#Uneventfuldelivery #Maternity #NVD/C-sec

Everything went so smooth that I have never felt the toughness in the journey of 38 weeks except during the initial couple of months with the morning sickness. Few women have ‘morning sickness’ throughout the day, but for me the word was apt. I used to work in the 6.30 shift which was horrendous timing as I am more habituated to staying up late (became nocturnal because of night shifts in the past). My Manager agreed to a flexible shift, thanks to her, I truly appreciate that from the bottom of my heart. It was terrific, getting all the attention from everyone at the drop of a hat. Those food cravings, the initial days of paranoia for every minute occurrence become part and parcel of your life.

I was active all through the pregnancy, except for the gestational diabetes which got controlled by following a proper diet. I enrolled myself for the Prenatal Yoga too. My schedule was something you can term as ‘just perfect’. I decided to go to office till my body supports, so I worked till the time approached. My last day to work was supposed to be a weak prior to the due date. I planned and had a ‘to-do’ list in that 1 weak. Fate had a different plan though. A pregnant lady may deliver any time post 36th week. That day was my last day at work before going for a Maternity leave. My team has treated me so dearly I can ever imagine. After packing up my stuff at work, I reached home and practiced regular prenatal Yoga, went for a walk after dinner.

All those women who attended Prenatal Yoga classes discussed about the changes happening and how to deal with it. Our Yoga instructor also gave us lot of ‘good to know info’ to us. That fateful night was a Friday. It was 25^th Oct, 2013 and my expected/estimated date of delivery was 3^rd November, 2013. I was glued to my laptop screen trying to figure out what kind of signals come to your body when the baby is almost ready to come out and see the light of the day. I was reading about ‘water-break’ and steps to be taken immediately etc. I had my own questions, like if it is going to be a gush of water or drops and what-not. Right at that moment I felt something within my body, perhaps, the baby got active and wanted to come out of the womb. I slept at around 11 PM that night. In the middle of the night, I experienced wetness on my clothes. Amniotic fluid is odorless, I was not sure either because it was very little initially and by the morning it increased. Early in the morning, we called our Ob-gynaec to check. I was told for an immediate admission to the hospital. I kept a couple of clothes for immediate use if needed and started with my husband to the hospital. I was admitted at 7.30 AM in the ‘so-called’ corporate hospital.

Now comes the question whether the pregnant women wants to opt for the natural birthing process or the C-sec. As, I was prepared for NVD, we mentioned the same in the “Birth-plan”. However, we have never objected to the gynaec if C-sec has to be done. So, here I lay in the bed like never-before waiting to be examined for quite a few times and to be told that by an efficient and experienced Ob-gynaec that “Pelvic region is small and the dilation is taking long”. However, she suggested to be patient because, my vitals were all perfect and nothing to worry as such. They suggested for an Epidural which was given in time. I was in the labor for 25 Hours to be precise. I was lucky to be accompanied by my dear husband in the labor room. In the middle of the night, my Mother-in-law consulted the concerned doctor to see if a C-sec can be done. My ob-gynaec refused to commit for a C-sec and asked us to be patient. I was on liquids all through the night.

It was 8 AM and the team of doctors came in and suggested the nurses to be ready and they would start the birthing procedure. Again, my gynaec informed the same thing that the birthing canal has not opened as much as it should all during this while. The baby was crowning well, I was helped by my dear husband asking me to ‘breathe-in and out’. When I was in the birthing position, I remember quite well, my gynaec asked a question “what is the weight of the baby in the last scan?” I answered her question. We could not even take a guess what was wrong. My husband and I were in a state of shock because that was not the time to ask that question. The learned doctor should check the reports prior to starting the delivery process I guess. If the last scan report stated the baby’s weight as roughly 2.8 Kgs, which was like 25 days prior to that date, the weight definitely increases in those days and has all chances of at least 3Kgs on the date of delivery. The learned doctor should be in a position to estimate after examining vaginally, if the pregnant women can deliver naturally or not. Finally, the baby was out, err…head was out and the right shoulder was stuck. The team of gynaecs, nurses and helpers were all sweating in a 16 degree air-conditioned room. The gynaec could pull the baby out with the help of forceps though. The baby was shown to us, and I exclaimed “Oh it’s a baby boy, I expected a girl”. The baby looked healthy, chubby and cute as he was weighing 3.48 Kgs.

You must be wondering as to why I called it as “Uneventful delivery”. Yes, the delivery was a difficult one and my baby was delivered with an almost paralyzed hand because of the amount of pressure that was put to take the baby out. My husband with the baby was sent for an immediate examination to the pediatrician who informed that the baby had a birth injury in the delivery process and it is called as ‘shoulder dystocia’. The statistics show 0.5-1.5% of such cases. We were misinformed that this issue would get fixed in a period of 3 months with a regular physiotherapy. Please note ‘Misinformed’ because the so called ‘fix’ did not happen nor does it happen in most birth injuries. We travelled to various places in the city and other states looking for the best pediatrician, neuro-physician, neuro-surgeon, orthopedic surgeon, who could guide us in the correct direction. We did enormous search in terms of knowing about the ABCs of this issue. Finally after a lot of research, a good friend of ours suggested to see an orthopedic surgeon in KIMS (Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Secunderabad). He was the one who directed us to this God of such cases who is from old school who is a consultant surgeon in Apollo, Bengaluru. Finally, we were directed in the right direction when my son was in his 6^th month. Until then, we were regularly and religiously following physiotherapy exercises. This surgeon told that the boy may have to undergo a micro surgery at the age of 2 and half years based on the kind of improvement that may happen over the next 2 years. My son is now 3 and half years old and was operated in June, 2016 when he was 2 and half years old. During the time of operation, he had most movements like children of his age; however, there were some restricted movements and we wanted to correct that as we could afford it. It is now 9 months from the time of operation; it is altogether a different saga, testing times, patience and a brave boy who has undergone this entire trauma.

I am not really sure as to who is to be blamed in this case, but a lot of surgeons whom we consulted exclaimed only one thing. Such cases are pure cases of mishandling by obstetrician, but again, these types of cases do not have material evidences, we only have theoretical reasons of such mishappenings. Stay tuned for my next follow-up on the same topic. Signing off, happy parenting!!