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mybumpbirthandbeyond · 5 years

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The Big Day!!! (Part 1)

Here it is, my blog post on the big day itself, and what for me, turned out to be my baby’s due date! I’ve had to put this in two parts as I want to cover everything, but most importantly, want to be quite detailed to hopefully help those who may or may not know what to expect. The fear of the unknown was definitely real for me, so hopefully this will help some women in the same position. 😊

Less than 5% of women actually give birth on their due date but I was one of the lucky few. Busting the due date myth is the topic for one of the Positive Birth Company’s videos, but what I was conscious of was not being too hung up on the due date in case I was disappointed. 85+% of people had already guessed wrongly that I would go early due to the sheer size of me and how low the bump was. I have to admit I also thought I would go early, but there you go! 🤷🏽‍♀️

My last midwife appointment had been two weeks’ prior at my GP. Unbelievably, at that point I was booked in for my post date appointment and for two days after my due date!!! 😱🤯 This is when if you go beyond your due date, they book you in at the hospital so you can discuss your options such as induction, sweep, pessary etc to start labour. My midwife advised me that two months prior, it was the policy to book this appointment for the week following your due date, but that it had been changed to the week OF your due date. I was pretty gobsmacked but knew that if it came to it, I would be using my BRAIN and not accepting any unnecessary measures.

In those weeks leading up to my due date of the 7th of April, we started thinking ahead of what we could and couldn’t do, how far from home we could be and how much alcohol my mum and husband could drink on a day off in case we needed to get to the hospital!!! 😂🙈(Both were my birth partners). My hospital bag and baby bag had been packed since the start of March. My annual leave had already started as I had to take accrued holiday before going off on maternity. I worked right up until the 28th March, just 1 week and 3 days before my due date!! I’m quite lucky that I am home based and can do work online so that’s why I worked for so long. I’m not going to lie it became very tiring and uncomfortable even just sitting at a desk! However, it allowed me the maximum time for after the baby was born which was more important to me. Because my due date fell on a weekend, I could officially start maternity leave on the following Monday.

I didn’t really have Braxton Hicks contractions at all so had no idea of when it was happening. On the Saturday the 6th, my husband was off on rest days and went to play rugby. He told me he would leave his phone with the coaches in case anything happened. I was still walking the dogs, (albeit a bit slower by then) and I did get the nesting instinct which I had had since being off work. That night, as with practically every night of my pregnancy, I had a bath. It really helped to ease the ache of carrying a massive bump and helped me relax.

People talk about the crazy things they do to get ready for when they’re in labour - fake tan, make up, get their nails done etc. I really wasn’t bothered by that but I did think to myself, ‘in case I go tomorrow or any time soon, I'll need to shave my legs!’. 🤣🙈 I washed my hair that night as well. I did my perineal massage as I had been doing since week 36 and went to bed. What I found strange, was my husband said “I think you’ve dropped even more.” I had been feeling the bump low for months but the fact that he remarked on it the night before I gave birth, I guess was the only indication that anything was about to happen.

We had nothing planned on the Sunday and thank god! 6:30am I woke up feeling very uncomfortable. This wasn’t unusual given I was so big and rarely got a good night’s sleep between being up for the toilet three times at least and generally finding it very difficult to get comfortable! My husband was still asleep so I moved into the guest bedroom with my massive maternity pillow so I could try get into a comfortable position without disturbing him. I managed to fall asleep for what felt like no time, when I started feeling period like cramps. Sleep at that point was not going to happen so I got up and went to get breakfast. I fed my two dogs and had cereal in the living room watching TV. I was definitely have contractions and even my dogs were watching me very closely, as if they knew what was happening! My birth ball was pumped in the living room and bouncing on it lightly was how I felt most comfortable.

Most people say why didn’t you wake your husband at this point? My answer is, I thought that if this was it, we don’t know how long it will be or what will happen so one of us needs to sleep as much as possible! At 9:30am, my husband came downstairs and gave me a funny look when he saw me on the ball. “You alright?” ‘Yeah I think it’s starting.’ “Oh, okay.” The most calm reaction ever!! I don’t know if he was panicking on the inside but he seemed unfazed on the outside, that’s for sure! He later told me that I seemed so relaxed that he didn't know if it really was it or not! We were going to walk the dogs and do the shop but understandably I asked him to do it - my main concern was getting food in the house in case people would be coming and we had nothing.

While he was out (I think that was the quickest dog walk and shop he had ever done!), my contractions were definitely more regular and more and more uncomfortable, so I ran a bath and took some paracetamol. As always, the bath was my happy place and helped massively. 🛁 I got into the comfiest clothes after (Alex’s rugby t shirt and joggers) and put the last things into the hospital bag that I couldn’t put in earlier (toothbrush etc). I still hadn’t phoned the hospital at this point and my waters hadn’t gone, nor had my ‘show’, or mucus plug. I think this is important to point out, as the antenatal classes often teach you that both are signs of labour starting. This will not always happen!!! Neither came away before my labour started and didn’t for a good while into my labour.

