When we found out we were having twins, I knew there was a big possibility that I would have a c-section. Many twin mamas will elect to have one, others will end up in emergency c-section often due to the second twin being breech and others will be able to deliver naturally. I would have always loved to deliver naturally but I wanted my babies out safely and depending on the risk, I did not have a problem with having a c-section. The only thing that worried me was the recovery as I am no good at being immobile.
As many of you will know, one of my twin’s waters starting leaking at 23 weeks 4 days and it was the most terrifying thing I have endured. I am doing another post on PPROM as it is known (premature rupture of membranes) to discuss it more in-depth but at the time it happened we were given some pretty scary outcomes. Usually after your waters break you’ll go in to labour but for many, that leak can continue for weeks without anything happening. We managed to hold on. From that moment, I was in and out of hospital for several days at a time. When I wasn’t a patient, I was in for constant monitoring due to the high risk nature and if any of my symptoms changed I had to present to the hospital immediately. I was also on modified bed rest at home.
On Monday June 8th, I had some bleeding. Bleeding had always been associated with the leak so it was quite normal for me but I noticed this was slightly heavier and more volume. I presented to the hospital and was again admitted as a patient until things stabilised. Tuesday and Wednesday went by and things had calmed down so the doctors discussed discharging me home again on Thursday to continue with the pregnancy as I had been.
On Thursday, June 11th at 28 weeks & 2 days in to my pregnancy, I was getting ready to go home. The doctors did their rounds that morning and were happy with how I was going. However, I did ask them if they could check my cervix before I left for peace of mind so I knew that I was not dilating. They don’t normally check your cervix when you have leaking waters as it can cause an infection so they try to avoid it. However, because of the bleeding becoming heavier and the increase in leaking, I wanted them to check.
At around 2pm, one of the doctors came past to do a speculum to check my cervix before letting me go home. I noticed her face change as she did it. Something wasn’t right and I asked her if it was closed. She told me she couldn’t tell just yet because there was fluid in the way. The next words she spoke will forever be imprinted in my memory.
“I think I can see a foot.”
At that moment, everything became a blur. I cried out ‘No” and just kept repeating it as I started to hyperventilate. She took the speculum out and did an internal with her hands to double check and said “Yep, that’s a foot in your cervix”. I could see the worry in her face but she remained calm telling me that we would be delivering the twins that day.
All of a sudden, people were rushing around me. An IV was being hurriedly planted in to the veins of my hand, the doctor was calling my husband to tell him he needed to get to the hospital and the head midwife was on the phone to my own midwife telling her she needed to come in as well.
I had not stopped crying the entire time and although people were talking to me, I could not hear them as everything was a blur. Not only half an hour earlier had I been preparing to go home and now I was preparing to deliver my babies. My mind was a mess.
I was informed that things would move fast from here and I was taken down to the birthing suite in my bed to be prepped for surgery. The only option was a c-section in my circumstance because both babies were breech and they did not want to risk any distress to the twins. They were monitoring the twins heartbeats at this time and they were both happy. I was changed in to a gown, stripped of all of my jewellery and informed a lot of people were in the room waiting for me so not to be intimidated.
When I was wheeled in to the birthing room I had started to calm down. It was happening and there was nothing I could change so that realisation made me come to terms with it. The lights were really bright and there was about 20 people standing there in surgical outfits waiting for me which was quite full on. Eight of them were neonatal staff waiting for the twins, then there were about four anaesthesiologists, a couple of surgeons, a few midwives including my own and of course Chance who made it just in time as they were finishing the spinal block.
There’s a lot to process. People were asking me questions about allergies and explaining what was going to happen over the course of the next hour. They then went around and introduced every person in the room of which I really only remember a few. I was most nervous about the spinal block but it barely hurt. It was the local anaesthetic part first in to the spine area that was slightly painful and then I pretty much didn’t feel anything after that (I did tightly squeeze my midwife’s hand during this because I anticipated it to be worse than what it was). I was then laid down on the bed and they started using ice pads to determine when the spinal block had worked (if this did not work they would have had to have put me under completely which I was hoping not to do). They place them on different parts of your body and ask you when you can no longer feel it as cold.
