Not Here, Not Now

The start 9

Sometimes my instincts are spot on. The clock hits 1am and here we go…

I can feel heavy leaking and contractions, I hit the nurse call button. The nurse confirms by feeling my abdomin, yes these are uterine contractions.  

I get moved into a private assessment room,  a steroid shot in the butt cheek and they’re calling the ambulance for an emergency transfer to Auckland City Hospital.

The doctor checked my cervix, said it’s closed and a pool of blood came gushing out. I got a glimpse of it and now I’m crying, it’s too early and I’m in the wrong place. If I birth him here they will not intervene, they will not save my baby. I beg the universe; Please not here, not now. 

I’m popping fast acting nifedipine 2x every 15 minutes to stop contractions. You have to bite into them, they taste like orange which is all good but then you have to swallow the hard plastic casing. I’ve got one nurse on my left arm who blows out three veins and on my right a nurse rams one into the crease of my arm and it bleeds all over the bed. They need the line in ASAP, so she just tapes it down. There are loads of people in the room. Someone asks me about my bags, I don’t care can someone just call Lee. I get magnesium sulfate on a fast 15 minute IV drip and slide bottomless bleeding onto the ambulance gurney covered in blankets. 

My midwife was in birthing suite and quickly ducked in to give a hug and best wishes. A staff midwife rode with me in the ambulance giving me the fast acting nifedipine on the way. The ambulance driver put his foot down, sirens on and we went full tilt. I started to spin and overheat and vomited all through the ambulance.

We rush up to birthing suite in Auckland hospital, Lee is only 5 minutes away and the doctors and nurses are there ready for us. 

My blood pressure crashed out but we need to stop this labour. They give me more magnesium but on a slower drip, antibiotics and anti nausea. 

And it starts to ease back, it’s now 4am.