An absolute godsend was the Freya app, the app I mentioned in the previous post. A product of the Positive Birth Company, the app has Siobhan Miller’s voice to talk you through relaxation, and then when you feel a contraction or surge, you press the button and her voice will talk you through the up breathing technique. When your surge has passed, you press the button again and the app will record each of your surges so that it can tell you when you’re in established labour. The app tells you that you're looking for 3 surges in the space of 10 minutes, each lasting approximately 60 seconds or more. I didn’t want to call the hospital until such times as I knew I was in established labour. I tried to eat lunch but that tasted like carpet and I was struggling a bit at that point. I stuck to my Lucozade Sport and when the Freya app told me I was in established labour, I decided to reset it because I wasn't convinced. You can reset the history so it starts from scratch. I actually did this 4 times!!! 🤣🙈After the first time I reset it, I told my husband and he asked me to reset it two further times to be absolutely certain. Thankfully each time it was the same and I called the hospital. I explained I thought I was in established labour. I was slightly concerned that the midwife on the phone wanted to consult her colleague but now I realise she was less experienced and second guessed herself quite a bit but was ultimately brilliant at her job and she needn’t have. What she didn't realise was, while she was consulting her colleague, I was doing my best to breathe through a contraction on the phone! 🙊She eventually advised me to come in and they could see what stage I was at. I advised her at this point that I wanted a water birth if the pool was free. She said she couldn’t guarantee it, but she would make a note and when the time came we could see if it was available.

The hospital is 20 minutes from our house so we got everything together and phoned my mum on the way to tell her. We agreed we would let her know once I was told I was being kept in so she didn’t come all the way for nothing. Thankfully we had taken a drive to the hospital so we knew where to go, and the previous week my mum and I had driven together so she also knew where to go!! One thing I will say (and my friends will laugh at this), the roundabouts in labour were hellish!!! 😱🙈And on our route to the hospital there are a good 5/6 in a row 😖 I think this was the only time I shouted at my husband throughout my whole labour!!

The maternity unit is uphill from the car park - not the best either when you’re in labour! 🙄 I got to the door and buzzed the delivery unit. I was lucky to be low risk so I was sent to the Midwife-led Unit. The day after I gave birth I heard a woman had arrived at the desk practically ready to give birth there and then. I joked to my midwife the hill isn’t the best. I asked if the lady was having her second child but it turned out it was her third! Not only did she have the hill to negotiate when she was ready to give birth any minute, she went to the wrong place and ended up taking the stairs and not the lift!!! It must have been torture!! 😱😣😳

An interesting thing I learned about where you give birth: you can actually look up the birth centre or hospital on Which? Birth Choice and find out the statistics associated with that place. It will tell you the percentage chance of medical intervention, c-section, facilities available, pain relief, eligibility etc. As always, being armed with as much information as possible definitely helped me, so worth checking.

I checked in with two midwives at the desk. One was the lady I had spoken to on the phone. While at the desk I was actually have contractions so had to stop mid-sentence and breathe through it. I apologised but the midwives told me not to apologise and I was doing great. That was the first sign of how amazing the midwives were!

In the second part I'll write about the rest of my labour and the birth of my gorgeous boy ��👶🏼🥰

#newblog #newmum #firsttimemum #pregnancy #labour #birth #mybumpbirthandbeyond

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edmondmoller · 6 years

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Lochia or Postpartum Bleeding (aka the Longest Period of Your Life)

New Post has been published on https://womanshealthwithmegan.com/lochia-or-postpartum-bleeding-aka-the-longest-period-of-your-life

Lochia or Postpartum Bleeding (aka the Longest Period of Your Life)

Mothers enter what has been referred to endearingly as “The Fourth Trimester,” a magical time when baby and mama continue almost as one. Baby sleeps and feeds; mama rests and recovers. But you know what isn’t as magical? Having the longest period of your life! This bloody flow is called lochia, which comes from the Greek word lokheíos, meaning “of childbirth.”

What Is Lochia?

Lochia is a combination of blood, placental tissue, mucus, cells, and bacteria coming from the wound that occurred when your placenta tore away from your uterine wall.

Why Does Lochia Happen?

Lochia is part of your postpartum healing process, whether you give birth vaginally or by cesarean section.

During pregnancy, your uterus expands, thickens, and softens to house 500x more than its usual capacity.

It basically goes from a cupboard to a luxury condo; and that’s a lot of building material! Your body also grows an entirely new organ: the placenta.

