Birth Day

A Natural Birth that became a Caesarian Section

I had my daughter in late February 2011. I planned for a natural birth with a support of my husband and my obstetrician. The doctor said there should not be a problem and all went well until I was about 10 hours into the labour. The frequency of contraction became irregular and slowed, and the widening of pelvis stalled at 7.0cm. After 2 more hours, the doctor took a closer examination, and advised that the baby's head was lifted upwards in a posterior position. The doctor suggested a caesarian section as it looked like the baby was stuck. I was exhausted from 10 hours labour by that time, and was scared of the unexpected operation. It was a terrifying experience as the contraction kept coming since I was well into the labour, and the anaesthetics injections needed to be done in between the contraction as I was twisting around with the pain.

At the commencement of the operation, my husband joined me at the theatre, and while his presence provided a bit of relief, I was still afraid. I was afraid of everything, especially about my baby. What was about 30mins operation felt like hours until the doctor told my husband to get ready to take a picture. Then, I heard the cry of a baby behind the curtain that partitioned lower half of my body. The fear and worries disappeared instantly, and I could not take my eyes off my baby crying on my chest. It was an ecstatic moment, and I cried with joy as the baby seemed to respond to my voice.

The midwife then took the baby away to do measurements and other routines, while the doctor was busy doing stitches. The midwife came back with my baby shortly after, and asked me to breastfeed the baby. It was my first experience breastfeeding and took about 10 minutes before I succeeded in feeding the baby in a proper position. It was an amazing experience as the baby was sniffing around looking for a nipple to suck onto, continuously crying as she fails to get her mouth attached.