Pre-eclampsia Calm C-Section - Positive Birth Story
When Amy was diagnosed with preeclampsia, she started educating herself about her birth options. Having prepared herself for both a vaginal birth and a c-section, she felt calm and ready for her induction and the c-section birth that she eventually had. Amy shares with us the events that led to bringing her baby girl into the world via emergency c-section, and how educating herself through c-sectionuk made this a positive experience.
When I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia in my pregnancy at 31 weeks, I knew the water birth at the Midwife-led birth suite in our local hospital that I had envisaged was out of the window (for very valid medical reasons that would save our baby and/or me, I hasten to add!).
As such, I used some of the many hours I spent in the hospital researching the various stats and facts about birth with preeclampsia. Baby was also classed as Fetal Restricted Growth, which was a result of placenta function due to preeclampsia.
I did what any woman would do and talked. I talked to everyone I knew about preeclampsia in the hope that someone would have a story that I could learn from. The help came in tidal waves, including a number of articles and Instagram stories about positive c-section births. Paul and I discussed c-section at length and also with our Midwife and the teams at the hospital. Ultimately the decision lay with us.
For a challenging 6 weeks we fought through the ups and downs of preeclampsia, finishing work at 33 weeks due to the sheer number of hospital admissions to try to stabilise it. Thanks to determination, a positive mindset and a lot of support from friends and family we made it to 37 weeks.
We'd also, by this time, made the decision that we were going to try for a vaginal birth via induction. We went into this decision with our eyes wide open that 30% of preeclampsia inductions end in c-section. Thanks to c-sectionuk, my hospital bag included everything I needed for all eventualities, including c section knickers, colostrum I'd collected and peppermint tea.
When the induction started, fairly quickly baby started to show signs of not enjoying the contractions. At 2am (12 hours after the pessary was inserted) the pessary was taken out and I was being wheeled to the delivery suite for drugs to stop contractions and help calm baby.
15 minutes later and my blood pressure had also escalated and all signs pointed to the need for a c-section. I happily consented, knowing that my baby needed to come and meet us. The team at the hospital commented all the way through about how calm and collected I was. I honestly believe this is due to how much I had armed myself with knowledge about the c-section process.
The procedure itself is a bit of a blur, but Ada Olive was born at 2:57am to a room full of people whose only job was to look after us. And that they did, whilst also communicating the whole way through so I knew what was happening. I even avoided the shakes, mostly I think because I was so in control of the situation.
Because of the rush, my husband didn't make it to the hospital on time to see the birth of his daughter, but the team of Doctors and Midwives made sure there were plenty of photos and updated me regularly with what was happening with Ada when she was whisked away by doctors to help her. When Paul did arrive, he'd walked the dog knowing his wife and daughter were safe and sound and was able to come to the hospital to celebrate our overnight achievements.
The following days were a bundle of love, cuddles, learning to feed and looks after my new body and the one that grew inside me. At the time of writing this I've managed to get to day 7 with only ibuprofen and paracetamol, and am very comfortable. It's one day at a time and energy levels are low - but major surgery isn't to be sniffed at and nor is becoming a mum.
The moral of the story for me: be prepared for anything, arm yourself with a strong mind and you can do it!
Have you had a positive c-section birth that you’d like to submit to our Positive Birth Stories page to help other parents feel more confident? We’d absolutely love to hear from you!
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