This is me, too.

I had, had lost my mucous plug and been having light then increasingly intense back labor on and off for maybe a little more than 24 hours before I went into the hospital with very painful back labor. I was moaning a lot and needed my mom, dad, and partner to press on my back constantly or I felt like my back was being stabbed with daggers.

My water broke on its own, and so I got excited the end may be near and the nurse came in and checked me a couple times, always 3 cm, and every now and again and she checked my son with the doppler.. and then eventually, after me being there for many hours.. she comes in and goes “Oh, it looks like you have back labor.” Did she think the excrutiating pain I was reporting emmanating from my back and that I had my partner, mom, whomever can press on it as hard as possible would’ve been a clue?

I asked about “saline injections” or hot compresses,and ice and the nurse told me “we have no such things here.” My support people eventually got extremely tired, and asked if I couldn’t just rest? I couldn’t. I started to cry a bit with the pain and started to panic.

Did she call in the midwife? Did she make a suggestion as to -why- I may be having back labor? Provide me with tools to help? Suggest anything to help calm me down? No.

What kind of maternity ward nurse does not have free access to a hot pad? And they did have cold packs. I know they did because I had to use a lot on my crotch after the birth. This nurse shook violent when she went to take my BP or use the doppler. She was either on drugs or had been awake for too long with too much coffee because she wasn’t right. Then, she started to not come check on me as her shift was getting near an end.

The next nurse was a lot nicer, better. But, at that point it was pretty much too late for things to stop going south. I was already panicking and I ended up being starved which was torture for me, an infection, complications from excessive fluids, high blood pressure, magnesium, a pitocin driven back laborish long transition… other complications and intervention as well..

In the end I did deliver vaginally my posterior son but it was quite the horrid ordeal, I feel also I was not treated humanely and I do have PTSD.

And, the ill health of his birth no matter its cause did affect the health of my son at birth and required a good bit of help at first. He has fortunately been healthy since.