Cherilyn's C-Section Birth

When did you realize you were really in labor?

We delivered our beautiful baby boy Duncan Isaiah MacLeod at 8.2 pounds 6/10/16. We didn't get the natural unmedicated birth that I was hoping for and lucky enough to have gotten with our daughter (start to finish the first labor was 2 hours and 45min). This little man decided he wanted to make his entrance like Superman with his arm over his head and his umbilical cord prolapsed and loosely wrapped around his neck and with every contraction the cord tightened and his heart rate would drop, so we ended up with a true emergency C-section under general anesthesia. My midwife checked me at my regular appointment and I was 5 cm dilated with the bag of water bulging so she sent me to the hospital because she was pretty sure if my water broke at home I wouldn't make it to the hospital. The midwife broke my water at 1:30 PM and at 1:33 called for the stat section and he was born at 1:39. I also managed to go from 6 cm to complete while they were moving me from the bed to the operating table and was told not to push and I informed them that I had no urge to push and I hadn't felt any contractions lol ( The only contractions I felt up to this point were in the week prior and they felt like random menstrual cramps but there was no pattern so I wasn't thinking labor). And thankfully my midwife is also a nurse practitioner so she was able to stay in the OR and assist the surgeon so she made sure we still did the delayed cord clamping and saved my placenta and stayed until after we woke up in recovery to make sure we were ok. I'm so truly thankful for her in the whole medical team because if they didn't move as fast as they did or if I went into labor at home then this beautiful baby boy would most likely be dead or on a cooling blanket trying to minimize brain damage. And because I have hemorrhaged with my first delivery and lost 2 pints of blood there's a good chance that I would be dead as well because of his arm position. The whole experience was insane, frightening and amazing all at the same time.

What was the most challenging thing about going natural?

I was able to have a natural birth with our first child and planned on one with our second, but it din't work out that way.

What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?

Stayed healthy throughout this pregnancy.

What surprised you about your birth?

Everything

Trust in the process but also trust your practitioners.

What pain relief strategies worked best?

General anesthesia

What position did you end up delivering in?

On an operating table

How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?

Amazing and relief that he was safe.

What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?

Trust in the process but also trust your practitioners.