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Isla’s Birth Story, pt. 3

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This is a continuation of Isla’s birth story. You will probably also want to read parts one and two if you’ve missed them.

I was still hoping to labor as naturally as I could going forward (no pitocin–hooray!), so my initial thoughts were that once I got cleaned up and was able to start moving, things would become more manageable. Instead, once they finally let me up, my contractions went from bad to worse. I was having intense back labor, and it was so bad when I couldn’t relax my entire body that I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, could barely even think until they passed. As long as I was laying down, I could breathe through them, do my Hypnobabies and be just fine. Having a contraction sitting up, standing, or walking was beyond excruciating, though. I forgot I even had a light switch, much less that I could turn it off. I think the fact that I was exhausted from a night of no sleep and pain made it a lot harder for me to get a grip on myself when I wasn’t able to be totally still.

I quickly realized I wasn’t going to be able to walk around. The only way I was going to be able to cope with the contractions was in bed, and I was worried that my lack of movement, accompanied by my exhaustion and tension, were going to cause me to labor for a very long time. So I asked for the epidural. My hope was that I would be able to relax some, get some sleep, and hopefully progress my labor along and be a more active participant later on. The epidural was completely painless, other than the contraction in the middle of it, and as soon as it was over, I passed out.

I woke up an hour later when the nurse rushed in and said I needed to move onto my side and start taking oxygen. The baby had had a major decel. I looked up at the monitor as they got me rolled into the right position, and her heartrate had completely fallen off of the display. The doctor happened to be monitoring me at that moment and came in a few seconds behind her. Apparently baby’s heartrate had been not good all along (just as it had for most of the night) and this decel was a sign that something was very wrong. They thought the cord might be prolapsed or that she might be tangled in it. The doctor said, “We need to do a c-section,” and after seeing the monitor, I couldn’t agree more.

Before I knew it, they had me prepped and in the OR. They brought Kellen in and at some point, I asked when they were going to start. They said they’d already started. Shortly after that, I heard a cry, and Kellen bent down and kissed me, told me he loved me. I asked, “Is that her?” and it was.

My baby is here!

Then he got to go hold her, and I started having problems–actual psychosomatic problems. The drugs had made my hands go really numb and weak, do they’d strapped one of my arms down. Between that, the cloth divider thing actually going up over my head and the oxygen mask, I was feeling extremely claustrophobic. I basically just sort of panicked, so they gave me some sort of anxiety medication. I got to see Isla from a distance for about a second before I passed out.

When I woke up, I was being wheeled back into my room, and Kellen was sitting in a chair with Isla wrapped up in his jacket. Once they had me set up, he handed her to me. We got to do skin to skin, and when we tried to breastfeed, she latched right on like a pro. She was such a funny critter, with these huge eyes that were drinking in everything. She looked so much like Kellen, it was almost uncanny. She was in every single way perfect.

We ended up spending the next 3 days in the hospital while I recovered from the c-section. Not fun, btw, and certainly not my preference. However, we found out after the fact that the reason why Isla wasn’t tolerating labor–and the reason why labor hadn’t started on its own–was because Isla was sunny side up (something I’d been told at my 38-week appointment but hadn’t really thought more about since most babies do turn on their own.) Her head couldn’t get low enough to cause my cervix to dilate, and when the contractions were started artificially, they were basically crushing her head down into my pelvis. She couldn’t come out on her own. While I guess I could have waited another week instead of being induced at 41 weeks to see if she would turn, my feeling is that she probably wasn’t going to. The L&D nurse also told me that my placenta had already started degrading, and it was a good thing we hadn’t waited. So in all, I’m okay with the fact that I had a c-section. I feel like it’s probably the only way she would have come out regardless, and since it resulted in my gorgeous, healthy, happy baby, I really could give a flip about the means.

