Meeting
billy
My partner arrived, and my gosh, I was so relieved to see him. I moved freely around the room, changing positions and breathing through the contractions. By this stage, I had no breaks between them. The pain was getting more intense, my amazing partner patting me down with a cool towel, reminding me to stay relaxed. An hour and a half had gone by. I remember I had these three contractions that I felt deeply, and they hurt more than the others. At that moment, I thought, 'I'm going to need pain relief, but then the midwife said to me, "it's time to push" unfortunately, babies heart rate plummeted due to the cord being wrapped around his neck, and the midwife told me I had to get him out quickly, again I was devastated I couldn't breathe my baby out slowly like I wanted, but I knew it was serious so I pushed as hard as I could, I heard them fumbling around, and I thought are they are getting the forceps ready, I yelled "don't you dare cut me" I wanted to tear naturally. I heard them put everything down. I pushed even harder, three mighty pushes, and he was out at 3:30 am. I couldn't believe it. I had just given birth in less than 2 hours.
Despite his small size (weighing 2.3kgs), he was breathing well. I was thrilled, thinking I was going to get my skin to skin, first feed and be able to take him home. Unfortunately, our Billy was born with an imperforate anus. This is a condition not many people know about, but it affects 1 in 5000 babies but in Billy's case, it was genetic, making it even more rare! He was taken straight to NICU. The doctor came and checked me over. I sustained two 2nd degree tears, but After the doctor stitched me up, I got up and showered and went to see my little man in the NICU. Although I didn't have the intervention-free birth I had intended on, I still managed to have a positive induction and medication-free labour. Billy had surgery on day two and spent 2 weeks in the NICU before coming home. My partner; Billy's dad, was born with an imperforate anus. We were told during my pregnancy that it was extremely rare for Billy to be born with the same condition and not to worry about it. It has been a hard and painful journey for Billy, but we are seeing improvements every day, and my partner and myself are adapting to life with a baby with IA, thanks to the wonderful support around us.
Birth & newborn course
$350
The Bump, Birth & Beyond course will educate you and your co-pilot (support person) on what to expect during pregnancy, birth and the first trimester with your new little love.