My Caesarean Story

Caesarean Awareness Month

I didn’t even know that this existed but after reading some amazing stories it has inspired me to share mine. I had an emergency c-section with my first born Ella. This wasn’t planned and I was not at all prepared for it. After being in bed for a week suffering from the flu, my waters broke on a Friday morning. At the time we were living on the top floor and my waters broke whilst I was going up the stairs. I thought right, this is it I'm having my baby now. Called my mum, she jumped in an Uber and I went to lie down whilst Kofi and I waited for her to arrive so we can get this show on the road. 

Fourty-eight hours later my baby still no dey (still hadn’t arrived).To cut a long story short my daughter's heart rate was alarmingly high and my labour was not progressing. It was all very dramatic. I remember when they told me they were taking me through to theatre, I actually cried. I burst into tears because this was not the plan. I had not educated myself on anything to do with a c-section so I melodramatically convinced myself that this was it. I was never going to be allowed to have anymore children, which was silly. 

The midwives, anaesthetists and the people that looked after us were great and the surgery went well. They took me round to recovery where my mum was waiting for me and Kofi stayed with Ella. When I was on the ward I asked to see my baby but they were wasting time. She was born at 5:04 and I didn’t get to see her again until 8:30 am. When she finally came round she had a tube in her nose but no one would actually explain the reason why. I was very upset. 

A week later I was to be discharged but once again they were wasting time. When it came to the time to discharge me, they remembered they had not taken out my stitch (a large one that went across my wound). One midwife came, she tried to take it out but it only came out half way. It was stuck. She went to get a colleague who tugged on it a bit but at this point I was in pain and she could tell that this was not normal. She then went to get a senior colleague and they both saw that my skin had healed over the stitch and this plastic rod was now hanging out of my body. She offered me oral morphene which I took in a hurry. It just didn’t seem to work. They pulled it out of me and I screamed. I literally felt my skin tear. I was crying like a baby. It was all too much. They gave me the all clear and the go ahead to go home. I quickly took my baby and went home.

Fast forward to the recovery, to be honest I was drugged up so I don’t remember experiencing much pain but I just couldn’t bring myself to look at the scar. Some days later I was going about my business and felt something wet near my scar. I put some tissue there and it was blood. At this point I am now panicking and not knowing what to do. Called my husband and mum and they both looked like this wasn’t normal. They both advised we go to a&e. I will spare you the gory details but it worked out that my wound had reopened and I had caught an infection. 

When I got pregnant with Issa, my Consultant wanted me to have another c-section but Ella was less than 2 years old and I was worried about the healing process and picking her up so I pushed to be allowed to give birth naturally. He was adamant due to me having pre eclampsia and Issa being “too small to go through the birth canal herself”. So he booked me in for another c-section. Once again, I was absolutely devastated. 

The way God likes to surprise us, my lil Issa done the same and came a week before the planned c-section BY HERSELF. WITH NO PAINKILLERS. I didn’t even know I was pushing, I thought I was doing a no 2. I tore and ended up having to go to theatre because a midwife decided to yank on my umbilical cord, it snapped and my placenta got stuck inside. 

I have had both types of birth. I cannot exactly say either one is better than the other but I can say each one gets you to the goal of having your baby. Plan for a birth and not necessarily a natural birth or caesarean because anything can happen on the day. Either way, as long as you and your baby are safe and well, that is all that matters. 

Lots of love