Testimony Sonja
My baby had been breech for pretty much the entire 3rd trimester, so around 35 weeks Dra. Suárez informed me that she will not be performing breech delivery, but that I would have to have a C-section if the little lady didn’t turn in time.
She was also not keen on performing an ECV, because I am a first time mum. I was devastated, because I really wanted a natural birth and it made me feel inadequate – like something was wrong with me to not be able to deliver my baby the normal way like everybody else.
I decided to do everything in my power to get to turn her, but as you can guess, nothing worked: inversions and other positions from spinningbabies, accupuncture and moxibustion, daily long walks, you name it. I was able to trigger lots of movement in the womb, but she just wouldn’t turn head down.
At my 39 week appointment Dra. Suárez was still willing to give me another week or 2 to try and turn her, since the baby was very small at that point. However, at a follow up ultrasound the next day it was discovered that I was running low on amniotic fluid, so the section was scheduled for that same week, 3 days from the ultrasound. I wasn’t happy, but at least I finally knew for sure what was going to happen and I was able to mostly make my peace with it.
C-section:
My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 7:30, did some paperwork and set ourselves up in our room. I had to put on my hospital gown and take off everything else apart from my hairband. We were joined by my midwife Patricia, who hooked me up to the baby monitor and talked us through the procedure.
At 8:45, I was wheeled into the OR and my husband had to wait outside and put on scrubs, while I was being prepped. This was definitely the worst part of the entire experience, but not because anything hurt, but because I was stripped naked and prodded in all sorts of places in front of more than 10 people. There was an anaesthesiologist, gynecologists, a paediatrician, Patricia, and a bunch of nurses, as far as I could tell. Patricia explained everything they were doing to me as they were doing it, but I was far to nervous to follow most of it. I remember the anaesthesiologist administering the spinal (which was far less painful than expected) and the nurses placing the catheter, which I already couldn’t feel anymore.
Then I was covered up in green blankets and a shield was put up so I didn’t need to watch them cut me open. By that point I was absolutely terrified, but my husband was finally allowed to join me and sat next to my head to calm me down. Knowing he was there and having him explain what was going on in words I could understand helped me calm down a lot.
The actual C-section started and for some reason I was convinced the spinal wasn’t working. But then Dra. Suárez started pulling on our baby girl and I could feel everything except pain, so clearly I was wrong. The pulling was intense and strange and kind of felt like someone was tearing my heart out through my stomach. The whole procedure took about 10-15 minutes. I had my eyes closed the entire time, because I could see the reflection of what they were doing in the OR lamp and couldn’t handle that at all. My husband watched and narrated though, so I knew what was going on. They pulled her out butt first and showed her to me briefly. Then she got examined by the paediatrician and I was able to hear her first cries.
While they stitched me back up, Patricia put the baby on my chest so we could have our skin to skin time. I was in tears and full of adrenaline, but really enjoyed spending the first moments of her life together. My husband got to hold her little hand and told me all about how perfect she was, because I wasn’t able to see anything due to the angle they had her at.
Once I was done, I had to spend half an hour in the recovery room without my husband. To my delight, Patricia came in with the baby though and I was able to breastfeed her less than half an hour after she was born. It was an amazing feeling and I’m so grateful I didn’t miss out on this experience.
After that, our little family was reunited in our room. We spent the next 2 days recovering and learning all about breastfeeding and nappy changing, and of course being under constant surveillance by nurses and doctors. My husband was able to stay with us night and day, which was great as he could take care of all the baby duties I couldn’t handle because of my C-section wound.
Recovery
The first 2 days after surgery were quite rough. As soon as the spinal wore off I was in pain, and the nurses were having a hard time keeping my IV going. They were also pretty strict when it came to giving me additional pain meds when I requested them – I’m not sure if it was because they didn’t believe I need them or because I was breastfeeding.
Apart from the pain though, everything went pretty smooth. I was already able to use the bathroom on my own at the evening of the surgery day. On day 1, I was cleared to have a shower and managed to get that done by myself. I was walking around a bit and able to eat normally and handle a bowel movement. On day 2, I was taken off the IV and managing pain with pills only. After visits from a gynecologist and a paediatrician, we were discharged a day early and were able to take our little miracle home.
Since we’re at home, I’ve been taking little walks around the neighborhood and I can really tell how I’m rapidly getting better. While I started with half a kilometer at snail’s pace and in pain, I can now do 2kms at normal people speed without feeling any discomfort just 6 days later (that said, I’m still on pain meds). My scar is healing beautifully and I haven’t had any bleeding in 2 days. I can do everything at home and with the baby, but of course I’m still taking it easy and avoid heavy lifting.
Overall, I’m very happy with the experience and it was just so much better than expected. I’m convinced that I made the best possible decision by trusting Dra. Suárez and her team, as I couldn’t have wished for a better outcome.