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When did you realize you were really in labor?
After two successful unmedicated births, I didn't expect labor with my third as it was planned to be a cesarean section as my baby was sitting breech and no-one in my area would catch a breech baby. So, when slow contractions woke me in the early hours a day before baby was "scheduled" I was more than a little surprised! I shrugged them off and continued sleeping between the contractions, thinking they were bound to be nothing as no baby of mine had ever been early and this was a week before I was due. But, by 4am I decided a shower and packing my bag might be the best idea as they were getting closer together and far more powerful.
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What was the most challenging thing about going natural?
This birth was partly natural. I arrived at the hospital, not sure what to expect as I didn't feel I'd labored in the same way as I had with my previous two. It turned out that I was fully dilated but baby was still breech and not budging, so into the OR I went for my 'gentle' c-section. Breech labor, it turns out, is a lot easier than labor with baby head down! The most challenging thing was accepting a c-section was necessary after two natural births.
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CICHOWSKI-NB-25bw
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What was the most helpful thing you did to prepare for childbirth?
Because I was pretty clued up on natural birth I spent most of this pregnancy trying to get my breech baby to turn. When I started realizing it was a strong possibility that he/she was not going to turn I researched gentle c-sections and prepared myself mentally for a birth that I had always feared - one in the operating room. Luckily my doctor was one of the first to perform gentle c-sections in this area as she is an advocate for women to have the birth experience they want, and she followed all my requests completely.
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What surprised you about your birth?
The recovery. I knew it would be hard to recover from surgery, but the very slow and very painful recovery is something I hope to never have to endure again. After my natural vaginal births I was up and in the shower after a couple of hours. It took me over a week to feel steady on my feet after this c-section and even now, at 5 weeks post-partum, I'm sore and not quite myself.
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Research your options so you are ready for the unexpected. No birth is the same, so listen to others but try and take only the positives, adding tools to your belt not worries.
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What pain relief strategies worked best?
As I labored at home, the breathing techniques I'd used before, steady and measured as the contractions rose and fell away again worked perfectly. Also, a hot shower focused on my lower back. I found that once I couldn't talk or move through contractions my birthing ball was the only place I wanted to be as sitting on there reduced the pain considerably.
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What position did you end up delivering in?
C-section.
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How did it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
It felt amazing! I had requested a clear sheet for the surgery and my doctor held up my boy, screaming and bloody and beautiful so I could see him whilst she waited for the cord to stop pulsating. As soon as she cut the cord he was put straight to my chest and the wonderful nurse helped me hold him so he could latch on there in the OR. He found a nipple, latched, and opened his gorgeous eyes to look straight at me.
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What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
Research your options so you are ready for the unexpected. No birth is the same, so listen to others but try and take only the positives, adding tools to your belt not worries.
