my hand most of the time and constantly checking that I was ok. Even though what I had been through was fairly traumatic, I felt totally calm throughout it! I had complete trust in everyone dealing with me. I honestly cannot praise them all enough. The care I received in the next 2 days after was great too. I was in a lot of pain the next day and the staff were just great at helping me and also helping with my newborn baby, especially with breastfeeding. I was sent home on the Monday with lots of pills and potions in hand.

The following days were tough, physically and emotionally.  I phoned oban maternity to ask for advice and Kirsty very kindly came out to see me. She was great, and so reassuring. I was a bit of an emotional wreck but she really helped reassure me that we were doing everything right. Rosie then came a few days later to see how we were doing. Those visits after getting home were so valuable to me. 

So even though I didnt get my planned birth in Oban, I was so glad I took the advice and went to paisley. Things could have been a lot worse for myself and my baby had we not. 

So thank you, thank you, thank you to all the staff at Oban and Paisley maternity units! You are all superstars and I look forward to seeing you all again soon!