Eviana's Birth Story-Part II

Before I start Part II of this birth story, I need to explain that I found truth long after deception. When I was pregnant with Ireland, my medical records were give to my midwife. In it were notes written by Dr. Dunham and Opal during my pregnancy and delivery with Eviana. I'm going to include these "truths" in my story.

First, I have notes from the day I left off with last. Remember how I said I had headaches, abdominal pains, and complained about my swelling for MONTHS?! Well, read this and tell me what you think. "Trisha is a 20-year-old white female with an estimated due date of 2/8/2007, admitted to labor and delivery for elective induction of labor with increasing blood pressure in the office and an elevated uric acid of 7.0. In addition, she had 2-3+ pitting edema of the lower extremeties. She had no abdominal complaints, no headache, or visual change. Her cervix was 2-3cm dilated on admission. Discussion was carried out with the patient in the office, with regards to the fact that presentation such as this did not bode well for vaginal delivery, but she did wish to attempt a vaginal birth. The patient had been managed through her prenatal care and up until the elevation of her blood pressure, her only problem had been difficulty with labial varicosities."

That "discussion" NEVER happened. They had already planned on me having a C-Section ahead of time. And then, they go on to say I had no problems until that day?! I had been complaining for months!!! This really got me going when I read it, but lets continue with the story shall we? It gets better.
Mom and I arrived at the hospital and I was escorted to my room. They weighed me in at 236 lbs. I got changed into a sexy little number they call a hospital gown, was placed on monitors, given an I.V., and a pitocin drip was started. I wasn't allowed to eat, drink, or walk. Soon after I was given the pitocin, I started having contractions and then they decided to break my bag of water. I was handling labor really well and watching Pride & Prejudice with my mom and grandmother.

My nurse asked if I wanted an epidural, but I was doing fine and I said no. So, it was to my surprise when the anesthesiologist walked in ready to administer his gift. I asked him why he was there and that I didn't want an epidural. He told me I was on his list to be given the epidural. I had a few contractions while he was there, which didn't effect my talking at all, so I said, "Does it look like I need an epidural?"  He left to get the doctor and brought him back. Dr. Dunham said that he thought that I should get the epi. because it would help relax me and I would dilate faster (Epidurals may be relaxing, but they actually can stall labor). I told the doc I really didn't want one, but he guilted me into getting it (I was only 20 and hadn't done alot of research at that time, so it was hard for me to argue with him).

By this time, I had dilated to a 6 with no challenges. The epidural was administered and we waited.  I was uncomfortable because I had been sitting all day. My swelling started getting worse after the epi. and I had, what I call, flat butt syndrome. After a while, my cervix was checked again and I was told there was no progress. Now, in the doctors release notes, he stated I did not dilate further than a 6 and 50%; but in his personal notes the third time he checked me he stated that I had progressed to 6 1/2-7cm. I was never told this. He told me that because of my swelling and no progression that a C-Section was necessary. I fought this because I really wanted a vaginal delivery. Had I known I had progressed to a 7 I wouldn't have caved under the pressure. But the pressure was pretty heavy. He told me it would be an emergency C-Section and it was life or death for me and the baby. Therefore, naturally, I agreed to the procedure. It seemed strange though, for such an emergency, they weren't in a real hurry. It was about an hour and half before I was taken to the O.R. I found out later in his notes that Dr. Dunham wrote, "Non-emergency cesarean section performed. Procedure elected by patient." (I broke down crying when I read this.)

They rolled me back to the O.R. and I had been shaking almost convulsively for about 45 minutes before and during the c-section. I was upset later to find out that this was a good sign of transition (the last phase of active labor before pushing). This meant that before they even performed the operation, I was dilated to a possible 8-10 cm and could have delivered naturally. My mom was allowed to be with me in the operating room. When they started operating, I couldn't feel pain, but the pressure was intense. Only enough to make me crindge, but it was a strange feeling. After about 10 minutes, they had her out and she cried. That was the best sound I have ever heard. My mom and I both started crying and she ran over to take pictures. I couldn't believe it! The realization that there was something really living inside of me was surreal.

Eviana Reigh Mathes was born on January 30, 2007 at 6:44pm. She weighed 8lbs. 6 1/2oz. and was 20 in. long. She had brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was perfect and beautiful. I loved her instantly and haven't stopped since. I didn't get to see her for about 3 hrs after she was born. When I did I couldn't put her down and, as you can see in the picture, I fell asleep with her. My only problem was how much pain I was in. I was also dehydrated and probably consumed about 5-6 gallons of water the first night at the hospital. The morphine didn't work and the pain was excruciating. I even made my grandmother cry I was in so much pain. Every time I tried to get up or go to the bathroom I felt like I was voluntarily ripping open my stomach. I was finally released 3 days later after the doctor informed me I would have to have a c-section for any other pregnancies. I was exhausted as you can see from the next picture. I bled for almost 5 months. It was ridiculous! I breastfed Eviana for the first 6 weeks of her life, though I returned to work after 4 weeks. It was hard going back to work and leaving Eviana with my mom. I ended up working two jobs eventually to support us. I moved out of my parent's house and into an apartment when Eviana was almost a year old. I did it on my own with the help and support of my amazing family.

So the point of this story is that not everything is as it seems. The end result was the same, but the road to get there was far from ideal. I felt I was cheated out of what was suppose to be a beautiful event. Instead, it was a memory I wanted to forget. Eviana's birth experiance was stollen from me. I would advise every expectant mother and young woman to educate themselves in every way they can on pregnancy and birth. If I had known then what I know today, my experience would have been much different. Don't be afraid to take control of your pregnancy and birth! After all, it IS rightfully yours!