Planned C-Section due to Breech and Minor Heart Defects - Positive Birth Story
Lauren had dreamed of a vaginal water birth, but due to her baby's minor heart defects and being in a breech position, a C-Section was the safest option. Her birth was calm and it was the most amazing experience of her life.
A C-Section was not on the plan when I was reading my hypnobirthing book and practising my breath work everyday. I thought I would give birth in the birthing centre, in the water, with fairy lights, and at the absolute most, an epidural if needed.
We found out Otis had two minor heart defects later into my second trimester, which we had multiple scans for throughout the rest of the pregnancy. Otis was also breech throughout most of my pregnancy which didn't worry me until our 34 week scan. After much discussion with the fetal medicine team, consultants and breech midwives, we opted for a C-Section for the safest delivery. At this point, I had accepted I would be having our baby via elective C-Section but still spent everyday doing my spinning-baby exercises in the hopes he may turn. When we got our C-Section date a week before, I was excited but also found the prospect of already knowing his birth date strange. The days leading up to the C-Section I shed a lot of tears and spent the days worrying of the worst-case scenarios.
I listened to the C-Section walk-through the night before while practising my breath work, which gave me a sense of calm among the anticipation and nerves.
Needless to say my C-Section was the most amazing experience of my life and I can honestly say I loved it. It was the most calm and friendly atmosphere in theatre and everyone made us feel so at ease. For anyone worried about the spinal (which was my main worry) I best describe the feeling as stepping into a warm bath as your bottom half goes numb, and after that it feels a bit strange, but once your baby’s here you absolutely don't give it a second thought. The injection itself I couldn't feel. You are just consumed by the arrival of your baby which is a feeling like no other!