Leo’s birth story

This weekend Leo turns two and figured it is time I tell you how he was born. At least what I remember of it.

The year I got pregnant was difficult for me and Leo Sr. That year my father-in-law got sick just about the time I fell pregnant. My grandmother also died. The pregnancy itself was actually uneventful until towards the end.

A week after my grandmother died I became hypertensive but it was not bad enough for me to require medication or bed rest.I assumed that because I actually didn’t cry when she died, it was why my blood pressure was up. It was after this the doctor discovered I had preeclampsia. Everything else seemed ok so it seemed like I would be able to have a normal birth. I had to have tests done where they tie you to machines to see if you are having preterm contractions  more regularly. What I hated were the 24 hour urine tests, which gross me out to explain to you.

Two weeks before Leo was born, the doctor ordered one more 24 hour urine test. When I got to the doctor’s office he had not received the results back. These results would have determined if I needed to be induced or not. This was a day before Leo was born. On this day I had been having contractions and I assumed they were Braxton-Hicks contractions. The doctor could not do anything until he got the results the next day. I went home and called my mother. My mother is a midwife, so she told me to call the doctor to induce me right away. I could not call the doctor and tell him my mother told me to induce me. After we had dinner I felt better and Leo had promised to pick up a friend’s wife from the airport. I went to sleep but woke up in a jolt of pain and knew I had to go to the hospital. Leo was not back so I asked our neighbours to take me to the hospital. By the time Leo got to the hospital I was in much more pain.

The midwife I saw initially told me to go home and take some painkiller. I refused to go home because I was in so much pain. She then decided to hook me up to the machine that is when she saw that I was already in labour. By this time it was probably around 11 pm. I was in labour that whole night but I was not dilating any further. Much of what happened after this is blurry in my mind. I do remember that I got pain medication in the morning but still I was not progressing far enough. Some time in the afternoon, the doctor gave me induction medicine. Later in the day, Leo’s heartbeat slowed down. That is when the doctor told me he would have to give me a c-section. At this point all I wanted was for my son to be alive so I agreed without fuss. As the doctor was waiting to take me to the operating room, one of my nightmares true. I started getting seizures.

From about when I was ten I have been having seizures, they were really disruptive when I was in school. It got really bad between 15 and 17 but I have been having them less and less over the years. Actually I haven’t had a seizure since the day Leo was born. I have lived a largely normal life but was always scared that it would make me unable to have kids or be able to take care of them.

I have never been more terrified in my life than when I was sleeping on that bed. The doctor decided to put me under general anaesthetic so I can not tell you what happened after I was put in the OR. I think I saw him that night but I can not be sure. I was so groggy. When I woke up the next day, I have no idea what time it was, I wanted  to see and hold my son. I was so woozy that I really could not hold him. My blood pressure was so high that I was seeing triple. I was swollen all over. The day that I remember actually holding my son was two days after he was born. I asked to be discharged the next day.

Whenever I tell my family in Zimbabwe this story, they say I should be happy I was not in Zimbabwe when I gave birth. I know they will never understand this but it was not the hospital building that made the difference, it was the nurses and the doctors that looked after me that day. Most of the midwives at the hospital are Christian and a lot of them go to my church. Though I don’t remember who prayed for me when I know several of them prayed for me and with me. The day after I had Leo, one of them sat with me the whole day, feeding me ice cubes. For me God works in putting people who help me along the way.

I will say I was not prepared for what you deal with, with a c-section. The healing takes more time than a normal birth. I also had feelings of guilt about not having a normal birth. The best thing though is that with time you forget how hard it was at the time.

P.S. I would have loved to show you the pictures which my husband took, but I looked horrible and are difficult for me to see.