She’s crying, thank God... “Congratulations, you two! Do you want to hold her, mum?” The midwife placed our first child, our little girl, in my wife’s arms. She was beautiful. The relief surged through me and I started laughing.
I looked down and saw my shoes were surrounded by a puddle of fluid. The midwife joked that I would have to throw my shows away. Hahaha. It was just a mucky affair I supposed.
I looked from the seeping puddle up to the bed. The sheets were soaked in blood; my wife’s legs were spattered. It was very gory but no-one seemed concerned at this point.
Half an hour later when the placenta had still not appeared a more experienced midwife came in to help it along. Going into it we hadn’t appreciated the effort involved in this second birth. Cicely was poked and prodded some more, urged to push yet again, until finally all the birthing was complete.
"I had no idea how serious it was, what they could do about it, what I should be doing and whether she would come back."
She looked drained and collapsed gratefully back onto the bed. We had a happy half an hour or so until she got up to go to the loo and nearly fainted. We thought nothing much of this (she is prone to a wobble) but the midwives bustled around, inserted a catheter and insisted we transfer to the main ward.
Hooked up to various monitors we tried to relax and enjoy the company of our baby. We did not spot that Cicely was getting paler until we looked back at photos. An hour or so after moving wards the monitors kicked off. I was out of the room at the time and came back to find 10 people in the room crowded around her. I was stunned, what was happening! I could hear her calling for me through an oxygen mask and rushed to her side.
I talked soothingly (internally shouting) as a doctor reached inside her and pulled out a large clot, followed by a rush of blood. There was so much of it.
“We need to get her into theatre now,” the doctor said. A form was waved in front of Cicely. “Sign here.” It stated they could take her womb if it came to that. She was sobbing and terrified. What was going on!
I spoke as calmly as I could – everything would be OK, everything would be OK – and gave her a smile when she looked back at me, being wheeled out the door on her bed. Everyone went with her. I was on my own.
It had taken 3 or 4 minutes and all I knew was she was bleeding profusely and was in danger. I had no idea how serious it was, what they could do about it, what I should be doing and whether she would come back.
I looked into the tiny bassinet at my tiny daughter and broke down in tears. A midwife found me cradling her later on.
…
There is a happy ending to this – Cicely had a stronger injection to contract her uterus and recovered well post theatre. The doctors and midwives did a great job. With the help of a few litres of blood and two days bed rest in hospital we were ready to head home as a family. 3 months on we have just been on our first family holiday and life before Meredith seems incredibly far in the past! She is a happy baby and a great traveller thankfully.
Charlie Gordon
Management Consultant, United Kingdom
