I am from the Dominican Republic, and when I lived there, I observed that many pregnant women chose the way to give birth. I noticed that many of those women decided to give birth by c-section. Back then, my thoughts were that they wanted the fast track to give birth without having to endure labor contractions. How wrong I was until I experienced the c-section on my own.
When I was in the hospital in labor, the doctor realized that the baby was stressed and decided to change from natural delivery to a c-section.
Today I want to tell you about my experience with the c-section.
Anesthesia
During the birthing process, the anesthesiologist gave me the epidural. It didn’t hurt; it was a quiet process. Before starting the surgery, they put another anesthetic on me; the anesthesiologist warned me that my back would feel cold. The cold never went away until a while after coming out of labor. After labor, my whole body was numb, it was difficult for me to move my hands, and I was terrified to hold the baby and drop him. Something that helped me a lot was walking through the room’s hallways so my body would recover faster.
Catheter
A catheter was inserted in my bladder; it is an uncomfortable process. In the beginning, I found the catheter convenient after the c-section because I was able to pee without having to go to the washroom. However, when they removed it from my bladder, It took several weeks for my brain to recognize that my bladder was full of pee. It was challenging for me to pee.
A week after delivery, I was admitted into the hospital with a fever of 40 degrees. The doctors checked my bladder and realized that it was full, and asked me if I had a desire to pee, at which I replied that I did not feel anything. The nurse inserted the catheter again to help my bladder empty. I spent several days in the hospital, and what helped me was to go to the bathroom more frequently even though I had no to desire to urinate, and force my body to do so; a few weeks after my bladder went back to normal.
The Pain
The pain is horrible; the doctor told me I could take Tylenol. But the pain was persistent; it bothered me when walking, in the car, when I went to the bathroom and when I got up from the bed or stood up from the chair. The pain is very uncomfortable. The only solution was that as the days passed, the pain decreased. In this sense, I had to be very patient.
Recovery
The recovery after a c-section is slow. It took me about three months to feel better and pain-free. I have heard from some mothers that recovery can be even longer when stitches become infected. But luckily, it was not my case. It is also important to mention that you should not hold anything heavier than the baby to protect the stitches.
At one point, I came to have negative thoughts of those mothers who chose to deliver their baby by cesarean section. However, after living the experience, I must say that a cesarean section does not make women more or lees mothers. Now I believe the significant thing is to bring our children into the world no matter what form.
Here is a video of a mother telling her experience with the c-section.
Cindy De Leon
InspiMoms 