My Emergency Cesarean Section

Posted on May 28, 2014 | 0 comments

I was determined to give birth ‘the natural way’, with the drugs of course!

My pregnancy had been perfectly normal.

I had no idea what an emergency cesarean section even was!

I had eaten way healthier than I ever thought possible and felt better than ever.

I was totally ready for the big day… the delivery, counting the moments.

So all of a sudden one night, two days after my due date, I felt a bit of water between my legs. I went and sat on the toilet and a little more clear liquid came out. My water breaking?

Now wait a minute. Where is the big swoosh of water you see in the movies? And why am I not feeling any contractions? No pain at all? I thought I should at least call my doctor to find out what this was. I told my husband, who instantly became convinced this was it and started getting ready.

I laughed at him and told him we were not going anywhere…
But I was wrong! Get right to the ER, she said! That is definitely your water breaking. But I didn’t have any contractions. She said that it happened all the time.

We were on our way to have an emergency cesarean section!

Ok! Even though I was convinced we would be sent home within the hour, I called to let my family know.

We arrive, take the token ‘big belly walking into the hospital’ pic, get checked in, examined AND…

The water is definitely broken! Here we go!

They attached all of the monitors and told me that they would give me a little time to start the contractions.

I did.

They hurt… Though at this point I was not nervous at all, just excited – and a little surprised it did not hurt more, stupid girl that I am!

For some reason I was not dilating and the contractions were not getting any worse.

They decided to give me Pitocin… WOW. Talk about 0 to 60 in an instant. Holy horrible, awful, painful contractions out of what seemed like nowhere.

There was talk about a cesarean section but I was determined to give birth naturally.

I still had no clue what an emergency cesarean section was – no one warned me!

The next 20 hours were a blur of pain: the lower body pressure, the dry mouth, the fear of ‘why is he not coming out yet?’, the anger of why they would not give me the epidural to end this horrible pain.

All I could keep thinking was ‘I have the big birthing hips, I thought this would be easy’ and ‘I hope he is alright’. I will admit the way this was all going did frighten me a bit.

About 18 hours into it, they FINALLY gave me the epidural. AAAHHH, RELIEF!!!

Then they gave me the news that my baby’s heart beat had started to slow down and she was getting concerned. At this time she did ask me how I felt about a having a cesarean birth right then. I said I wanted to hold out. She did not look pleased but she said ok.

At about 21 hours, the doc came flying in and said his heart beat had just stopped. It had restarted but she was no longer willing to wait.

She TOLD me I was having an emergency cesarean section and to do my best to stay calm.

Ya, OK…

Before I knew it, there were like 15 people around me, changing me, poking me, talking to me, and wheeling me into the ER.

They put a white sheet up just under my chin so I could not see what was going on down below – where, mind you, at least 5 people stood doing something to me.

My husband appeared, all gowned up, right next to my head thankfully. He talked me through it and I felt better knowing he was there to look out for us.

Since I could not feel anything past my neck, all I could do was wait to hear my baby cry. I waited for what seemed like hours (but really just mere minutes) and after a quick ‘oh my gosh’ from one of the nurses, I heard the best sound in the whole universe and I was able to breathe again.

MY BABY BOY’S CRY!!!

Oh what a glorious sound!!

As it turns out, his cord had wrapped around his neck 2x and he had turned blue. He was also face up. So he most likely would not have survived a vaginal birth.

My emergency cesarean section saved my son’s life!

Before I knew it, the 3 of us were alone in our room and I was more deeply in love than I had ever been.

It was later that night, with my husband asleep by our side, that I did experience some sadness at not being able to deliver vaginally.
But you know I like to focus on the positives. So I forced myself to think about the following.

Why I was lucky to have had an emergency cesarean section.

Here’s what I came up with:

1. I have a healthy, prefect prince – who cares how he got here?! Had I not been in a facility and had expert doctors who performed the emergency cesarean section, he may not be here.
2. I got an extra 3 days stay in a private room, where my baby stayed with me 24/7. They never once had to take him out. The recovery period there was so peaceful.
3. All of my ‘lady-parts’ remained intact! Since I became pregnant 3 months after delivering this child, I think we know who is most thankful for this one! The emergency cesarean section gave me no stretching or tearing at all – definitely something to be thankful for.

The only downfall – the scar. But let’s be honest, the way technology is moving, I will be able to have it zapped away soon!

An Emergency Cesarean Section is a miracle!

Actually, I am quite grateful for them. As well as for all of the people who train for these emergency procedures. Without these people, I am willing to bet there are many, many little lights in our world who would not be here.

It is my opinion that life is about perception. Instead of being sad that my baby was not born naturally, I am thrilled that I have a healthy, amazing son who may not be here if it were not for an emergency cesarean section.

I only wish someone had told me more of what to expect once you are home alone with the baby… but I will save that for another blog!

Cheers and Happy Birthing!
Malibu Mama Loves Xx