After all this miraculous growth, the luxury-condo-uterus needs to shed a few pounds and get back into cupboard-shape. Following birth, contractions push out the placenta, shrink the wound where the placenta grew, and begin the process of shedding the extra “padding.”

The uterus returns to its usual size and weight in about six to eight weeks. Congrats, uterus, you fit-tastic female organ! Those six weeks, however, require care and patience as you experience period-like discharge.

What Should I Expect?

Since the lochia stages vary woman to woman, the most important thing to remember is that lochia should taper off in volume and brightness. Volume should go from heavy to light to spotting. Color should go from red with some clots to pink/brown to yellowish white. This process can take anywhere between 4-8 weeks.

(FYI, moms who gave birth to twins or triplets will generally have longer and heavier lochia periods.)

How Long Do You Bleed After You Have a Baby?

You’ll go through three normal stages of lochia:

Stage 1: Lochia rubra — First 2-4 days after delivery

Significant cramping as your uterus starts to shrink in size; this is especially true if you breastfeed since nursing releases oxytocin, the love hormone that also helps to contract the uterus. Blood will be bright red in color and similar to a very heavy menstrual flow. You may also see blood clots, mucus, and tissue in the discharge of your vagina. (Contact your provider if you see blood clots bigger than a golf ball or you soak through a large menstrual pad every hour.)

Stage 2: Lochia serosa — Starts about day 4 and lasts a week or two

Blood flow is less. Discharge lightens from pinkish-brown to yellow for about a week. The discharge will be red blood cells from the placental wound and white blood cells that is mucus from the cervix.

Stage 3: Lochia alba — From about weeks 4-6 after giving birth

Discharge is light yellow or yellowish-white in color, with the bleeding virtually gone. It should smell like regular menstrual blood. No clots. The uterus has dried up, and the discharge is mostly white blood cells and cells from the uterus lining.

When Do I Need Medical Attention? Head to your doctor’s office or the emergency room if:

One pad has been soaked within one hour or less. This may be postpartum bleeding or part of the placenta may be stuck to your uterus. You’ve passed lots of clots. You’re passing clots in the lochia alba stage. Your bleeding has a foul smell instead of smelling like normal menstrual blood. You have a fever or chills above 100.4˚ F.

Any of the above indicates infection or the beginning of possible postpartum hemorrhaging.

Call your doctor or midwife if:

You don’t see any lochia for the first two weeks. Your lochia becomes red in the serosa or alba stages. You’re passing clots in the lochia serosa stage. One or more clots are sized as large as golf balls. You feel sharp pains low down in your stomach, which only become worse.

Rest if:

You see infrequent bright red spotting after lochia has already lightened.

What Causes Postpartum Hemorrhage?

Postpartum hemorrhage rarely occurs. You may be at special risk if you’ve birthed a large baby, carried multiples, or gone through induced labor—all of which can bloat your uterus to double its normal size.

Looks Like Postpartum Hemorrhaging. Now What?

Heavy bleeding is to be taken seriously. You may need a minor operation to contract your uterus or to remove the placenta. Treatments include the oxytocin drug called Pitocin, uterine massage to stimulate your uterus, a blood transfusion if there’s massive blood loss, and hysterectomy if there’s damage to your uterus.

What Can I Do to Reduce Lochia Bleeding?

You’re more in charge than you may think, since bleeding slows as the uterus contracts. You can rush that process by:

Have your caregiver or nurse to massage your uterus. Breastfeed, if you can. It produce oxytocin which contracts your uterus. Pee as often as you can. It helps your uterus contract. Don’t overdue activity—this can get in the way of healing. You can get a shot of Pitocin to help your uterus contract faster, but it isn’t necessary for most moms.

What Else Should I Know About Lochia?

For that same reason, take it slow. Try not to lift anything heavier than your baby, and delegate your tasks if you can. If you notice an uptick in bleeding, it could be because you pushed yourself too much that day. Kick your feet up and rest—your body is still healing.

Can You Take a Bath After Having a Baby?

Your placental area is raw and open during this time, so bacteria can easily infect your vagina. Keep away from tampons, sex, swimming in public pools, or inserting anything in your vagina, for at least six weeks after birth to prevent infection. You’ll want to give that area a chance to rest.

The Bottom Line About Lochia

Lochia is a pain—and a gift.

It will remind you that you just have gone through a tremendous and transformative process—from nurturing the life within for 9 months, to delivering your baby, to now breastfeeding and caring for your young one.

Lochia can also be very cleansing. It’s almost like your uterus is being scraped or scrubbed in some ways. You’ve had a baby plugged up there for almost a year. Now it’s gone, and your vagina’s going to purge its unwanted leftovers.

It’s time for you to rest. Let your visitors and family pamper you. You need all the rest and recovery you can get for the weeks and months that follow.

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