A Husband's Experience of

Postpartum Haemorrhage

Our first son had been born almost three years previously, by emergency caesarean. Steph was quite confident that she wanted to have a natural birth second time and generally found most of the health professionals at our local hospital were supportive.

The labour was a fairly long one and Steph was given the opportunity to deliver naturally - no signs of distress with the baby and mum doing OK. There were a few changes of staff through the labour and communication between them seemed to be good. A couple of midwives provided continuity and that helped us a lot.

When Matthew was delivered it was very late at night and Steph must have been exhausted. He was a fairly big baby (4.00kg / 8lb 13oz) and was born by ventouse. A cuddle for mum and baby, although Steph did have a tear that needed to be stitched. At this stage the focus was very clearly on the baby, making sure he was OK, cleaning him and the hospital staff didn't make much 'fuss' over Mum.

Because the delivery wasn't straightforward a junior doctor was present and she led the stitching up of Steph. Soon after Matthew was born it was obvious to everyone that something wasn't quite right with Mum. Steph's blood pressure fell very rapidly and there was real concern that it was dropping too quickly. More senior hospital staff were called very quickly and corrective action taken. Various gadgets were set up and attached to Steph. I did stay in the room throughout but it was simply a matter of keeping out of the way. The stitching was speeded up and two or three units of blood were required before Steph's blood pressure stabilised. There was a lot of action centred around Steph, in a very confined space. Various instructions, clear, precise, to the point. At this stage none of it was making sense to me and for all the calm that was displayed there was a real sense of urgency.

I really couldn't say how long it took for things to become more stable..maybe five or ten minutes, maybe a little more. There was little communication of what was going on, other than between the medical staff. To be truthful this was OK and really it was unimportant that I was told what was happening. Matthew our son was well cared for (our request that he was to be breastfed was respected, without challenge) and the main priority of the medical staff became Steph's well-being.

It was a scary experience and not one I was prepared for. We'd been to ante-natal classes three years previously and a refresher course this time. Ventouse delivery had been covered but I can't remember anything about PPH from the classes - you only tend to want to think about the good bits, not about complications. I'm not sure whether it would have made any difference anyway. It was definitely a case of the hospital staff getting on with things - they could explain what had happened later (and were willing to).

I didn't have much time with Steph immediately after this; much more important for her to rest and later to spend time with Matthew.

I have thought since whether the situation could have been avoided; was the doctor observant, were all processes and protocols followed? Could we or should we have had things explained to us more as events unfolded? Things happened very quickly and it was simply a matter of keeping out of the way and letting people get on with their job. Certainly the natural delivery seemed to make things easier in the days and weeks afterwards.

It's not easy to capture all of the emotions that I felt on that night and even harder to imagine how Steph must have been feeling. There was a sense of joy and more of relief when Matthew was born, particularly when the midwife said he was OK. At this point there was a natural tendency to relax...things had gone well and whilst Steph looked drained the worst was over. It was a roller-coaster of emotions and I admit I was really scared when Steph had the PPH. It was very confusing and difficult to comprehend. Probably the lessons I learned, above all others, were to trust in the medical staff, let them get on with the job, and that the birth experience is about two people; it isn't just about a baby being born, it is about a mother giving birth. It is all too easy to concentrate on the first and forget the second.- Geoff