In the last week, she’s already changed so much that I’ve started to mourn the fact that she’ll only be brand new for a little while. I never thought I’d say that I’d enjoy my baby being a newborn, but I love her being so small and so sweet. Everything about her is absolutely fascinating to me. My favorite thing to do is snuggle up with her and just watch her. I keep trying to burn memories of each funny face, weird mannerism and adorable feature into my brain, but I’m afraid the sleep deprivation and oxycodone will probably ensure that 90% of it, I’ve forgotten by her first birthday. Thank god for cameras. And c-sections. And perfect babies.

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Comments

  2. Hi Katie,
    I read your story here and on another site in one of your comments and I am very sorry to hear how they treated you. Having A C Section is nerve racking enough but to strap you down to the OR table is horrific. If the medical staff knew you had claustrophobia they should never have treated you that way. This is not done at all in the UK where I am from. I don’t understand how hospitals over in the US can treat people in such a way and get away with it. I think what you have undergone is disgraceful and those doctors and nurses involved should be instantly dismissed and have their credentials taken away.

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    • Unfortunately, this seems to still be standard practice in many places here in the US. I agree, though, that it’s pretty appalling and should not be done. My perspective on my birth have shifted a lot since I wrote this birth story. I requested my medical records about a year after my daughter was born, because I was having a very hard time reconciling my actual experience with the official story, which I mostly stuck to with this birth story.

      I was disturbed to find things like my OB saying she performed an exam on me (never happened–I went a full 12 hours while on pitocin without a single doctor ever stepping into my room) before upping my pitocin dose beyond the level which she’d told me was even permissible in the hospital and which no one ever discussed with me. My nurse continually told me I wasn’t experiencing any contractions, but then was recording that I was having contractions between 1-4 minutes long for several hours. Based on my records, I was clearly exhibiting signs of uterine hyperstimulation. I was having 3+ minute long contractions and my daughter was in distress. Despite the fact that this was an indication to stop induction meds, and despite the fact that I requested repeatedly to stop them, the nurse refused to stop them or even discuss it with the doctor, and while I don’t have proof, I feel reasonably certain at this point it was on doctor’s orders and was an effort to force either a fast labor or a c-section…either way, clear the bed quickly. I no longer believe my daughter’s c-section was needed because something went wrong with me, but rather, she crashed because she spent 12 hours being medicated into distress. I filed a grievance with the hospital, and I hope their policies/procedures have changed, but I doubt it.

      If I do have another baby, it will be with a different practice and hospital with very different policies and procedures around labor and birth.

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      • Hi Katie,
        it is hard to believe that in America that they still do this as standard practice.(Strap the arms down I mean.)
        If you are booking another hospital birth you should ask the new hospital to make sure that they do do this there. Because if they do, it’s best not to go there.

        Have you thought about having a homebirth? That would be better as then you would be in your own home with just one or 2 midwives and you will be able to do what you want and have a natural birth.

        Also the care at home is better as it is more one to one with just you and the midwife, unlike in hospital where there may be 3 or 4 other people in labor at the same time.

        I am not sure what the system is over there in the US, if you have to go to the hospital that is in your area near to where you live or you can go to any hospital you want.
        Here in England, the UK there tends to be one NHS hospital that covers the area where you live, so you don’t really get to choose your hospital,.
        But none of the hospitals here in the UK strap your arms down if you have a C Section. They are not allowed to do that here in England. Over here they just lay your arms out on your chest(no armboard) but both arms are free not strapped. Even when in rare occasion when they do use the armboards for IV’s they still never strap the arm to it, just lay your arm out but you can still move the arms.
        Also homebirth is supported here in the UK if you want to have your baby at home. And even in UK hospital, the births tend to be more natural than what I have seen in the US hospital.
        So it is different in the UK.

        But from what you told me it sounds like both your induction and C Section were unnecessary. And I am sure if the hospital had waited a bit longer you would have gone into labor naturally.
        Good luck with this pregnancy.
        Betty.

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  3. Also another thing I forgot to say is that if the hospital staff knew you had claustrophobia, they should never have stabbed you to that table. That is actually harmful to mental health. And also I don’t understand why they still did it without your consent,even though you told then”No” . In the UK even if you sign a consent form for treatment including surgery, they still cannot carry out any procdure if you refuse it. Maybe it’s different in the US .

