A positive unplanned c section: Luna’s birth story
I had an induction 2 days after my due date as my baby was on the bigger side and at full term I was starting to show signs of preeclampsia. I stayed in hospital the night before my scheduled induction for monitoring (due to the preeclampsia) - however later that night the doctor on the ward convinced me to begin the induction process then, rather than wait until the morning as it was likely to take a long time to work. The induction actually worked quite quickly and ended up over stimulating labour (and the pessary had to be taken out) - this was not a great experience as Steve was not with me at this time.
At 5am I was brought down to the labour ward, where Steve met me. The midwives we had on the labour ward were great, really calming and supportive. Although nothing was going to plan they were great at discussing and informing me of what was going on and what my options were so it felt like I was actively participating in the decisions. Unfortunately the baby’s head was having trouble descending enough to finish the labour, despite efforts from midwives/doctors to manoeuvre her manually, breaking my waters and after 16 hours I had an emergency c section - which was remarkably fast and when I saw her taken out I was just so relieved and over the moon.
My husband was able to cut the cord and I had skin to skin with my baby immediately, which was great. I felt overwhelmed after everything that had just happened but so happy at this point. Thankfully Steve was able to stay with me the whole time, and come with me to the recovery room, where we spent a good hour or two just on our own with the baby. Steve stayed with me until we were settled on the postnatal ward (about 1am) and only really left as there wasn’t really anywhere to sleep. He came back first thing in the morning and did the same until I was discharged a couple of days later.
The midwives and doctors on the labour ward were a great support, and the team that ran the c section were also great; there was much less support on the maternity ward (induction pre labour) and recovery and postnatal wards.
Once we were discharged, it was great to have the first week at home to ourselves, although now we are now a bit sad that none of our family has been able to meet Luna yet, so we are doing a lot of video calls and group zoom chats. The most positive thing to come out of the impact of COVID-19 is that me and my husband are at home together, having the opportunity to do the first few weeks and months together is amazing. We are mixed breast and bottle feeding - it has been and still is extremely challenging. Although I have spoken with lactation consultants it has been tough not being able to have in person support for this.
I am so glad to have done the HPHB course, I was so much more informed about all the things that actually ended up happening in my birth experience. It was also great from a partner’s perspective to understand how to support me throughout the birth and post birth
Top Tip:
Talk to your partner and friends about any concerns or fears you have and ask for the support you feel you need.
You can read lots more Positive Birth Stories here. We have positive birth stories from all types of births, including homebirths, water births, induction of labour, instrumental deliveries and Caesarean section births.
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