Anna Marie ~
Born 6/28/12 @ 36wks 3days ~ Weighing 6lbs 5oz @ 21in long!
I had regular doctor's appointment on Monday, June 25th at 36 weeks. Blood pressure was slightly elevated so doctor placed me on full bedrest. On Tuesday I left the house and ran some errands. That afternoon my BP rose to 180/90. Subsequent readings varied but stayed within the same range. I called on call doctor and she told me to go to L&D. I should have followed doctor's orders and stayed on full bedrest.
Once I got to L&D the on call doctor requested blood work and a 24 hour urine collection. I started the urine collection at 9:45 pm on Tuesday, June 26th which meant the earliest I could be released from hosptial would be the morning of Thursday, June 28th if everything was okay. I had a NST Wednesday morning and it showed a few contractions which I thought were Braxton Hicks. My 32 week u/s showed Anna was breech and an u/s on Wednesday morning showed Anna was still breech. Since I was on bedrest in hospital my BP went down and I was excited about going home Thursday morning.
I woke up at 1:44 a.m. on Thursday to go to the bathroom. I didn't make it to the bathroom because I had a contraction so painful that it stopped me in my tracks. As I shook my DH to wake him I fell to my knees because the pain was severe. As soon as I dropped to the floor my water broke. Once my water broke the contractions came every 3 to 5 minutes. The nurses managed to get me in bed strapped to monitors. At one point during labor the nurses rushed in, put oxygen on me and told me to turn on my left side because Anna's heartrate dropped. The on call doctor knew I strongly desired a VBAC and was willing to let me deliver my breech baby vaginally. The whole time I was having contractions my water was leaking and the nurse said this was normal. The doctor requested another u/s to confirm position. As the u/s technician performed the u/s I felt the leak turn into gushing. After the technician finished the u/s the nurse realized I was bleeding. My DH said it looked like someone took buckets of blood and poured them onto my bed. The blood continued to gush and then the nurse said she couldn't find Anna's heartbeat. Frantically, the nurses rushed me to the OR and the anesthesiologist immediately put me to sleep for emergency c-section. Anna was born at 3:14 a.m. just 1 hour 30 minutes after my water broke.
After I came out of recovery I asked my doctor if I had an uterine rupture and she said no. She said there wasn't an explanation for the bleeding which was very puzzling. Both of us agreed it's a blessing I was already in the hospital when my water broke. I'm grateful that the doctor and nurses responded so quickly to the bleeding and Anna's heartrate dropping. I'm thankful Anna is healthy and arrived safely. She is amazing, alert and doing very well.
