C-Section Awareness Month!

Another year, another C-Section awareness month! I have been a member of the C-Section club for almost 4 years now and every year in April, we speak about and celebrate what Women go through to bring babies in to this world.

I have to admit that I was so so worried when I found out I was pregnant with Elsa. She was my first baby and I was only 19. One of my biggest worries was that the birth would end in a C-Section. I had only heard horror stories about them and the idea of being cut open to have my baby wasn’t something that I wanted. Of course, I want my children to be born in the safest possible way, any parent would but I had a fear of having one.

With Elsa, I had a natural birth. I was induced but it was natural birth with just gas and air. Appartently that was the only natural birth that I would have.

Cleo’s pregnancy was hard but her birth was the hardest. I was induced and because I had such an easy and quick labour with Cleo, we were expecting the same. My body had other ideas though and I ended up having an allergic reaction to the induction pressary. The rest is what they would call history and up until about 2 years ago, I would have been in a right state even writing about this experience.

Cleo’s heart rate was very low while mine was very very high. My blood pressure was through the roof and they couldn’t control my contractions. I was injected with god knows what and the next thing I remember is the red button being pressed and I was rushed off to theatre and Jonny was left behind.

I can just about remember the theatre lights and signing something. A nurse told me it was going to be alright and they were putting compression stockings on me then I don’t remember anything.

I woke up in recovery. Jonny was white as a ghost and my Mum was there. They had Cleo and I had no idea what had happened. It was very traumatic and I suffered with depression and PTSD for years afterwards. It was the scariest experience of my life. Thankful we were both ok. Both myself and Cleo nearly died. I really struggled after the C-Section too.

So when I found out that I was pregnant with Brody, I was worried yet again about a C-Section. During the pregnancy I had Hyperemisis and was in and out of hospital and was going through therapy for my depression and PTSD from birth trauma.

I could have had a VBAC which is a Vaginal Birth After C-Section but the fear of something going wrong was just too much and I ended up booking to have a C-Section.

Yet again, my body had other plans and my waters broke at home at 37 weeks. I think my body had just had too much and I was so ill and just tired. So another emergency C-Section it was. It wasn’t anywhere near as dramatic but I still wasn’t prepared for it.

This time I was awake and everything went ok.

All 3 of my children are amazing and I love them to pieces. Their births were all so different and they really took their toll on me. No more babies for me, I don’t think my body could handle it!

The one thing that everyone that is reading this post needs to remember is that every single birth is different. Not every birth is easy but not every birth is dramatic either.