When kayla met harvey
Not on maternity leave yet, and at a routine Obstetrician appointment at 36 weeks, Kayla mentioned she had put on 5 kilos in the past week. Paired with high blood pressure the week before, this raised concerns. What happened next, Kayla could never have ever imagined….
She ended up in hospital, in her work clothes, being monitored for preeclampsia and wasn’t to leave until her baby was born. In the time it took her partner to go grab a bag of clothes for their stay, Canberra went into lockdown and he wasn’t allowed back in.
Fast forward a few days, and a balloon induction, her partner was allowed back in to be with Kayla once her waters had broken, and their beautiful Harvey was born.
Kayla tells her birth story in her own words…
At 36 weeks I was scheduled for what I thought was just my routine check in with my obstetrician. I had planned to go to my appointment and head straight in to work afterwards and carry on my day as normal. Nearing the end of my appointment, I had asked my obstetrician if it was normal that I have put on an excessive amount of weight within the last week since I had seen her last – me initially thinking it was normal within a pregnancy but apparently putting on 5 plus kilos in a week was not...
The week prior I had been admitted to hospital for having high blood pressure so between that and the weight gain it raised some concerns for the obstetrician. My obstetrician told me that I needed to finish up work as of that day and I would need to return and see her that evening for further tests to confirm what she thought was preeclampsia. Going into my appointment that morning I was not expecting it to be my last day of work for over a year…
Returning to my obstetrician the same evening my blood pressure was still high and after completing some other tests it was clear that I had preeclampsia. To explain preeclampsia as simple as possible for those who haven’t experienced it. Having high blood pressure slows down and limits the amount of oxygen and nutrients that are reaching your baby which can then affect the growth of your baby. In some instances, such as mine, the only cure for preeclampsia is for our baby to be born and placenta delivered.
Initially my plan was to give birth at Queanbeyan Hospital so after my obstetrician appointment I was sent straight to them to be monitored. Sitting there in my work clothes and nothing else, I really had no idea that I wouldn’t be returning home again until I had a baby in my arms. I contacted my mum and partner who both came to the hospital as soon as they could but I was in Queanbeyan Hospital for probably less then an hour before they arrived and I was transported via ambulance to Canberra Hospital. I had never been in hospital before let alone an ambulance, so it was all just so surreal to me.
The first night and following day at Canberra Hospital, I had no real explanation of what was going to happen from there so we assumed I would just be monitored for a day or so again so my partner headed home to grab a bag of clothes for a night or two. Before my partner had a chance to return, Canberra recorded our first cases of Covid 19 and was put into immediate lockdown, which for me specifically meant no one was allowed to enter the hospital. At this stage I didn’t realise the severity or what it would mean for me, but I remember not long after it was announced my mum who worked at the hospital at the time tried to come up to the maternity to ward to see me and even though she was already in the hospital and worked there she was not even allowed past the reception to see me.
I could hear her and see her from my room but she wasn’t allowed near me and it was that point my stomach dropped and I knew that my labour and birth of having my first child was not going to be anything like I expected. It sounds dramatic but I honestly felt like I was in jail and was being withheld of my basic rights. I spent a couple days in the unknown, hysterically crying to my partner on the phone and the nurses because I didn’t understand why I was still being kept in the hospital. I felt terrible and so isolated. A few days in I was finally told I would be induced at 36 weeks + 6 days. It all seemed such a blur for me, I was so emotional, and I felt like I couldn’t take anything in that the doctors were telling me about the whole induction process. That’s when I felt like I was really missing out by not having my partner or mum there to take in all the important stuff and ask the questions I couldn’t think of at the time.
I had a ‘balloon induction’ which is when they put a catheter with a balloon on the end and inflate it with water once it is in your cervix. This is to apply pressure and soften your cervix in preparation for labour. I think this is when I realised all my dignity was thrown out the window… haha. It was super uncomfortable and the fact I had to go through the process and then sit in the room while essentially preparing for labour by myself was really tough and upsetting.
Thankfully, within the few days of being in hospital some minor changes were made in regards to visitors being allowed in the hospital so I was advised my partner would be allowed in once my waters had broken which happened the same day I was induced.
My induction started around 10 and my waters were broken the same afternoon. I don’t remember much of the labour to be honest, I just have brief memories like my midwife laughing at the movie the Night at the Museum on the TV and me thinking how could you possibly be laughing at anything at this time, and my partner trying to provide encouraging words but me telling him to shut up because it wasn’t helping.
I requested an epidural but was told the only person who could do it was in surgery at the time so I had to wait. The birth seemed to just happen so quickly, by 2am, 2 hours into my 37th week I gave birth to my beautiful little boy Harvey. At that point was also when the anaesthesiologist came in to say he could come start getting my epidural ready, but he was way too late by then…
Harvey required a little bit of help because he was so little and early but the moment I finally got to hold him I was so in love with him and couldn’t believe he was all mine.
What do you wish you knew before birth?
I think am happy with knowing as little as I did before birth as I feel like no matter how much research you do or how many people you may talk to about labour and birth, nothing can prepare you, each experience is so different.
If you could, would you do anything differently?
I would tell myself to not compare anything with other mums around you! Don’t compare your pregnancy experience, your birth experience and all that follows with becoming a mum and raising your baby. While it is good to chat with other people around you who are going through similar things everyone’s experience is still so different and if you start to compare yours to others it can become super overwhelming and debilitating.
What did your partner do that really helped during labour/birth?
This one is hard because I think I could list more things that they did that didn’t help… haha. I only say that as my emotions were out of control and with the pain I was in I found it hard to take in anything around me at the time. But I am grateful that he was able to be there in time for the hardest parts and that there were never any complaints about having to constantly keep feeding me water through a straw, while I gripped his hands so hard through each contraction while also getting angry at him for just talking and breathing. Once our baby arrived, Josh just took charge and went into complete dad mode with so many things (he knew how to change a nappy before I did), so I was very lucky.
What advice/honest truth would give a mama-to-be about birth?
The pain and whole experience just seems impossible to completely explain but don’t over think it because at the end of the day, you can’t control how your labour and birth are going to go, our body is going to do what it wants to do and as long as you have a healthy baby, I think that is all that matters.