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    • I completely agree. I wish they hadn’t, and I think they were wrong. I don’t recommend the hospital to anyone I know delivering in the Portland area and filed a complaint with the hospital.

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  4. It is also standard practice at my hospital in New York when I had my emergency C Section but they did not strap my arms because I told them I did not want it so the nurse said “fine we cannot force you to have it.” I was told it was in case your arms slip off the arm boards but I did not want it done because enough of the birth experience had been taken away from me as it was and being strapped down would have made me more scarred than I already was . My arm did slip off the board a few times but I was glad my arms were free so I could hold my DH s hand. The nurse held my other hand which also helped. Much better than having your arms tied! I never got to have skin to skin as my baby boy had to go to the NICU . But I found the experience not as bad as I expected it to be even though I never got the natural birth I wanted. It does seem strange that they did it even though you told them not to. In NY state they cannot make you have anything you don’t want as long as you tell them you don’t want it. Maybe it’s different where you are. I think it depends which State you are in as some states have different laws.

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    • I was told it was standard, and it was done for my safety. I’ve since learned it’s completely unnecessary, and they shouldn’t have done it, but I don’t think it’s against the law. At the time, though, it’s not like I could say, “Hold up, let me google this,” before they did it. It’s definitely something I hope they don’t do anymore, and something I will not let a doctor do in the event I have another c-section.

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      • But what I don’t understand is that you told them not to strap your arms and yet they held you down and did it anyway. Surly that is assault or battery since you said NO?
        At least it would be here in the UK. But then they don’t strap arms during C Sections or surgery over here. This has never been a practice in the UK.
        So I still cannot understand why they do this (strap the arms) in the USA. Even if it is standard practice you said NO. And NO means NO so surly that is assault?

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        • Want to add I don’t understand why or how hospitals over there in the USA can do this and get away with it. I read this very disturbing story on another block from another American mom who had a C Section in America here
          http://beckybeanwrites.com/2010/07/dragonmonkeys-birth-story-part-2.html

          And she said she panicked when they strapped her arms. And broke free of the restraints, and tried to sit up in panic due to being restrained but instead of talking to her and calming her down the OR nurses held her down and strapped her arms down again by force and without her consent.
          I cannot understand why she has not seen a lawyer taken legal action against that hospital.
          Surly what happened to her was illegal?

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          • I am also in the US and I find this story quite horrifying. I had 2 C Section in different hospitals in California and my arms were free both times. There was never any mention of strapping my arms down and I have friends who have had C Section in different parts of the county and they have never been strapped down. So I don’t know why that happened to you. If I was you I would consider talking to a lawyer and taking legal action as it sounds like that hospital has treated you unlawfully. I would sue for assault and battery if they did that to me.

          • I assure you, this is fairly common practice and many women, in many states have experienced it. While it is horrifying and I wish the practice were banned, it is definitely legal.

  5. I am from the UK where thankfully this does not happen as it has never been done over here. But from what I have read on many American sites there are many cases in America like this, where women who have had C Sections have had their arms strapped down and in many cases this was done without the mom’s consent, even after they protected or clearly stated they did not want this. As you read in that blog post from another American mom, in the last link I posted.
    http://beckybeanwrites.com/2010/07/dragonmonkeys-birth-story-part-2.html
    That poor woman panicked and broke free of the restraints. Yet instead of the the nurses comforting her, they strapped her arms down again with double straps. I find that horrific.
    They should never have strapped her down in the first place which was why she panicked. Those nurses could have just held her hand and talked to her or even offered her a general anesthetic if the mom was that scarred instead of strapping her down. I don’t understand why those nurses were not charged with assault since that mom was not a danger to anyone or herself so she should not have been restrained like that.She was just an ordinary mom who consented to a C Section.So surly she had the same right to refuse to have her arms tied down? Since she consented to the C Section in the first place?

