WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A C-SECTION: MY BIRTH STORY.

Those that read my blog regularly or have been keeping up with my baby/pregnancy-themed blog posts will probably already know all about my birth plan & how things changed. For those of you that don’t, you can read that blog post here: 'Pregnancy Update: What's Happened In My 38th Week of Pregnancy.'

For those of you that are all up to date, for this blog post, I wanted to share my birth story. I read several other women's birth stories ahead of heading into hospital myself. And of course, I did a lot of research on Caesarean sections, the recovery, the pain and everything else involved. 

Birth is terrifying, no matter how you do it. But equally, there's no denying that it's magical. 

I really hope that you all enjoy this blog post.

My Birth Story

So, first thing on Thursday morning, at 6:45AM, Marc and I headed to the central delivery unit at our local hospital. I was nervous, excited, terrified - all those things, mixed with a bunch of other feelings and emotions that I’ve never experienced before and can’t quite explain. We were heading to hospital knowing that upon my discharge, we would be bringing our baby boy home with us. Truthfully, it was all completely surreal. 

Upon our arrival at hospital, Marc and I were checked in to a private room with a bed in which I could rest ahead of my operation. It was a small room but it was comfortable, and It was nice to have some space to ourselves as opposed to just sitting in a waiting area. I wanted to relax as much as possible before my going into theatre (which as an anxious person, wasn’t exactly easy given the fact I was heading for serious surgery!) - but it certainly helped that we could just have that one-on-one time ahead of the big moment. 

We stayed in this room all morning, and in between episodes of Sons of Anarchy, which we were watching on Marc’s phone, a lot went down. 

So, soon after settling into the room, a nurse came and took my bloods so that the doctor could assess my platelet count - the exact reason I elected for a c section in the first place. And whilst my count had increased just a few days prior and had actually exceeded the 100 point, on the day of my operation, my platelet count plummeted, with my result coming in at 75. 

If this is all sounding a little alien at this point, I get it - medical jargon isn’t something I’m too good with either. But to briefly explain, having a low platelet count basically means that you are at increased risk of excessive bleeding, as your blood doesn’t clot the same as it would for someone with a normal count. This condition is known in pregnancy, and is neither common or uncommon, but of course, when flagged, it’s something that needs to be addressed. Doctors need to know this information so that they can be prepared with the right equipment and everything else on the day that a woman is giving birth. 

And everything was in place for me, and we had a proper birth plan set out. However, as my platelet count had reduced, things had to change once again. Originally, it was expected that I would be fine to go ahead with the spinal epidural and have Marc in the room with me whilst I was being operated on. However, with my count being so low, I was advised to go down the general anaesthetic route instead, as this would be less risky for me. Had I opted for the epidural, I would have been at risk of developing some form of internal bleeding on my spinal cord, so of course, I took the decision to be put to sleep during my operation instead. This meant that Marc couldn’t be in theatre with me, which made me really upset, but ultimately, we both knew this was the right thing to do. 

As you can imagine, the entire morning was an emotional rollercoaster/whirlwind, and so despite being nervous, when I finally was taken into theatre at around 1:45, I was ready to just get on with it, and at long last, meet our baby boy. 

I spoke with a few different nurses, surgeons and doctors just before being operated on, and a nurse was assigned to Marc to keep him company whilst I was in theatre. She was really lovely and no doubt a huge part of his experience on the day. I felt comforted knowing that he wasn’t just sat anxiously on his own in a room, so that was really reassuring. 

The room I was in, on the other hand, was somewhat less relaxing so to speak, and somewhat more.. well... terrifying. 

I say terrifying - but perhaps that’s the wrong word, really. It was just odd - alien, I suppose. The operating room had at least 10 people in there (all of whom were really nice, I must say), there were lots of bright lights shining down on me and there was a lot of machinery and equipment everywhere. 

I was asked to lie on the theatre bed, at which point a doctor brought my gown upwards, leaving the bottom part of my body completely uncovered, and I was then asked to drop my knees to splay my legs apart. It was a little like what happens when you go for your routine smear test, only I wasn’t having a cervical screening - I was having a catheter inserted. For those that don’t know, a catheter is used during various operations and when treating a variety of conditions, and it basically stops you from urinating as you would naturally. 

