Pregnancy diary: I had pre-eclampsia and had to be induced

When my obstetrician told me I would be induced to have my baby the next day, my mind was racing at 100 miles an hour.

Imogen shares a new instalment of her pregnancy diary every week, this is part one of the birth.

This is the tenth instalment of Imogen’s pregnancy diary, with a new chapter released every Sunday.

Part one: Why I was dumbstruck when I found out I was pregnant

Part two: The first doctor’s appointment, blood tests and dating scan

Part three: Photo reveals why pregnancy announcement didn’t go to plan

Part four: I had these dreams about my baby’s gender

Part five: My family’s devastating loss while I was pregnant

Part six: Testing the wives’ tales about babies to see if they have any truth to them

Part seven: Coming to terms with the realities of giving birth

Part eight: How we chose the name for our son

Part nine: My frantic moment with ‘baby brain’

My birth story begins on Wednesday January 8.

I was coming into my 39th week of pregnancy and I woke up with a rainbow shaped band of pain across my abdomen and some nausea.

I went about my morning and then went back to bed, waking up after the nap to find the pain and nausea had subsided.

The next morning, I woke up with the same symptoms. Thinking this could potentially be early labour (!) I called the hospital.

Inciting some worry in Michael and I, the nurse on the phone said that it didn’t sound like normal early labour signs and advised us to come into the emergency department to get it all checked out.

So in we went.

By some miracle – or because it was early in the morning – we were the only ones in the emergency room, so were taken in and seen within five minutes of our arrival.

The nurse went through the rudimentary questions, took my blood pressure, got a urine sample from me and sent me back to a bed where I’d have the CTG machine placed on to monitor the baby’s heartbeat and any contractions I was having (I wasn’t having any).

During this time I also had some blood taken for testing and was given some anti-nausea medication.

Imogen and Michael with positive pregnancy test.

After a period of monitoring, the nurses said everything with the baby was looking fine (phew) and that the early results that had come back from pathology were also looking good, so the doctors were comfortable to send me home.

I was coming back the following day for my regular appointment anyway, so we could go over all the blood test results then.

So now it’s Friday January 10 and my mother-in-law Penny is driving me into the hospital for my appointment.

She had offered to take me because I was having a stretch and sweep – a lovely little procedure where your midwife or obstetrician inserts a finger into your cervix and gently separates the amniotic membranes from the uterine wall to try and stimulate labour – at this appointment.

She didn’t want me driving in case I did start going into labour.

I was having this done because at my 36-week growth scan, the estimation of the baby’s size was 3.9kg (8.5 pounds) – aka he was a bigger baby – and the docs didn’t want me to go over 40 weeks.

As I didn’t want to be induced, we were trying the stretch and sweep first with the hopes that would kick start natural labour.

At my baby shower! 31 weeks pregnant

The stretch and sweep wasn’t as painful as I’d anticipated – don’t get me wrong there was still a bit of uncomfortable pain – but it was over pretty quickly.

The obstetrician said I was 1cm dilated at that point.

She then took a look at the blood and urine results from the day prior and said that there’d been some protein in my urine and my blood pressure had been elevated.

These are warning signs of pre-eclampsia.

So off she sent me to pathology to have all the blood and urine tests done again and then to foetal monitoring to have my blood pressure taken every half-hour and have the CTG monitoring belts back on.

I felt bad that Penny’s whole day was basically out the window now, with this appointment stretching from the morning into the late afternoon.

In her usual gracious way, she said she was happy to be there and be with me while all this was taking place. I felt better having her there too given she’s a nurse and knows the ins and outs of all this stuff.

With the blood and urine tests and CTG monitoring done and dusted, it was now a waiting game, interrupted only by the blood pressure readings every half-hour.

After a few hours passed, the doctor called me back.

He said that my blood pressure hadn’t come down and neither had the protein levels in my urine.

I had pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia is a serious pregnancy condition which if left untreated can lead to serious complications for both the mother and baby, including organ damage, premature birth, and even death.

It can get out of control quickly and can only be cured by delivering the baby and the placenta.

So he admitted me to the hospital that day, to be induced to have the baby the following day.

As he was telling me this, my mind was racing at 100 miles an hour, going through a whole range of emotions.

Excitement: ‘Holy shit, I’m going to give birth tomorrow!’

Nervousness: ‘Holy shit. I’m going to give birth tomorrow’.

Penny said I was so calm through the whole thing, but really I was just trying to process the speed at which this was all happening.

I called Michael and told him the news. Then I called Mum, because she was going to be in the room with us too.

You’ll remember a few weeks back I wrote about the realities of birth and that even the best-laid birth plans can be thrown out the window when the baby – or your body – decides to interject with their own ideas about how the show is going to run.

Well, my plans went out the window pretty quick smart.

Imogen's baby bump at 20 odd weeks.

Had my spontaneous labour started at home, the plan was to have Penny come around and be with us while I laboured at home. She would then stay behind and look after our dog Teddy when we went into the hospital.

There would’ve been ample time for Mum to come up from her home in Barwon Heads to meet us at the hospital where I would have a perfect, short labour with no complications and deliver our healthy baby boy.

Ahh, a girl can dream.

Instead, my body said ‘nah hun, we gotta get this broken-down placenta outta you now’.

So down to the birthing suites we went. I’m pretty sure Penny was still with me at this point but my memory of that afternoon and evening is pretty hazy.

What I do recall was having my legs up in stirrups and the Foley balloon placed to begin the induction process.

A Foley balloon is a medical device used to mechanically ripen and dilate the cervix.

It involves inserting a catheter with a balloon-like end into the cervix and inflating it with saline to apply downward pressure and encourage cervical softening and opening.

I didn’t want to be induced because of the thought of this very procedure. I was scared of the pain and didn’t want anything forced into my cervix.

However, because the obstetrician had told me that I was already 1cm dilated, I was relaxed knowing there’d be no forcing.

And I didn’t feel it go in. The most uncomfortable part was the speculum, which is to be expected – ladies, Pap smears amirite?

Once the balloon was inserted, the period-like cramps came on almost immediately, which was a feeling I hadn’t missed at all in nine months.

Once Michael had finished work and gone home to get the hospital bags, he visited me.

By this stage, the reality and excitement of how our lives were going to change in a matter of hours had hit us.

We were going to meet our son the next day! Oh my God, we are going to be parents! What a thrill. What a rollercoaster.

The visiting hours ended and I was left to get a good night’s sleep – perhaps my last in a while – before the big day ahead.

Originally published as Pregnancy diary: I had pre-eclampsia and had to be induced