    In the UK this does not happen. No women in the UK who has a C Section is ever strapped down this is not done in any UK hospital. Even if a mom does panic they would never strap her down. They might have advised her to have a General Anesthetic but no UK hospital would have done what that hospital did. No way. I am very shocked to find out that this barbaric practice is so widespread over there in the USA. I have emailed some USA childbirth groups about this but it seems that they cannot do anything about it. Very sad.

    I

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  6. I know that some hospitals in other States do it but it’s not completely universal. Even the ones that still do this will let you keep your arms free if you tell them. It depends on state law and what State you live in.

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    • I requested to keep my arms free. They let me “try” going with arms unrestrained, but said because my hand floated up off the board (I was so heavily medicated I couldn’t really feel my body), they had to restrain me.

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      • But that’s still no excuse for what they did to you. That would not have happened in any hospital in the UK. In the UK they would never have strapped your arms down no matter how shaky you was.In the UK if someone is very frigidity they would offer a GA but they never ties anyone down, no matter what.
        They could have just got a nurse to stay with you and hold your hand instead of doing what they did.

        Reply

          • What I still don’t understand is that from reading the other posts on the web from other USA sites many American women and even their partners/husbands have complained about this barbaric practice yet it still continues both in America and Canada and worse still many of the less developed counties such as Latin America and The Middle East are copying this practice. So a lot of other counties seem to do it except for here in the UK where this has never been done.The UK seems to be about the only county where this does not happen

            One of my close friends had her baby by emergency C Section due to problems in labor last year in the UK and despite it being C Section she found it a very happy experience and she certainly was not strapped down her arms were free throughout the birth and she held the baby in the OR. She said the OR midwives even brought her cups of tea afterwards!

            I know in the US they also strap the rest of you down like the legs and waist but my friends said that no part of her was strapped down. In the UK they don’t do that either they just lay you out but no part of you is tied down.
            So I do’t know why the USA is so far behind with everything, I mean thousands of women have C Sections here in the UK but none of them get their arms strapped down, it does not happen here.

            Also here in the UK they cannot force you to have anything done without your consent. Yet in the USA this seems not to be the case, I don’t know why.
            Sure I get that America is another county with a different culture but even so, if the woman says no she does not want to be strapped down or refuses any other procure that is her right to say no.And she should not be forced to have it. That is assault or would be here in the UK.
            One American mom has recently won the right to sue the hospital in California America, for assault and battery when her OB gave her an episiotomy without her consent,
            http://improvingbirth.org/2015/06/preview-woman-charges-ob-with-assault-battery-for-forced-episiotomy
            I read her story and if a woman is strapped down to an OR table without her consent that IS assault and Battery and I don’t understand why action has not been taken against hospital who have done this to women.

          • I think it is a very cruel think to do to strap down someone, especially a pregnant woman.
            I read this heartbreaking story on this forum Community Babycenter an American site from one poster Sassy Primate, a mom from Florida, America, who was forcibly tied to the OR table and they strapped her arms down even though she clearly told then NO she did not want this
            See post from mom Sassy Primate: last post on that page:
            http://community.babycenter.com/post/a57275854

            Poster, Sassy Primate-Babycentre Forums:
            “And I’m not one to fill people’s heads up wi th “horror stories”, but this was my experience. I usually leave this part out because it’s crappy, but you specifically asked about arm restraints.

            My arms were strapped down without me being told they would be. I hated it. I cried. I fought the straps because I felt like I was being literally held down and sliced open (I never wanted my c/s in the first place) but because of my pulling against them they insisted that I was combative and they kept me restrained. They also shoved a stupid oxygen line in my nose because I “needed to calm down”. That just agitated me more because it both pinched and tickled at the same time.

