South African doctor flown in for Daphne’s delivery: ‘There was blood everywhere’

Blood loss

She is sad in bed when she suddenly starts bleeding. “Blood clots came out, the size of tennis balls. My husband and I looked at each other. That could not be his intention. The nurse arrived and action was taken immediately. Doctors came, I got an injection and eventually even a blood transfusion.”

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She doesn’t know how much blood she lost. It is also not entirely clear what exactly happened. “I think they should have given me a clotting agent and they didn’t, which caused me to bleed heavily. At the subsequent meeting a few days later, they apologized and asked if I wanted to file a complaint, but we didn’t. He was one of those roller coaster and our baby was doing well again, so we just wanted to go home.”

Deluded

Sharon is depressed and because she has lost a lot of blood, she feels tired and weak. “Luckily I have a supportive husband. It relieved me and did a lot. We also got help from family and friends. That meant I could recover well. “

But she needs time and energy to process the birth. In addition, she sees that the son is coming very terribly. “Suddenly we were responsible for such a thing. That made me unsure – even though we had nine months to get used to the idea.”

Find help

Sharon does what she can and after about three months – when she has recovered physically – she goes back to work. “I cried a lot, but I kept going. My daughter’s birth was also difficult. Then my son’s delivery came back again. I suffered from it for years and went to therapy four years after the birth of my son.”

This allowed her to put the events into perspective. She urges parents who have had a similar experience not to leave it alone. “It’s important to share these kinds of stories. When we talk about birth, it’s almost always about ‘the pink cloud’, but many people don’t have that experience. If so, it’s important to talk about it. You have to do this within your relationship, but also with family and friends and contact professionals. I know how frustrating and powerless you can feel, but I know there is always help.”

Do you have a special birth story too? Email your name and story in a few sentences to Reader@linda.nl, stating ‘Special delivery’ and who knows, you might soon read your story on LINDA.nl .

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