I had false labour

Scola Wambui Theuri was eight months pregnant in early October 2006 when she started having signs of labour. She talks to Pregnant writer, Emma Odaba.

I woke up early as usual on Friday, 6 October to go to work. I was in good spirits and can’t recall feeling any pains. But when I got to work at around 8.00 a.m. I started feeling some pain in my abdomen that I can only liken to period cramps. I didn’t take it too seriously at that moment, but the pain persisted. It got so bad that my back started aching as well. I could not even sit upright! I called a colleague of mine who gave birth recently and explained to her how I was feeling. To my surprise she told me that it sounded like I was in labour. But how could that be? I was not due for another six weeks. She led me to the boardroom where I rested for about half an hour. The pains subsided and I went home.

By the time I got home, the pain was back again with so much intensity that I panicked. I went straight to bed but this did not help much. I thought I was losing my mind! I became hot and my skin flushed. Once the pain subsided again, I decided to go to hospital. This was at around 11 a.m. I went to the hospital where I had been attending my antenatal clinics. I saw a doctor who admitted me after I explained to him how I was feeling. He examined me and referred me to the labour ward.

I feared the worst. I was scared because I had never been to a labour ward. The most I knew of a labour ward was through my friends’ rumours, but some of them have never given birth; ‘there is screaming and gnashing of teeth yonder,’ I recalled being told. I wasn’t prepared for that experience. Surprisingly, I didn’t see women crawling on the floor or howling in pain as I had expected. In fact, the ward was quite the opposite, quiet and orderly. It wasn’t a busy day, I said to myself.

A trolley full of scissors…was wheeled in
At the labour ward reception. I met a nurse and explained to her my condition. She took me into one of the rooms and asked me to wait for a doctor. A few minutes later a trolley full of scissors and other medical apparatus was wheeled into the room. I was in shock and almost collapsed in fear, wondering what was going on. I enquired from one of the male nurses who fortunately was friendly and sought to allay my fears. He laughed and guessed that I must be a first timer. As he started explaining about the many apparatus, the doctor came in.

He asked routine questions before narrowing to some specific ones: Do I take alcohol or smoke? Was I on any pills before I got pregnant? I didn’t understand why he was asking me these questions. Only later did he tell me that he was trying to rule out the cause of false labour, which was what I had. After this history he asked me to take off my clothes. Without explaining to me what he was doing or going to do, he went on to carry out some vaginal examinations, which I found rather uncomfortable and awkward. First he applied some gel on his two fingers and then inserted them into my vagina. Had I not read about vaginal examinations in one of the past issues of Pregnant, I would not have taken it too kindly. After the examination, he advised immediate admission for my condition to be monitored. He explained that the pains I was experiencing were contractions and I had false labour. My cervix had already dilated 2 cm!

The road to my place of work is bumpy
It could have been due to a urinary tract infection or so they called it. This is a bladder infection. I was also told that it might be as a result of travelling a lot. I agreed with the doctor because I commute daily from Nairobi to work in Ruiru and the road is bumpy. I get agitated by the bumpy ride and after alighting from a matatu I always feel some sort of pain. I was ushered onto a wheelchair and wheeled to the wards.

When I went to hospital I didn’t know that my condition was that serious and had not even bothered to carry additional clothing. I had to send a text message to my grandmother, with whom I live, to bring me some.

After every hour the nurses would come to check the baby’s heart rate. I was put on some medication to stop the contractions because I was not close to my expected due date. The drugs had a sedating effect on me. Immediately after taking them, I would get a feeling of being ‘high’ and then vomit.

Seeing that l still had more than a month to go, the doctors did not want to take any chances on me lest I went into real labour. I was told that the baby would be premature if born at that time. I was scared of giving birth to a premature baby. Thank God the doctors managed to control the contractions. The following day another vaginal examination was done and I saw as if the doctor had written something like 1.5 cm. When I asked him he said there was no such thing as dilating 1.5 cm. That meant I was still 2 cm dilated. I was given a very painful injection.

I am so scared of the ‘real’ labour now that I have ‘tasted’ a small part of it. I stayed in hospital for five days and I was discharged on the sixth day. I was advised to stay on strict bed rest until I give birth. I was also advised to always sleep on my sides because sleeping on my back could harm the unborn baby.

END: PG4/44