Unplanned but Prepared - Positive C-Section Birth Story
First-time mum Emma shares her the story of her unplanned but positive c-section birth with her baby boy.
“We found out at 35 weeks that our son had an intrauterine growth restriction (he’d stopped growing) so our birth plan quickly changed to an induction. It became apparent on the second day of this process that our baby was in distress, and accompanied with some other significant factors, my husband and I made the decision to request a c-section. We felt empowered from our Hypnobirthing classes with Midwife Vic that we could have conversations in an informed way.
It’s fair to say going into the birth I didn’t particularly want a c-section, my preference had always been for a water birth or, at the very least, as little intervention as possible. But given what we knew about the options we had available and the situation for both myself and our son, we knew a c-section was the best and safest route. We also wanted to avoid ending up having a c-section further down the line in a far more heightened state of emergency (which we were informed during the procedure that’s where we were headed and so had thankfully avoided that).
During the theatre prep and procedure itself, I found Up Breathing the most useful Hypnobirthing technique. It was particularly helpful for me with managing the contractions whilst they put the spinal in, getting me through the nausea I was experiencing whilst waiting for medication, and helping reduce my stress with the extra monitoring required for our son, both before and after he arrived.
Even though our c-section was technically classed as an emergency, it was the most positive part of our whole birth experience. I felt calm and fully prepared for the whole process thanks to the objective and factual information we received in our Hypnobirthing classes with Midwife Vic. We’re so grateful that we chose the route we did, which we both believe avoided significant levels of trauma for us all.
I thankfully recovered really well from the c-section. I wasn’t too sure what to expect with it all but I utilised scar mobilisation and massage which I believe supported the healing process. And with the help of a specialist PT, I was able to restart exercise in a safe way and was back rowing again 6 months postpartum.
Whenever we’ve received a funny look or comment about having had a c-section, we’ve very quickly commented on how positive our experience was and how grateful we were to have had the knowledge to be able to advocate for ourselves to take that path.
I’m a strong advocate for using Hypnobirthing and a very proud c-section mum!”
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!
Please click here for info on how to send us your story (and photos from your birth if you're happy to do so!).