8 Epidural attempts! (C-Section Awareness)

Me, when my first baby was born, it was an emergency c-section and actually that night I couldn’t find any information or experiences…

So your first c section was an emergency. What led to it?

Yes my first C-section was an emergency. I had a lot of blood loss in the beginning of that pregnancy. It took me 6 months to be totally clear and not afraid to lose our baby. I always had a feeling that I was carrying twins and that I lost it partially. But after months  we could enjoy without [being] scare[d]. My contractions started and me and my husband walked to the hospital (because it was just next door). They kept us that night and saw that I didn’t have enough cm. Early that morning, my water broke and my contractions started to get worse. But the cm of my uterus [was] still 4cm after 14 hours of contractions, and with every contraction the heartbeat of our baby was so low and it got worse. So they gave me an epidural and before it even started to work I was in the O.R getting ready for cs.

I could still move my left leg and felt everything on my left side. It was so hectic and terrifying but it had to happen. I was given a dose of morphine after my baby was born and [by] that time my epidural started to work. Our baby boy had his [umbilical] cord around his neck so that was the reason they acted so quick, and actually until this day I’m thankful for the emergency cs but at that time it was incredibly horrifying

That must have been so scary. I can’t begin to imagine not being fully numb for a c-section. I take it that it was due to how the first c section went that you were forced to have c-sections the next two times. Did your doctor think you could have a vaginal birth after that?

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Yes, that was the intention for my second pregnancy. My second pregnancy went just perfect but eventually (she) stayed 41 +4 days. I did have an MRI scan to make sure that my waist was wide enough for her to pass through. And it was eventually, but by that time I was up to 41+3 days. I went to my gynecologist for a check up and complained about seeing stars (it’s like small fireworks in the [in]side of your eyes), that has to do with your blood pressure. He said that he would give me some pills to reduce my blood pressure  but that it could have an effect on my baby. So as I was already 41+3 days I said I would rather have a csection. I was lucky to have the top gynecologist in Belgium and he called the hospital and he planned a planned c-section the next day.

Everything
went perfect. By the way, we didn’t know for any of my pregnancies what the gender of our baby was – it’s a miracle that is given to you by God. We were already happy knowing through ultrasound and blood tests that everything was perfect. But we are quite old fashioned.

Thank God for having the best doctors available to you when you needed them! Yes indeed, a healthy baby is the most important thing although I would have been itching to know gender –  I’m sure the suspense would break me.I’ve often read that when you have multiple c sections, you lose feeling in your abdominal area. Was that true for you?

Yes, that’s true! It really feels more numb than after my daughter (baby number 2), but I’m still recovering my last c-section. It’s now almost 10 weeks  ago so I’m still hoping on some repair. After the first c-section, I started to work out but to regain everything took me almost a year. Now I’m trying to have hope.
So we will see. At least 3 kids is a handful so maybe I don’t need to work out.

How busy you must be.  I hope you don’t have any serious pain left right now 10 weeks on…?

My last pregnancy went perfect and it was planned in the first 2 months. So we were ready but kept the date secret. We arrived at the hospital. In the O.R, I got my first epidural (it went wrong), then 7 other epidurals later it worked with a bigger needle. But I couldn’t take it any more and my husband was so scared for me and just couldn’t look. I just prayed during the epidurals. If I would have looked at my husband I would break out of the pain that I was having. Instead, I just
folded my hands and prayed several times, while tears falling from my eyes. Then the 8th epidural went how it should [have] and our baby boy was born. I still feel my back getting numb if I fold myself to breastfeed my baby. My doctor knows about it and also saw the bruise that was in the middle of my back to above my waist. It’s nerve damage that I hope will eventually disappear; but if not, I have to live with the pain.

7 attempts. What was that attributed to? Did they tell you why they had to try it so many times? The things our bodies go through for childbirth are just mind boggling to me.

They couldn’t find the correct place to inject. It was said before that my back was not straight by my first cs, but by my 2nd and 3rd cs, it was just perfectly normal. I think I had a student anesthesia or a not so experienced one. Anyway, if I have any nerve problems or damage, I will still file a report to the anesthetist that treated me. I’m still in jeopardy about it.

You may also like: A Good C-Section Recovery Story

It just sounds so terrible that they would let the same person try over and over again like that. Thank God you got through that experience but it is definitely something to complain about if you have any remaining damage down the line.

Esther, Belgium
@essy_okey on Instagram

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