9. Megan's Birth Story with baby #1 (planned c-section)

Trigger warning: in this episode we discuss pregnancy loss and c-section birth. 

In today's episode, Megan shares her pregnancy and birth experience with her first child. This was her second pregnancy (first pregnancy ended in miscarriage) and also happened at the very beginning of the pandemic. 

We discuss tips for having a c-section and what you can expect from that experience! 

We hope you have liked hearing our birth stories and we will be sharing more in upcoming episodes about our birth stories with our second babies. 

If you want to connect with Meg about her c-section, feel free to reach out on our Instagram @vibrantlyyoupodcast or her direct page @vibrantmamawellness. 

Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only and not to diagnose or treat any conditions. Before beginning any type of fitness or nutrition program, it is your responsibility to consult with a medical professional.

Connect with us! 

• Instagram @vibrantlyyoupodcast
• Meg's Instagram @vibrantmamawellness
• Caitlin's Instagram @wholesomehuntressnutrition

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Vibrantly You Podcast. We're your hosts, Megan Martnow. Caitlin Cipriano. In this podcast, we talk about fitness and nutrition on your motherhood journey. Whether you're trying to conceive, pregnant, postpartum, or beyond, you're welcome here.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Nothing is off limits, and our goal is to support you in this important season of life so that you can feel vibrantly you. As a reminder, this information is not medical advice. Please see the show notes for more details.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

Welcome back to the Vibrantly You podcast. Today we are continuing our conversation about birth stories, and Megan is going to be sharing her birth story with her son. As a trigger warning today, we are going to be discussing pregnancy loss and C-section in this episode. So to start off, Meg, tell us a little bit about your pregnancy.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Yeah. So when I was pregnant with my son, this was back in the beginning of 2020. Um, and I had a really tough time mentally with this pregnancy because I had experienced a miscarriage at the end of 2019. So my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage.

Anxiety in pregnancy

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Um, and we'll probably do like a whole separate episode on this and pregnancy loss, but it was very devastating for me. Um, and just a short four months later, I got pregnant again. So while this was obviously very exciting, I was very happy to be pregnant again. Um, it also came with just a lot of fear. Um, I was very nervous. I was nervous about having another miscarriage, about something bad happening in my pregnancy. So, you know, that just like made things complicated. And then to further complicate things, March of 2020, the pandemic hit. So that was pretty much the end of my first trimester. Um, if I remember correctly, I think I had gone to like an ultrasound because we had done not the nipped test, but um what is that other one? You know, we were just doing the ultrasound. That was the test that we did. Um, and so that was like around 12 weeks. It was literally like that week had the ultrasound, and then everything shut down, and I was like, oh, this is great. You know, I'm already nervous and anxious about this pregnancy, and now we have this like novel virus that no one knows about and is like potentially deadly and like great, this isn't what I need. So yeah, I just had a lot of fears and anxiety throughout this pregnancy.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

I think that you know, not only can people relate that have had miscarriages and gone on to have other pregnancies, just like that fear and anxiety, just like shadowing over must be incredibly difficult. And I think it's totally understandable that you would have a lot of anxiety. I'd be stacked, of course, with the pan pandemic. Yeah, I had my son at the pandemic in March 2020, and I know that last month was incredibly anxiety inducing. So I think that combination would be a lot for anybody.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Yeah, yeah. So that was just like, yeah, that was like the underlying current, I guess, of my pregnancy was like fear and anxiety, right? And so then in terms of like exercise during my pregnancy, um, at this point I was not certified in pre- and postnatal fitness yet. So I just really didn't know what I was doing. Um, I had tried like looking up some pregnancy programs, none of them really like sparked joy. You know, I was like, eh, this is kind of boring. So I tried to just continue on with like my normal workouts, but still not really knowing what to do, feeling like uncomfortable in my

Developing SPD

SPEAKER_00 3:59

body. Yeah, I was like not super consistent. Around 32 weeks, I developed really bad SPD, which is symphysis pubic dysfunction. We are gonna do an entire episode deep diving on this. Um, but this is where you have pain in the front of the pelvis, like right around that pubic bone in the front. And it came on so suddenly for me. I remember just being at the end of a workout, and I think I was on the ground doing some sort of glute exercise, and I went to get up and I was like, oh my god, like it felt like my pelvis was breaking apart, and I was like, What did I do? So at first I thought it was just like I pulled something in the workout, you know, I'd feel better, but days went by, I was not feeling better. And I was like, you know, of course I went to the doctor, they explained to me this is normal within pregnancy. Again, we'll talk about this later because it's not normal, it's common. But so for the, you know, the next several weeks, I like quite literally was limping through the rest of my pregnancy, just trying to make it to the end. And then at like, I want to say it was 36 or 37 weeks,

