Gemma & Elodie
Stubborn little Elodie was breech and inconveniently stuck underneath my rib-cage … so what’s a girl to do?
Have an elective c-section…and what girl wouldn’t?
In the UK about 1 in 4 women give birth via c-section, with the entire procedure only taking around 40 to 50 mins*!
C-section sounds so clinical doesn’t it? But then again it is major surgery … so does warrant such a “grown up” name…it’s a “BIG” thing.
I had read so much on c-sections; what to expect, what to take to the hospital and what to have/use during recovery. There were also a few mums from my NCT group who went in for the procedure before me: I had done some serious research … but what struck me was that they all had such very different experiences. I knew that mine would be different too!
I was fortunate enough to have a family member who works in the field, so was able to talk me through a “typical” c-section but nothing could prepare me for “D-Day” I won’t go into the minute by minute account BUT for anyone who is unsure about having an elective c-section, all I can say is that I had such a positive experience!
From arriving at the hospital at 8am on 30.09.20, to Elodie entering this mad world at 10.20am, to then being taken down to the maternity ward by 4pm. Don’t get me wrong, it was a hell of an ordeal but I am a stronger woman for having Elodie arrive into this world via this procedure… after growing, caring and nurturing her for 39 weeks and 3 days (276 days… not that I was counting). When I made it to the maternity ward at 4pm on 30.09.20, that is when the, “Oh crap! What do I do?!” moment hit me. And there began the whirlwind induction to motherhood!
Sources: *NHS
3 things I wish I knew...
1. No-one mentioned the “night before”. That feeling was like nothing I could’ve ever imagined. Knowing the next day we would have a baby was bonkers!! Imagine the excitement of going on a holiday of a lifetime, mixed with the anxiety of a big interview, sprinkled with joy. That is how I can best describe.
2. The speed from the first cut to seeing our baby. In total, for us, it was 5 mins from cut to Elodie entering this world.
3.Giving birth via c-section doesn’t make me any less of a woman or a mum!! Pre-section I had horrible thoughts that as I wasn’t bringing Elodie into the world through my vagina that it made me inferior to others who I deemed, lucky enough, to be giving birth “naturally”.
Today, I know I am wrong, I am a warrior mum! Strong, brave and successfully bought Elodie, safely, into this world
