My C Section Experience

I’m going to warn you right now before I start this post: My experience was VERY unusual and if you’re terrified of having your first cesarean I advise you not to read on because it’ll scare you. My situation was due to a brain malformation that doctors determined a spinal would be too dangerous for. Anywho, here goes.

At my 36 week growth ultrasound, my OB decided that the size of my daughter made a cesarean necessary as she was estimated to be 10lbs at birth and had a very large torso. Their concern was that she may get stuck and it could turn into an emergency cesarean anyway. I very reluctantly agreed that I would have a cesarean just in case so my daughter would be less likely to experience trauma during birth. Fast forward to 38 weeks, it had been decided early in my pregnancy that 39 weeks was baby time. (I lost my first son full term) So my OB lets me know that she’s about to schedule and that we can have the cesarean on a Saturday at my hospital of choice. So they finally call me a few days later with my surgery scheduled. Suddenly I get a call from my neurologist. They’re requesting I come in to be evaluated because of my brain malformation. I go in for my appointment and they clear me to have a spinal due to being asymptomatic. The next day, the day prior to my scheduled c section, my OB calls and asks me if I spoke with my neurologist. She then informs me that they changed their mind and a spinal is too dangerous so I’d need to be under general anesthesia and my surgery needed to be moved to a larger, more emergency ready hospital across town on the following Monday. At this point I was so frustrated with everything because I had 2 boys prior with an epidural and there was never a complication as far as actually giving birth. I just didn’t understand why they seemingly ignored my medical history. So day of surgery finally rolls around and I go into labor 4 hours prior to the time I was scheduled to come in and get prepped. (This kid....) I show up to the hospital 2 hours early and luck would have it, an earlier slot had opened up and my surgery was able to be done a few hours earlier. I’m sitting there just trying to breathe through the contractions while they prep me for surgery and it hits me. This is happening. They’re about to gut me like a fish. So my doctor’s superior arrives and greets me. He tells me we’re almost ready and just waiting on my doctor. The second she walks into my room I lost my shit. I bawled my eyes out. She spends a few minutes reassuring me and calming me down, then we walk back to the OR. Meanwhile my husband is stuck in a whirlwind of my crazy pregnant lady emotions. 😂 So I hop up on the table while the prep folks are counting all of the tools and room inventory. They start prepping me and instantly FORGOT that I didn’t have a spinal. So placing the catheter was traumatic and then placing the sticky paper stuff on my stomach was terrible because they kept having to peel it back off to get it in the right spot. 😒 Meanwhile I’m freaking out and crying again. The stress at this point was so insane I just lost it. So finally they get done prepping me and put a mask on my face. Smelled very weird and plasticky to me. I kept telling them I couldn’t breathe very well but they repeated that it was normal. Next thing I know I wake up in recovery shaking very violently. Once that finally stops, the nurses put my binder on me and show me my daughter. My husband had been quietly hangin out and holding her for hours at this point. Apparently I also spoke with my OB about my surgery and have absolutely no recollection of it. So once I’m coherent enough to talk, I asked about my daughter. My husband tells me she’s 10lbs 8oz. Literally 30 minutes later it had just dawned on me that she was so big. 😂 They roll me back to my maternity room and it isn’t until about 8 hours later that my husband finally informs me of what actually happened. During my surgery, the placenta was difficult to remove and during removal, caused my uterus to invert. They had prepped me for a blood transfusion (i had been wondering why there had been an extra IV placed without my knowledge) and were only one minute away from the transfusion and a total hysterectomy when they finally got the bleeding under control. On top of that, I had also been very difficult to intubate at the beginning of the surgery so I was coughing up blood and could barely speak. Well of course I lost it again. Everything that could have gone wrong with me, did. I almost lost my ability to have anymore children and could have died. My husband didn’t quite understand the severity of the situation even after watching the extra team of surgical folks rush into the OR. I was still unaware of how bad it was until my post-op appointment a week later when my OB explained to me exactly what happened. After this experience, my husband and I have decided that if we are able someday, we will adopt or hire a surrogate but both are financially unlikely. I am so incredibly thankful to have a healthy daughter and the ability to carry another baby but it will take a very long time to decide if I’m willing to risk this all happening again.

And once again, I’ll add that my experience is rare and very complicated. So that’s my story. Here’s a picture of my chunky girl at a month old!

Sorry that was so long. 😂