Feeling numb is the most unusual feeling I have felt. When they asked me to lift my legs and I couldn’t, it was a terrifying feeling. Like being paralysed and for me, that was the scariest part. Once numb, they started the procedure and I didn’t feel a thing until they started tugging. It’s a very old feeling. You can feel every pull of them removing your insides, but without the pain although it does feel pretty rough. The surgeons talked me through certain parts and when they could finally see Charlie’s feet. Unfortunately for my little Charlie, he got a bit stuck because Freddie’s water sac was blocking his head so they had to pop Freddie’s sac to be able to get him out. Charlie had a lot of bruising from this at birth because he had been tugged. He also didn’t cry which was terrifying although I knew this was common for this early gestation but it was awful not knowing he was OK. They put him in a bag to keep him warm (which is what they do with early babies and it looks so intimidating) and took him over to be put on oxygen immediately. Because Freddie’s water had now been broken, he flipped from breech to head down and came out 25 seconds after Charlie and was crying. It was the best sound to hear his tiny baby squeal before he was also taken over to his oxygen.
They then started the process of piecing me back together and I watched as the neonatal staff worked on my babies. I asked Chance to go and check them immediately and I remember my anaesthesiologist coming over to me and saying “you see how the Neonatal paediatricians are smiling? that means they are happy with how your babies are doing” and I felt so reassured because when I looked over they were smiling and chatting about the boys and no-one was rushed or looking nervous.
The whole procedure took roughly an hour. During that time, the neonatologists brought the boys to me in their incubators so I could see them and talk to them before they where whisked off to NICU. It was such a different experience not being able to hold them or see them properly after birth and it hurt.
Even though the drugs had made me feel a bit spacey during the section, I was still pretty coherent and remember it all although I did zone out a few times when being spoken too. Surprisingly, I didn’t get ill during the procedure aside from a little nausea at one stage (but the vomiting did come later on in the evening as the drugs wore off).
I was then taken to recovery for around an hour to ensure that I didn’t have any immediate severe side affects from the section and then after that I was taken to the maternity ward. They stopped by NICU on the way so I could see my boys again from my bed and they were both doing well. Charlie had needed quite a bit of extra help due to several factors including getting a bit stuck and also his waters being broken but Freddie was doing great.
Overall, we count ourselves very lucky that everything happened as soon as it did despite the terrifying circumstances. If I had of gone home that day and not realised I had a foot in my cervix, things could have been a lot worse for my babies. I did not feel his foot at all, so the likelihood of that happening was high. One of my doctors came and saw me after surgery, her face white with shock, saying she could not believe that had happened and how had I not have asked them to look at my cervix that she would have sent me home without checking. The fact that we were already in hospital and able to head straight to surgery was very important in to getting my babies out as safely as possible.
As for the c-section, if it weren’t for the trauma of having to be an emergency, I didn’t find the section itself bad at all. I was able to talk to Chance throughout it and it was painless (until the recovery) which I will go over in another post. I had quite intense natural labours with my older boys and I remember saying in each one that I would never do it again, ha! so the c-section was a totally different experience in terms of not having to go through that pain.
Our boys are doing great now three weeks on. Freddie has had a relatively easy journey and Charlie had a very tough start with a big scare but has done amazingly since and is such a little warrior. We can’t wait to tell them the story when they’re older about how Charlie couldn’t wait to meet us and his poor brother who was happy inside the womb had to be pulled out because he got his foot stuck.
Charlie Mitchell Morris, 1135 grams. (Born first at 3.59pm)
Freddie Henry Morris, 1355grams (born 25 seconds later).
2
Stephanie says
Amazing to read this Sarah,even though you have kept me informed all the way through.I couldn’t wait to read this,as to know just what it was like right from that moment the doctor checked your cervix.Everything you have been through to now,all our tears here in Aussie as we felt so helpless,to the dear wee souls doing so well,such strong little fighters.
What a journey love,so proud of the way you have dealt with it all,and taking the time to keep us updated daily with pics of Freddie and Charlie.Bless🙏