Birth Story: Positive C Section at Kettering General Hospital

The lovely Julie has kindly shared her birth story of a positive Caesarean Section at KGH.

After a pretty normal pregnancy, I was booked in for a stretch and sweep on my due date. I was excited and hoping this would start my labour and I’d soon have my baby.

Unfortunately, my midwife couldn’t feel what she needed to be able to do the stretch and sweep and after measuring my bump, noticed that it was measuring smaller than it should be at this stage. Feeling a little bit anxious, I headed to foetal health at KGH for a scan to check everything was ok with the baby.

They told me that the baby was measuring small and was also transverse (lying across my tummy rather than head down). This meant that I had to stay in hospital as going into labour could have been dangerous and they would schedule me in for a C-section.

I was devastated as all the different scenarios I had imagined of how my birth would go had never involved a c-section. I stayed in hospital for 2 nights, where baby and I were constantly monitored and looked after.

Day 3, I was booked in for my c-section. The wait for my turn was nerve wracking for both me and my husband but walking into the operating theatre was even more terrifying. The team however were amazing. They put on the music I had planned to listen to during labour and promised not to tell me anything that would make me squeamish. Whilst they got to work, my husband and I chatted anything and everything. This along with the relaxed atmosphere meant everything was less scary and quite relaxed.

The whole thing felt like it took 5 minutes before we were holding a teeny tiny crying 5lb baby. I was worried that my recovery would take away from me being able to get straight to work at being a mummy but within 8 hours I was up and about, changing nappies and looking after my baby just as I had imagined. My recovery was quick and with no problems and I actually didn't feel like I had missed out on a part of my pregnancy and birth journey by having a c-section. I had given birth, just not as first planned, but in the safest and most relaxed way.

When baby 2 came around, I was given the option of trying for a vaginal birth or c-section and opted for c-section again. This was during the pandemic but was still a relaxing and calm experience.