This post is for women like me who might be facing an unwanted c-section and are similarly terrified. I hope my words can do a little to help. Looking back, I think most of the anxiety came from not knowing what to expect. I’d studiously ignored every section about c-sections in every pregnancy book because I wasn’t having a c-section! I was going to have a home birth! In my living room! With candles and a goddamn birthing tub!
Sigh.
This post gives an overview of what actually happened. And why it was the best thing that could have possibly happened.
(FYI: Despite me having to have a c-section, our amazing midwife was still able to attend our birth. She took pictures throughout the surgery and I am including some which feature a newborn with birth-gunk all over her. Additionally, some might find the details of the surgery unpleasant so I’m putting the rest of the post after the jump, should you choose to read it.)