Birth Story - Persephone
It feels like I wrote my pregnancy update for Persephone yesterday and now she’s here!
As I am typing this, she is officially one month old! It feels surreal that she has been here for an entire month, or that the events I’ll be discussing happened a month ago. It still has not fully sunk in, which also feels weird to say. Overall, clearly, this has all been a very surreal experience.
So on the 2nd of August I was booked in for a planned c-section. As I had gestational diabetes, and had a previous difficult spinal, I was first on the list that day! I went with my mum as my birthing partner, and we arrived just before 8:30am. I met my midwife who would be taking care of me during the section and in recovery. I cannot remember her name for the life of me but she was such a lovely person and truly helped me feel more at ease throughout!
This was not my first section, I also had one with the twins so I had a fair idea what to expect. I was given my lovely stockings to wear during surgery and after, as well as the hospital gown. Once I had those on, it was time to go into the theatre. I was walked in and brought up onto the operating bed, then it was time for my spinal.
I was worried about this because of how difficult it had been for them the last time. I had no reason to be this time as it only took them 20 minutes, a massive improvement from the previous two hours!
While they were working on my spinal I was chatting with the other anaesthetist who did my consult during my pregnancy. She also asked if there was any music I wanted to play during my section. I opted for my favourite band - All Time Low. Once they were playing I instantly felt more at ease. I also spent time working on my breathing just like I’d learned in my hynobirthing classes. I would highly recommend these even if you’re having a section!
Once the spinal was in, I was positioned for the surgery and they began doing the pre-surgery checks. All of these went without issue, apart from checking babies heartbeat. This most likely meant she was in an awkward position or had moved, but this did cause me to panic. Especially as I’d had complications and the bad bleed in my pregnancy. We had two options, wait for a scanner, or have a baby, the surgeons chose have the baby. So they began.
It felt like mere minutes before I was being asked if I wanted the drape lowered to see her being born. I opted for having them lowered and seeing her. Seeing her come out and cry made me feel so much more at ease! She was born at 10:06. They took her to do the post birth checks and :vitamin K shot, while the surgeons began the job of removing my placenta and stitching me back up again.
Once her checks were done she was placed on my chest and we had skin-to-skin for the remainder of the surgery.
The surgery went very well, with no complications. Something I am insanely grateful for!
The entire time spent in recovery was spent doing skin-to-skin with Persephone. We also started with breastfeeding, but that only lasted for 6 days. I plan to do another post on that. I was moved to the ward just around midday, so after two hours. My mum stayed until I could feel my legs again which was around 17:30.
It was truly the most lovely experience and it gave me the most beautiful start with Persephone.
What was your birth experience like? Let me know in the comments!