This topic may be quite sensitive to others but I choose to share because a lot of people do not talk about their labor or delivery stories as much, they say we would forget immediately we hold our bundle of joy like nothing ever happen..well it's been 3 months and I am yet to forget. I think these stories should be told more often as a reminder of how strong we are as a woman. So if you don’t mind journeying with me to my labor room please read till the end
Pregnancy was a breeze as I earlier stated in my previous post on how pregnancy humbled me until my 31st week when I was 8 months pregnant... I became 🤒 sick at first I have heard stories of how the third trimester can be as bad as the first trimester because the baby is near... I had a cold, weakness of the body, swollen feet, fever. I was so sick I got so scared and worried.
After 2 days and I wasn’t getting better I ran to the hospital and I was immediately admitted.. laboratory tests were done and it was confirmed I had 3+ malaria.
malaria is a serious and sometimes life-threatening tropical disease that is caused by a parasite and spreads through mosquitoes.
Well it is Nigeria and the spread of malaria is so common and almost a norm here but I was so conscious with my home, ate the right food, kept the door closed, used repellent but still I guess you can never be too careful.
Luckily I caught it on time says the doctor because at this stage having malaria can mean the child having JAUNDICE.
Newborn jaundice is a yellowing of a baby’s skin and eyes.
Then I caught the flu while in the hospital, it was almost too much to handle. I was admitted for 6 days and I was discharged but I still wasn’t feeling ok... there was just a slight difference but I knew I wasn’t fine
at this point, my husband was too scared and we decided I fly to Edo state from Lagos state where my mother resides hopefully she knows what to do about the situation.
But unfortunately, all the airlines in Lagos do not accept a pregnant woman on board who is above 30weeks and at this point, I was past 32 weeks
We had to make a risky decision for me to travel by road for a 6hr journey that would have easily taken 45minutes via Air. I had to
Go, I wasn’t comfortable just going back home knowing how I was feeling.. so the journey to
Edo state began and thankfully I arrived safely even when the 6hr journey became an 8hrs
The next morning my mum took me to her clinic and I still had malaria we began another set of treatments and I felt better not completely myself but I was better. I continued my weekly checkup, took my prenatal drugs, and waited for the baby...
So babies arrive between your due date according to the first scan +/- 2 weeks so I was told .. that’s 38weeks or 40week(due date) or 42 weeks at most. With the sickness and stress, everyone expected me to deliver before my due date hopefully 37/38 weeks but I guess my baby had other plans 😂
At the end of 40 weeks, there was no sign of labor I had to run another scan to check my pelvic just to be sure I could deliver through VB (vagina birth) and the scan confirmed I could although I was advised to induce seeing the baby’s weight was increasing.
The next day at 40weeks +2 days I made an appointment for induction at 10 pm on the 12th of July... I have heard stories of how painful contractions can be when induced but I didn't care all I wanted was to meet my son and be free of all the pains. I was so excited, already had my things ready so I arrived at the hospital by 7 pm 😂😂excited much... yes I was
I checked into my room, ate, had a shower again, and decided to nap a little to gather strength to push.
At 9.30 a sharp pain woke me up... I thought it could just be my usual cramps but it didn’t stop I alerted my mum and she confirmed I was in labor, called my doctor and he confirmed there was no need for induction the baby was on his way.
I got up, moved a lot, used the stairs trying to get the contractions going faster, it got longer and painful, a good sign that baby was closer... I was checked and 6cm already at 2 am. That was good I needed to get to 10cm To deliver my baby I was almost there...
6 Am my doctor checked again and I was still 6cm .. that felt impossible I had increased pain and longer timing that felt impossible so after all, I was induced to quicken the labor
9 Am I was checked again still 6cm... 3 hours later that hurts so bad..the doctor consulted a gynecologist who came in to check and it was confirmed I had an obstruction so an emergency C section as required
At this point, I just wanted the baby out safely. In no time I was in the theater and the baby was out at 10:15 am on the 13th of July 2021 with a weight of 3.9kg😂
My story didn't end there when my doctor was about to close he noticed something on my left and right ovaries...
OVARIAN CYST
A solid or fluid-filled sac or pocket (cyst) within or on the surface of an ovary.
With this I hear it is almost impossible to get pregnant, I was lucky and glad it didn't affect me or my child all through the pregnancy. I am grateful the doctor caught it before I was closed and safely removed the sac.
It was an eventful day and quite a journey, I am grateful I had my family to care for me while I healed.
The other day I was asked when I would be expecting the next child, the question hurt me so bad because no one understands what you went through, all they see is the result so they don't even care what happens next they just want more and more from you.
I have decided to take my time to love this child and give him the best, give myself a big break for my body to heal before another child...I love to have more but it has to be one step at a time
Thank you for reading I hope my story didn't scare any aspiring mothers, every pregnancy journey is different. No two pregnancies are the same.
This is just my story.