I gave birth to fraternal twins on January 3, 2002, at roughly 9.30pm after my waters had broken in the morning. I was three weeks early.
I was to be induced at 11am but was put off till 1pm due to an emergency delivery. I was started on the drip to induce contractions. Within five minutes contractions were coming at one minute apart. They managed to slow them down.
I had been told from the start that I would be having an epidural as it was the best way to help keep the boys from getting stressed. It's very hard signing a consent form during a contraction! The anaesthetist asked how much I weighed. I'd gained close to 32 kilos. I had to take a guess due to my waters having broken.
The epidural worked very quickly and I was glad for the pain relief. It turned out he'd dosed me very well. I was numb from my shoulders down to my feet. He said it was all good as I had enough should I need an emergency c-section.
All was going well until I was about 6cm dilated and my epidural had worn off to just above my pelvis, this leaving me with a catheter in and no pain relief.
My pain threshold hit well over 10 within a few minutes. I was reduced to tears. The midwife was so distressed at my pain she immediately removed the catheter. The relief was instant. I have never been so grateful as I was at that moment.
All proceeded well until about 8cm dilated when the resident doctor checked me and said it was time to push. My midwife queried why was I not to wait till I got closer to 10cm. All he said was it was fine and time to start pushing.
She looked at me and at the other midwives, shook her head and said "Okay, let's start". This was about 6pm. By the time my obstetrician had arrived it was 9pm. I was falling asleep during the contractions and the boys were getting stressed.
My first born was helped along with the suction cap and some gentle persuasion. He arrived weighing five pound eight ounces and 48.5 cm long. At this stage my second twin, who then had some room to move, swung into breech position. It was either pull him or have an emergency c-section. My obstetrician chose to go in and help my second born. I could feel the pressure of my son being turned and pulled down the birth canal. He was born weighing five pound six ounces and measuring 48cm.
Would I change my experience? No. It's a reminder of just how wonderful my life became that day.
Michelle
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