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Chrissy and Stephen |
This is the birth story for Thomas Luke Gower
Some potentially gory details:
Labour started at 3am the
previous morning and membranes ruptured at 5.30am. Because there
was meconium present, the hospital got us in immediately and
continuously monitored both mother and baby throughout labour.
Chrissy used just Entonox for a long while and the doctors
recommended Syntocinon as the contractions weren't very regular.
This became too much and she asked for an epidural, but because of
shift changes it too a long time to get. Unfortunatly it then
didn't work (at all), and the anaesthetist was in theatre for the
subsequent 2 hours - the Syntocinon was slowed right down, but of
course this made everything drag on even further. Eventually a new
epidural was put in which did work (an amazing moment of relief all
round)! The final midwife shift came on, just as second stage
labour began, and we had a lovely australian-born male midwife, who
ran around like crazy getting things to help with different
positions: At one time Chrissy was on a birthing stool, on the
bed, with Stephen one side, a student the other and a large beanbag
behind her! Unfortunatly intervention was required and in the end
Thomas was born by the ventouse method and immediately whisked into an
incubator thing where Stephen ceremonially cut the cord (the cord had been
cut within seconds to get Thomas into the warm/oxygen, but Dad's
job was to trim it to an appropriate length!). The pediatrician
decided Thomas needed to go to the Special Care Baby Unit. Chrissy
was cleaned up and Mum and Dad sat for a while until we were told
we could go to visit the baby. Chrissy was exhasted and not really
able to stand, so after a brief visit to SCBU she was put on an
observation ward; Thomas joined her for a feed at about 4am and
stayed - and is now a very happy gorgeous boy.