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Joanne’s and twins story
This is the facts about living every day wondering why ?I was a 17 year old girl when I became pregnant.Although I was very young I decided I wanted my baby.The first few months was very hard as I couldn’t keep food down
I found it hard to stop smoking and drank at weekends.
I now wonder if I was the one to cause my babies problems.
I lived in Barrow-in furness at the time my 12 weeks scan was performed.
And the scan looked very good no problems to be aware of.
At 14 weeks I moved to Lancaster to be with my boyfriend.
I was getting rather big so had to wear maternity clothes early.
I was told at 16 weeks I was having twins I was quite shocked but as I was one of twins of which one didn’t survive I wasn’t too shocked.
I was told my babies were developing to plan and pregnancy was going to the book of which I read constantly. From about 18 weeks I developed protein in my water but the babies were very active so nothing to worry about so we thought.
I had a lot of swelling in my hands and feet from about 24 weeks but still doctors didn’t seem alarmed my blood pressure showed a little rise bit not much due to my blood pressure always being on the low side.
I went for a scan at 16 weeks all was normal the babies were developing fine.
I had shared care, that meant I had some anti-natal at hospital (Lancaster Royal) and some with my G.P.
T he rest of the pregnancy went well until I went for my blood pressure check at 36 weeks it was Friday at 4.30pm on the 8th march 1985, The doctor checked my weight babies heart beat everything seemed ok except the swelling in my hands and legs then he took my blood pressure. The doctor said my blood pressure had gone very high and my water had a lot of protein so he wanted me to go into hospital for observation.
As the doctor phoned to let the hospital know I was on my way, I went home to pack. As it was my first pregnancy I didn’t realize it was so bad.
I got to the hospital about 7pm and was shown to my bed, I had bed rest over the weekend.
(11-3-85)
Then Monday came I was told I was told I was to have a scan as my blood pressure was very high even after bed rest and oedema was still the same so Mr Talbot
My Gynaecologist wanted to check the baby’s progress.
I was pushed to the x-ray department looking forward to seeing my babies that is when everything went wrong.
The young radiologist was very quite as she looked at the scan and said I will go and get the senior radiologist to look at my scan, At this time I was getting quite nervous wondering what was wrong but nothing was said to me.
She said she needed to speak to Mr Talbot and I was pushed quit upset back to my bed,
There was nothing else mentioned all day.
(12-3-85)
The Gynaecologist asked if he could see me and my boyfriend together, So that is when real alarm bells started to ring. We had a consultation with Mr Talbot I was told I only had one baby not two and one had stopped growing at about 16 weeks and they suspected the other baby had no kidneys.
I asked the doctor if that meant the baby would need an operation and I wasn’t expecting to hear that there was no operation that could save my baby and it would probably die at birth.
I was so upset I also asked if they could keep the baby alive on machines but now I realize this would have been cruel.
The doctor replied the baby will probably not survive delivery and if it did there was nothing anyone could do, as the baby is incompatible with life. The baby’s kidneys and bladder had not developed, and Mr Talbot said he was very sorry nothing had been picked up in the previous scans. The other problem was delivering the baby as I still had to go through labour and the baby was in the breach position. I did have the option to have a c-section and be put to sleep, but I didn’t. I couldn’t even think about delivery and kept saying what if the doctors are wrong. I was then told I would have another scan in the morning, but It would be a specialist scan which would mean having an injection that would show mine and the baby’s kidneys, and hopefully, if they where wrong it would show the baby is passing water.
(13-3-85)
I was taken to the scan room early and given an injection and had a very full bladder, my kidneys showed up but there was no sign of the baby’s, so then it was real. The baby I was carrying was not going to make it but, still I couldn’t except what the doctors where saying. I looked at my baby on the scan and thought, would this be the last time I see him or her. The baby was still very active, I wanted to keep the baby inside me forever. I would have given anything so the baby could live, I was pushed back to my bed very upset, I had never felt such pain in my heart before. I was an 18-year-old going through hell. I cried all my day and decided to phone my nana in barrow-in-furness for some advice. She told me the doctors can not all be wrong and said take the doctors advice what ever they say.
(14-3-85)
Mr Talbot came to see me again to ask if I had made my mind up about delivering my baby as time was running out for me because the baby was still growing and breach births are difficult. I really wanted to wait the extra 4 weeks but knew It would be hard and the choice of c-section is all I would have. So I decided I would deliver the baby and was told Friday the 15th I would be induced.
(15-3-85)
At 9am the nurse put the tablet in my vagina to start labour. I had to stay in bed but nothing happened all day. Visiting times where between 7-8pm so my boyfriend came, and went.
Then at about 9pm I started having bad pains, I was taken to the labour suite and my boyfriend was called to come back. Men where able to attend delivery if sister on my ward agreed. The sister I had was not very polite when my boyfriend arrived, I still remember the words she said ‘there’s nothing you can do’ but I needed somebody with me, I was only 18 and was going through hell. The labour had just started and would be very slow as it was my first baby, I was asked if I wanted pain relief in the form of an epidural in my back I said yes so an anaesthetist was called for, it was getting late by then so the nurse asked my boyfriend to wait in the waiting area and give me a rest to try and get some sleep knowing my baby was dying. I lay on the bed which was more like a trolley and I was in a big room on my own which looked like an x-ray room with a glass partition at the bottom of the bed. The room smelt of antiseptic, the bed was black leather.
