
Birth: there's nothing quite like it, and it's clear no two birth stories are the same. Which is why we're asking everyday women and some of our favourite celebrity mums to share theirs, in Mamamia's My Birth Story series.
This week we profile Tanya Fischer from Queensland who experienced an extremely traumatic birth five years ago with her son Ben.
Warning: This post contains graphic descriptions of birth.
Tanya was only eight weeks pregnant when her partner and the biological father of her first child left her to go it alone.
"I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and doctors had said it might be hard to conceive naturally," Tanya says.
"We decided to try anyway and were lucky to be successful immediately after I came off the pill.
"Soon after we found out I was pregnant however, my partner told me he didn’t want the baby anymore, so I went through it all by myself."
At 20 weeks pregnant, Tanya felt there was something not quite right.
"I had swollen ankles and was told three different due dates due to the large size and growth of my son. I required three iron infusions during the pregnancy and I was very unwell. By the end, I could not walk well, I couldn't drive, and I spent most of the day laying with my feet up.
"I have since been told I probably should have been treated as having gestational diabetes but due to the PCOS and insulin resistance, this did not show on my glucose test."
Watch: Emily Skye's five exercises to try during pregnancy. Post continues below.
After a long and challenging pregnancy, Tanya’s dad Brett drove her to the hospital when she was 40 weeks and four days pregnant. He was so worried about her; he told staff he wasn’t taking her home.
"Medical staff did a urine test and found out I had pre-eclampsia. They induced me at 6pm using the gel.
"At midnight they applied the second lot of gel and were preparing to put in the Pitocin drip when I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. When I stood up, my waters broke on their own and went all over the floor. This was when they realised there was meconium in the fluid and that I needed to be monitored."
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