By 34 weeks pregnant, I was still suffering from severe sickness and actually weighed less than I did when I discovered I was pregnant. I could no longer deny my baby was growing nicely though! The picture above was taken when I was 33 weeks pregnant.
I had been signed off work from 32 week pregnant due to the sickness, and also severe SPD (Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction). SPD is a condition that causes excessive movement of the pubic bones, and can cause a great deal of pain. It is caused by an excess of the hormone relaxin and is associated with Hyperemisis gravidarum (both being caused by excesses of hormones).
As you can imagine by the time this photograph was taken I was feeling pretty miserable and desperate for the last six weeks of my pregnancy to go as quickly as possible. Not too quickly though, I was having Braxton Hicks contractions on and off and they were uncomfortable enough that I wasn't looking forward to the real thing.
In an effort to cheer me up, my Mum invited me for a wander around John Lewis. So my mother drove and we went and had lunch in a nearby cafe, then wandered round John Lewis for a little while. As we walked back to the car park, I had a few very sharp BH contractions that made me stop and took my breath away. My mother jokingly suggested perhaps they were real ones!
Unfortunately my mother is rarely wrong. As we drove up the A1 to home, my contractions were getting more severe and had changed. Previously my BH had been at the top of my bump and felt like tightenings but not too painful. These ones were at the bottom of my bump, felt much more painful and were becoming regular!
By the time I got home my mother had convinced me to ring the midwife to see what she thought. My husband agreed when I asked his opinion. When I spoke to my midwife, Rosie, she suggested I go to the hospital and get checked over, especially as I was still only 34 weeks along. With the obvious pain in my voice, the regularity of the contractions, and the fact that I had been having rather a lot of discharge the week previously, Rosie was pretty convinced I was in early labour and would be having my baby over the weekend! She promised to check the systems on Monday morning to see if I had.
Another trip back down the A1, this time with my husband, and we got booked into the maternity unit at the QE2 hospital in Welwyn Garden City. I was hooked up to a CTG machine and it showed my contractions were coming every 3 minutes, lasting for a minute or so, and were getting up to around 40%. The midwives got excited, it seemed like I was in early labour. I got upset, I was worried my baby would be born early and need to be in special care, or that she'd have lasting problems.
A check of my cervix however, revealed that there was nothing happening. Nothing at all. My cervix was tightly closed, and very high up. Urine tests showed that my ketones were high, which was likely causing the contractions. We produce ketones when our bodies do not have enough glucose and start burning muscle tissue instead. I got rather upset at this as I'd been asking the doctors for help for weeks because of my sickness, I was sure my baby wasn't getting enough nutrients, and in part I was right. I am a firm believer that a woman knows when there is a problem and in a lot of respects I wish I'd listened to my body more during this period instead of letting the doctors embarrass and belittle me. I was accused of starving myself, and lectured on the importance of healthy eating. The doctor and midwife would not listen to my husband or myself when we explained how sick I had been during my pregnancy. My Hyperemisis was the more likely reason, the extended period of repeated vomiting and little food intake was a good explanation for my high ketones. Eventually, with me in floods of tears, my husband had rather strong words with the midwife, who did apologise for her behaviour. By this point though I was rather worked up, and still contracting. The doctor was adamant I would not be having my baby any time soon but I was rather scared and so I was admitted for the night to keep an eye on me and ensure my ketones went back down.
I spent that night and most of the next day in the hospital, but when my contractions finally slowed down I asked to go home. I missed my cousin's wedding that Saturday, and was extremely tired from the lack of sleep. But I felt like I was not wanted at the hospital as I wasn't in 'active labour' and so thought I would be better off at home where I could rest.
My contractions continued on and off for the next five weeks, causing another trip to the labour ward, and for me to start to ignore them. I was utterly convinced by this point that I would be overdue and my body was just trying to confuse me.
Towards the end of my pregnancy, it was decided I would be induced on my due date. I am diabetic and had been monitored throughout by my endocrinologist who decided it would be safer to induce me rather than let me go overdue.
That, however, is a story for another post.
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