Kelsey Thomas' Birth Story

I was lucky enough not to have any morning sickness and I hardly showed I was pregnant; everything was going along perfectly. At thirty seven weeks my blood pressure started to rise slightly,which was a great concern to my doctor, but it then managed to come down to an acceptable level. My legs and feet and ankles started swelling, I couldn't even get a pair of shoes on my feet.

The day my baby was due I was admitted to hospital for complete bed rest due to my blood pressure, protein in my urine sample and swelling and diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. My blood pressure went down and I was allowed home the next day. Ten days later -- still no baby. Each day over the due date seemed like a week.

At my next appointment I was 12 days overdue and my blood pressure was really high again, so it was decided I would be induced. At 5.00pm I had the gel applied to get things started and was told it may take up to four days for labor to begin. My husband went home to get my hospital bag and a few things for me and returned at 7.00pm. By this time I was having contractions three minutes apart. At 10pm I needed some pain relief, so I was taken to the birthing suite and re-examined at 11pm after taking an extremely long hot shower -- the pain was getting quite intense. I was already 4 to 5 cm dilated, so I was given the gas, which made me nauseous. I asked for an epidural at midnight and was then 6 to 7cm dilated. The doctor wanted me to have an epidural to help reduce my blood pressure, but by the the time the doctor organized the epidural, the baby's heartbeat kept dropping with each contraction and my blood pressure plummeted. I started convulsing with eclamptic fits, and it was decided to rush me to an emergency C-section. By now, however, it was to late to give me an epidural, as I was ready to push with being 10cm dilated. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, so the forceps were needed to deliver the baby and at 1.21 am I awoke to be told I had had a little baby boy. I was later told I had second degree tears both internally and externally as my son was such a big first baby tipping the scales at 9 pounds 8 ounces (4.310 kg).

The complications seem pretty minor compared to the precious gift we now have, our baby boy Kelsey Thomas.