Stood My Ground for a C-Section - Positive Birth Story
Though her planned C-Section turned into an 'emergency', the birth of Ann-Marie's daughter was a beautiful and calm experience with a smooth recovery afterward. Here she shares her empowering experience of choosing a C-Section and standing her ground despite external pressure.
On 30th May I gave birth to my gorgeous girl, Matilda, via C-Section birth and it was the most beautiful experience.
I knew quite early on in my pregnancy that I wanted to have a C-Section birth, but I kept this a secret for a while as I felt that there was a lot of social pressure to have a “normal” birth, as there was no medical reason for me to have a C-Section.
c-sectionuk helped me feel empowered to ask for the birth that I wanted and not just go along with a vaginal birth because it was the expected thing to do. I was very nervous to have the conversation with my midwife and I did a lot of research on both vaginal and C-Section births before my midwife appointment. Even though it is my right to request a C-Section, lots of people told me that the health professionals would try to pursue me otherwise. So I went into my appointment expecting to have an argument and I was armed with academic articles about birth and my rights.
To my surprise, the midwife responded to my request with the words, “ok, that’s beautiful. Let’s go for it.”. I was really grateful that I didn’t have to defend my choice.
A few months later, my elected C-Section date was confirmed. But my little lady decided to come a few days early and I went into spontaneous labour, so my elective C-Section became an emergency one. The consultant in triage examined me and said I was 6cm dilated, my cervix was soft and I could deliver vaginally. She started to ask why I wanted a C-Section and that it wasn’t necessary. I was really glad I had my husband with me to advocate for my preference. In the pressure and pain of contractions I don’t think I would have been able to stand my ground and defend my choice.
After quite a lot of faffing about, painful contractions and me demanding to know when I would be going to theatre, shouting “give me the damn spinal block!” I was finally taken out of the labour room and into theatre.
As soon as I was wheeled into theatre, I felt a wave of calm come over me as this was the birth that I wanted. During the contractions, I managed my pain by practising breathing and visualisations to mentally take me out of the labour room. Once the spinal block was administered, I felt that I could mentally relax and I was able to be fully present and aware of what was happening around me. The anaesthetist talked me through what was happening the whole time and I knew from the c-sectionuk Courses that once I heard the suction noise, the next thing would be my baby being born. Hearing her small cry was the best sound in the world. Then having the screen dropped to see her lifted into the world and being told we had a daughter was an incredibly emotional moment full of happy tears.
Disappointingly, the antenatal classes only spent 15-mins on C-Sections, so I am very glad that the c-sectionuk Courses exist. They definitely helped me feel more prepared and empowered.
I did experience a spinal-block headache a few days after delivery, but otherwise, with lots of great support and rest, my recovery has been very smooth. I am so glad that I advocated for what I wanted and didn’t concede to the social pressure of having a vaginal birth.