Learning my baby was breech

SPEAKER_00 5:07

um, I went in for a growth scan. Um, because there were just some concerns around his growth. And they were like, oh, he's breach. And I'm like, oh, cool. So if you don't know what breach is, that is when the baby is head up, butt down. We want the baby to be head down. The hospital I was delivering at does not deliver breach babies vaginally, as most hospitals do not. They talked to me about my options, which was not a whole lot because I also had low amniotic fluid. Um, it wasn't like dangerously low, but it was just like something that they were watching. So they were like, eh, with your lower fluid levels, you know, you're not an excellent candidate for an ECV, but you know, we could do it. So yeah, that like just added more anxiety there.

ECV for breech babies

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Yeah, and I think an ECV, which is that external cephalic version version, is like a scary uh procedure, anyways, even if you maybe were like a better candidate, but they have to go in and like physically turn the baby into that head-down position, which from what I hear is very, very painful, makes sense and also comes with risks. So I can understand, like, even if you were feeling like oh, you're like a good candidate for this, like I would be nervous to do something like that too.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Yeah. So, like, knowing that it and they told me too, they're like, this will be painful if this is like not a fun thing to do. Um, explained to me all the risks that came with it, and they were like, We can, you know, they they did leave it up to me. They were like, we can still do it, even with the fluid concern. But you know, here's all the information, you make the decision. And so just like with the risks that came with it, the fact that it was painful, also it can like not work. Like they can do it and flip the baby, and the baby can flip right back. And I was like, okay, if it's not even like a guarantee, I don't think I'm gonna do it. Um, because again, I already had just so much anxiety, and I was like, I just need this baby to be healthy and alive. And like I just I can't deal with one more stressor at this point.

Scheduling my c-section at 39 weeks

SPEAKER_00 7:22

So I did decide to go ahead and schedule a c-section, um, which again, that's something that's pretty common with breach babies. They will schedule c-sections. And at first, you know, it was definitely a bummer for me. Like, I did want to try for an unmedicated birth, which like now looking back on it, I realized like how even uneducated I was about an unmedicated birth. And I did absolutely nothing to prepare. So who knows how that would have even turned out for me. But obviously, you know, there's some grief that comes with that, just knowing that your birth experience is not going to be anything that you envisioned. Um, obviously, a C-section is major abdominal surgery. So that in and of itself is scary and a little overwhelming, especially if you're someone who doesn't really like surgery. But, you know, I did decide just like thinking about everything, you know, like, okay, he's breach. It's unlikely he's gonna flip at this point. I mean, he might, but he's probably not going to, again, given the fluid. And so I was like, what's best for me mentally is to just go ahead with this C-section. Um, it was best for my anxiety, and

The unknowns of pregnancy

SPEAKER_00 8:37

I did come to a place where I did feel at peace with this decision.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

I'm glad that you came to that place because I think at least when I think about pregnancy, it is such an unknown and scary time. And I think like you want to trust your body and do what's best, but sometimes that like vision of how you pictured things to be just can't happen due to those like you know uncontrollable factors, and it can like really take a toll on like you as individual as well as your support system. I think I saw a stat the other day that like one out of three women experience birth trauma. And I think that that's a lot like you know, and I think that having like these kinds of conversations where you can like hear about what people go through is is helpful in a way and like also allows you as individual to like process things like that.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Yeah, absolutely is, yeah. It's like it's scary, the unknown, uh like hearing other people's stories um for sure

