My story is a long one. To begin with, I had a complicated pregnancy. I was 23 years old and had missed my period in January so my husband and I went to the doctor's and joyfully found out I was pregnant. At 20 weeks I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. I also did my gestational diabetes test and passed.

I had to go for an ultrasound at 31 weeks because the baby was in a breech position. When I went to my OB/GYN the next week she wanted me to repeat my diabetes test because the baby was quite large for 31 weeks. I had gestational diabetes and had to stop working at this point.

My due date was September 12, 2006, which came and passed with no dilation at all. I informed my OB/GYN that my mother and grandmother had both had complications that caused them to not dilate and had to have emergency Cesarean sections. She told me every woman's body is different.

At 36 weeks I felt less and less movement and started to get worried. I had yet another ultrasound, which showed the baby measuring at 40 weeks already. Thinking back now I wish I would have been more demanding with my OB/GYN. I had to do weekly non-stress tests to make sure the baby was OK.

Once I was overdue, my OB/GYN always said "one more day" or "one more week." I had my last appointment on September 29, 2006, and was informed I would be induced the following Monday. I would be 20 days overdue. I was devastated.

October 1 my water broke at 2 a.m. while I was trying to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. My husband and I were so excited. We thought we were finally going to meet our baby.

We went to the hospital and the nurses confirmed my water had broken and monitored me for a while and then sent me home because I was not in "true" labor yet.

At 4 in the morning my contractions were two minutes apart and I was in excruciating pain. We went back to the hospital where I was once again monitored and was told I my uterus was irritated and that's why I was having such painful contractions, but I was once again not even in stage 1 labor. I asked for something for the pain, which I was refused. My husband and I left. I was in tears.

I called my mom and she came over to try and help me with my contractions and give my husband a break. It was now 8 a.m. My mom convinced me to get in the shower, and had to come in with me because I couldn't support myself during my contractions. I was in such pain that I was throwing up everything I tried to eat or drink. I had severe chills and could not stop shaking.

Somehow I managed to make it until 8 p.m. though I don't know how. This time both my mom and husband took me back to the hospital. I asked to be checked for dilation and was not dilated at all. I was monitored again and once again told to go home.

My husband lost it at this point and demanded the nurses phone my OB/GYN because my water had been broken for so long we were worried about infection. Thankfully, she said I could be induced but could only have Tylenol3s for pain, which I couldn't take because they made me throw up.

At 10 p.m. I was put on an oxytocin drip, which immediately made my contractions 10 times worse. I again asked for anything to help with the pain. The nurse refused to give me anything, not even the gas. She said my contractions weren't strong enough yet.

I had an IV of just saline solution because I was so dehydrated from all the vomiting I was doing so I had to pee almost every half an hour. I had to ask the nurse for help to get to the bathroom. She actually refused one time, telling me it was my contractions. My husband politely told her to leave the room and he helped me to the bathroom.

I went all night into Monday morning on the drip. I was almost hysterical from the pain and was still vomiting everything I tried to eat or drink. I kept asking for someone to call my OB/GYN and she finally showed up at 11:30 a.m. She checked me and I was only dilated 2 centimeters. She said I had to be on the drip another four hours. I asked about infection and she said not to worry. At this point I begged her for a Cesarean section. She said no but said I could have an epidural.

The epidural only froze my left side so I could still feel all the pain. I lay in the hospital bed and cried for a long time. My mom and husband were so frustrated that nothing was happening.

At 3 p.m. the nurse came in to check the baby and she pressed a button on the wall and almost immediately there were about 15 people in my room. No one would tell any of us what was going on.

The on-call doctor put an internal monitor on the baby and took my husband into the hallway. He explained that our baby's heartbeat was dangerously high and something needed to be done. The doctor came back into the room and asked me for a timeline. When I told him my water had been broken since 2 a.m. the night before he was angry at my OB/GYN for not doing something earlier.

I asked for something once again for the pain, and was told I couldn't have anything, again. My OB/GYN came into my room around 5 p.m. and said she would perform an emergency C-section. I had just finished signing all the forms when we found out there was an accident and all the ORs were full. We would have to wait.

I waited until 8:30 that night. My baby's heartbeat started to drop drastically with every contraction and my husband and I were rushed to the OR, where I had a spinal block because my epidural had not worked. At 9:06 p.m. on October 2 our perfect daughter was born. She weighed 10 pounds and was 23 inches long. She was badly jaundiced. We were later told it was from being so overdue. She had to be in the incubator for three days.

I tried to breastfeed her but couldn't. My milk wouldn't come in. A nurse told me it was because of the shock of the C-section and loss of fluids. I was so disappointed.

My incision got badly infected while I was in the hospital and I had to take antibiotics for two weeks to clear it up. A nerve in my left leg was damaged and I still have not regained feeling in my thigh.

But I have a beautiful 7-month-old daughter who is perfect in every way. We are currently planning on baby No. 2 and I am definitely going to be more assertive this time around. And I am definitely going to a different OB/GYN!