The insertion of the catheter was incredibly uncomfortable and made me feel really tense. A tension which was only heightened when a doctor then began massaging an incredibly cold liquid onto my lower abdomen. I’m not entirely sure what this liquid actually was, but it must have been some kind of medical lotion or gel. 

Catheter in and lotion on, the next thing I knew, I had a face mask on with gas and air in it, and one of the nurses was holding my hand and saying “you’re going to go in a minute grace but everything will be absolutely fine and we will see you very soon.”

And that was it. I was asleep. 

The next memory I have is the most magical - waking up and being told that our baby boy had been delivered safely, he was healthy and that he was perfect. 

Our perfect boy. Eric Dale Mitchell was born at 2:21PM on 30th July 2020 weighing a healthy 7lbs 11oz

The moment I met our gorgeous baby, Eric

A nurse handed Eric to me, whose little eyes were wide open and so beautiful, and with Marc at my shoulder, I was encouraged to get that skin to skin contact with our baby right away. Marc had already had skin to skin contact with Eric at this point as he met him before I had come around from my operation. The nurses asked whether I would prefer for him to wait until I came around as well or if I’d rather he got to meet him first. For me, this was a no-Brainer, really. I wanted Marc to get as much time with Eric as possible for both of their benefits. 

Marc and Eric enjoying skin to skin contact not long after Eric was born

Holding our perfect baby boy so close to my heart for the very first time was indescribable. I was overcome with emotion and felt entirely overwhelmed. There was just this huge surge of love and in that moment, I felt completely euphoric. I’d have gone through the surgery I had dreaded a hundred times over for him, and even now, with all the pain I’ve experienced, I’d still do it all over again. 

And on the subject of the pain side of things, I have to be completely frank about this, as I think a lot of women are under the very false illusion that a Caesarian section is the easy way out when it comes to child birth. Even the ‘glamorous’ option.

And trust me, it really really isn’t. So if you’re currently making a birth plan or just considering what your options are, please don’t think of a c-section as the easy road. 

My reason for opting for a c section was not something that came easy - it just turned out to be the right option for me in the end. But for those of you that are perhaps reading this and considering opting for a c section as it’ll be easier or less painful, I’m really sorry to tell you that it’s not quite that straightforward. 

I have absolutely no doubt that my actual delivery was less painful than it is for those that deliver their babies vaginally. Heck, I should hope so anyway, I was out cold for the whole thing haha! But make no mistake here, my recovery, which is still very much in the beginning stage, has been a really, really rough road. 

Our beautiful boy. I already have so many photos of him! This one was taken on his first night in hospital with me

To put things bluntly but hopefully not too scarily, having a section involves being cut open in four different layers - and trust me, I can tell I’ve been cut open. It’s painful. Very, very painful. 

When getting out of bed or out of a chair, the pain is particularly crippling, as I am having to use my stomach muscles to move myself - and it’s excruciating. I think the peak of of this pain was on my first night in hospital when I was trying to get to the toilet (which was only three metres or so from my own hospital bed, may I add). I just stood in the doorway of the ward and sobbed to the midwife because I literally couldn’t walk at all. I was in complete agony. 

Fortunately, albeit it still incredibly uncomfortable, the pain is beginning to ease a little and of course, the face that I got the most incredible prize as a result of my surgery makes all of the discomfort completely worth it & then some. 

The day I delivered Eric into the world wasn’t without its surprises and a few complications, but ultimately, everything turned out exactly as it should. We are all healthy and happy, and Marc and I couldn’t be enjoying parenthood anymore. It’s completely magical and I wouldn’t change a thing. 

I’m going to share a couple more baby-themed blog posts over the next couple of weeks, so please keep your eyes peeled for those! And or course, you can expect lots of beauty tips for new mums, style advice for new mums and lots more. 

I really hope you all enjoyed this blog post and I can’t wait to be back with more for you all very soon. 

Lots of love

Grace x