2020-04-01_Mother_&_Baby

Bump&Birth

Three things

I’d tell my

friends

Prep for your

planned c-section by

watching YouTube

videos of the

operation with

yourpartner.It will

helpbothof you

understandthesteps,

andshow how youcan

makeit specialand

personalforyour

ownarrival.

Whileeverything

shouldgoto plan,

labourcansurprise

youin how it styles

out,soget familiar

withthebasicsof

whatcouldhappen.

Thiswillhelp

empoweryou,too.

Post-surgery,use

yourpregnancypillow

topropupyour

tummyfrom

underneathwhen

you’rehalfsat up

cuddlingyourbaby.

wasaskedtogohome,andthat’swhen
I becameteary. I feltcluelessaboutwhatto
do in ourantenatalclassesI’d switchedoff
duringthesessionsonlabourbe causeI had
thoughtit wouldn’taffectme.
Soon,I begantonoticemildtwinges. I tried
todistractmyself, watchingshowsonmy
phone,butI wasstartingtostruggle.Pacing
thecorridor, I feltregular,strongtightenings.
I wentto findthemidwives.‘If I wasin labour,
atwhatpointwouldyoubeinterested?’I asked.
They repliedthat contractionswouldneed
tolastoneminute, abouta minuteapart.
I grabbedmy phoneandstartedtimingthe
sensations. Sure enough,they wereroughlya
minuteapart,andlastingaboutthat long.
It was9pmwhena surgeonpoppedinto
discussthec-sectionI wasdueto hav e the
followingday. WhenI explainedI washaving
contractions,sheexaminedme:‘We’llneedto
bringyouforwardto tonight,’shesaid.‘You’re
4cmdilated,andinestablishedlabour.’
Relieffloodedmy body as I realisedthey
were stillgoingto give memy c-section.But
thecontractionswere gettingintense. Jonathan
returnedto findmeleaningagainstthewall,
swearing!I wassuddenlyfrightenedat the
prospectof nothavingLucy, my dedicated
midwife, withme, butthankfullythemidwife
on dutywaslov ely too. Shebroughtmeand
Jonathanourscrubsfor theatre andI wasgiven
newconsentformsforanemergencyc-section.
Unfortunately,we wereina queueafter
anothermum-to-bewhosesituationwasmore
urgent.WhileI puffedon thegas andair,
Jonathantriedtokeep medistractedby playing
the chilled Ibiza soundtrack we’d prepared.
Ibiza is where we’d first met, so imagining the
warm, sandy beaches there was exactly what
I needed to stay calm. The gas and air wasn’t
having much of an effect, but I was given a
shot of the painkiller diamorphine.
It was only at 4am, and after I’d had a
couple of wobbles where I’d convinced myself
I couldn’t go on, that it was our turn. Going
into theatre and seeing the team of medics
smiling at me was a huge relief. My anxiety
faded as I felt the relaxed atmosphere rub off

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motherandbaby

on me. I didn’t even panic when I was asked to

lean over a pillow for the spinal block.

As the staff busied themselves around us,

Jonathan held my hand. ‘Tell me about Ibiza,’

I whispered, and he began describing all our

favourite places out there, a hypnobirthing

technique we’d practised during pregnancy.

I was instantly transported.

I was vaguely aware of the staff getting

started on the other side of the curtain, and

I felta painlesstuggingsensationinmy bump.

Theatmospherewassopeaceful,though,I

hardlyregisteredwhatwashappening. ‘Happy

birthday, littleman,’I heard thesurgeonsay.

Ourbabyboy hadbeenborn! Hewaswhisked

toanotherroomforchecks,andit wasa tense

waitbefore a midwifereturnedtoreassureus.

‘He’sfine, justbeinga littletinker!’shesmiled.

Apparently,thediamorphineI’d beengiven

hadmadehimsleepy, andthey neededtobe

surehewasalertenoughtobreatheonhisown.

Toourhugerelief,hesoonwokeup. Andwhen

babyBillywaspassedto Jonathan,I almost

burst withhappinessseeingmy boystogether.

Wewenthomethenextday, andmy physical

recoverywasgreat.Mentally, I hada bit of

processingtodo, andI wassupportedbrilliantly

by Lucy. Sheexplainedthat Billywasbreech,

andwouldhave struggledto have beenborn

vaginallyanyway.Talkingaboutwhathad

happenedhelped,as didsomeusefulNHS

counsellingsessionsfocusingonmy anxiety.

Thankfully, any flatnessI feltduringmy

pregnancydisappearedafterthebirth.I

suspectit wasprenataldepression.Myanxiety

haseased,andI feelluckyto hav e experienced

suchanempoweringbirth.Theleaduptomy

c-sectionmaynothave beenas controlledas

I’dwanted,butI’mproudofhow I handled

thesituation,andofthedecisionsI made.

I’mproofthat eventhemostanxious

mum-to-becanhavea calm,positive birth.

Baby Billy at

four weeks old

Back home with

supportive partner

Jonathan