            I would have calmed down if they’d have untied me, but they instead kept me restrained and told me to “stop asking” as silent tears ran down my face and into my ears. I couldn’t even wipe them away because NO HAND MOVEMENT. ”
            Point is she said NO but the Hospital Staff ignored her refusal and strapped her arms down against her will without her consent and refused to unstrap her. If that’s not abuse as well as assault I don’t know what is and I don’t understand how hospitals there in America are being allowed to get away with this. I even emailed ICANN and some other USA childbirth group about this horrible practice but it seems they either won’t do anything about it to stop it or maybe they cannot.
            Here in the UK we have a NHS service which is free healthcare yet nobody is treated in such a way as this is not done here. And even if you go private here in the UK you are treated with utmost respect.

            Yet in America I hear most hospitals are private since there is no government hospital or free healthcare in the USA but even though you are paying to go to hospital they still abuse people as such in the way as the above post I showed you.If I had been in the USA and that happened to me I would refuse to pay the hospital bill and sue that hospital for assault and false imprisonment. It makes me so angry

          • Because we don’t have a nationalized healthcare services where doctors, nurses, and hospitals more or less follow the same protocols across the board, in the US, every hospital and every practitioner has their own set of protocols. Not all hospitals allow this. Some do. And as with most of our healthcare services, the details are not advertised beforehand. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into before you’re there, even when you ask questions, not that “will I be strapped down?” was one that ever crossed my mind to ask because it seemed so outrageous.

            You can refuse to pay the hospital bill and/or file a lawsuit, but refusing to pay your bills would certainly damage your credit and filing a lawsuit of that nature can be a long, expensive process. Personally, I don’t think individual protest to this practice will be very effective to stop the practice. An awareness campaign + collective action would be far more effective. You can already see how awareness campaigns and a collective approach are promoting change in many hospitals. I know since 2012, many hospitals have abandoned this old practice in favor of “family-friendly” c-sections, where mothers are allowed to hold and nurse their babies while the doctor stitches them up and straps are most definitely never employed. So change is happening, albeit slowly and one hospital/doctor at a time. Honestly, I think putting it on individuals who’ve been through a traumatic experience to raise the standard and march alone to war against numerous disparate, wealthy, powerful hospitals is not very helpful, though. In the wake of my c-section, I just wanted to forget about what had happened and move on, and frankly didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, because I was trying to adjust to motherhood and take care of my newborn.

  7. I had a C Section in 2011( in the US) and my arms were not restrained at all. It does seem odd that they did this several of my friends have had C Sections some EMC and this did not happen to them. Maybe it just that hospital.
    Dawn.

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  8. @ Emily
    You are very lucky that your hospital where you live does not strap or restrain the arms. But based on the many stories I have read on the Internet it seems that it is standard practice still in many hospitals in the USA. And apparently I found out it is also routine in other surgeries under local anesthetic. So you have to be very careful and check the hospital you are going to out first before booking your care there.
    I am fortunate to live in the UK(I am British) where this does not happen. As it is illegal to restrain anyone in that way over here so they don’t do it.

    One think I still don’t understand is that over there in the US if you consent to A C Section then why is it you cannot also refuse to have your arms restrained if you consented to the section in the first place?

    As in the UK if you consent to surgery you can still refuse all or part of any procedure and they cannot force you to have it. But over there in the US it seems not to be the case.
    Could it be that once you have consented to a C Section you may have unknowingly consented to having your arms restrained without knowing it? I know US law is very different from UK law.

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  9. Maybe you should have your next baby here in the UK instead of there.
    I feel very sorry for women living in the US as the hospitals there don’t seem to care very much about people.
    What’s even more alarming is that I read some posts on other forms from women in the USA who had mental health problems yet the hospital strapped their arms down anyway.

    If it was in a third world country then I would understand but you would think that a modern country like America would know better.

    The US government could stop this barbaric practice if they want to but instead they choose to ignore it. That’s not right.
    I did email some American childbirth groups I CAN but it seems they cannot do anything to stop this happening in the US.
    Something ought to be done to stop US hospitals doing this.
    Betty.

    Reply

    • Well, yes, if I could afford to simply take a long vacation in the UK for my lying in, that sounds like a wonderful idea.

      Reply

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