Preparing for my c-section

SPEAKER_00 10:00

is helpful. So, and that was honestly what I did once I learned like, okay, I'm going to have a scheduled c-section. Tried to reach out to some people that I knew that had had a c-section to be like, okay, like what was your experience like? Like, I want to, you know, know what I'm what I'm getting into here. Um, and my doctor was really great about, you know, they had a whole like info packet so that I knew what to expect, like step by step, what was gonna happen, like the time I arrived to the hospital until I was in my postpartum recovery room. So they were really good about that. Um, so I did go into it feeling like, okay, I knew it was gonna happen. I knew how I was gonna be supported. So that felt good. And so we decided to schedule the C-section for 39 weeks. Um, and that is typical with breach babies because they, you know, ideally would like to schedule that C-section before you go into labor on your own. Um, because if you're going into labor with a breach baby, that could be considered, you know, a more emergent type of situation. So they tried to avoid that. And again, with the anxiety that I was experiencing, I was very happy about that. I'm like, yes, I if I go into labor on my own, I am going to freak the fuck out, you know, like that's not gonna be good for me. So I was like, this sounds good. So we scheduled that, you know, I just did everything that I could to kind of mentally prepare like leading up to that day.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

Okay. And so like leading into it, like what are your thoughts? Like, tell us about the day of your birth.

The big day

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Yeah. So my C-section was scheduled early in the morning on a Monday. I had to be at the hospital at 6:30. And I think I was scheduled for like a 9 a.m., or maybe I had to be there at six. I think I had to be there three hours ahead of time. It was somewhere in the nine o'clock time frame that I was scheduled for a night before, just like, you know, we got we got Chipotle, I think. So I was like, I want a really big meal so that I'm like full because I knew I wouldn't be eating. I had to fast um in the morning or after midnight, I think. So I was like, okay, I want like it's the last supper, you know, like getting ready for it. And then even like we're making sure our hospital bag is fully packed. And, you know, again, it's not like what you would typically expect when you're getting ready to have a baby. Like my second, and I know we'll do birth stories with our second babies um later on, but like with her, I did have a vaginal birth. I spontaneously went to labor. And so it's funny thinking about the two, like how different it was, like just having this planned thing versus like not knowing what's gonna happen. Either my husband nor I slept very well that night because we were like excited, nervous, anxious. Got to the hospital in the morning. We had to get checked in, do all our pre-op stuff, had me all hooked up to monitors. They did do an ultrasound just to confirm that the baby was still breach. Because the nice thing was if he had flipped and he was head down, they would have sent me home and been like, okay, like you're good now. Let's wait until you go into labor. Um, so there was always a chance that like we weren't gonna go forward with the C-section, but he was in fact breach. He had not moved. A bunch of people were in and out of the room, again, just like drawing my blood or checking the monitor to see how his heart rate was, checking vitals, all those things, getting my um, what's that thing? Like the port in your arm, getting all that stuff ready. I had to speak to the anesthesiologist. They kind of went over everything to expect again. And then we were pretty much just like hanging out in this like pre-op room waiting. Um, they did end up like having to push us back a little bit for whatever reason. So it was actually like closer to 10 a.m., I think when they came to get us.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

Yeah, I can imagine like psychologically, now that you've had both experiences, how mentally different that must feel. Like thinking about like how I know when I'm going to like meet my baby because you're having a c-section versus even more unknown, like, when am I gonna go into labor?

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Yeah, it definitely is like cool now that I've had both experiences, just to see like how different it was. But yeah, so they they came in around 10, they had a wheelchair for me, wheeled me back to the OR, but then they did allow me to walk in. So that was like a nice, you know, empowering moment. Like, all right, I'm walking in to have my baby. Husband did have to wait outside while they prepped me. They had to put, you know, do the spinal, put in the catheter, and they had to make sure that that spinal took. Um, I think they had said, you know, you had two tries to make sure that the spinal worked. And if it didn't work, they had to put you fully under, like unconscious. A little nervous about that because I was like, oh man, please just like let it work. I don't want to, you know, not experience the birth at all. Um, but thankfully, took on the first trying. So, like I had an epidural with my daughter, um, and the spinal is so different. Like, literally, they put in the needle, and it's like immediately, it's like the weirdest sensation just like floods down your body and just like numb. And I was like, oh, this is weird. I like flip me on my back, get me on the table, like putting in the catheter, and like you just can't feel half your body. And I was like, This is the strangest thing ever. But obviously, like you want to be numb because you don't want to feel anything. And so then once I was all set, my husband was able to come in. They had him come up to where my head was. We did have a drape. Um, and so I of course I can't like fully remember now, but like I think I did have like the blue drapes, like we couldn't see anything while they were actually performing the C-section. But then right before he was born, they switched to a clear one so we could see. Let me bring my phone in, which was great. So I could still play my birth playlist and have that like calming music. Because the thing with the OR too is it's like bright lights, you know, there's so many people, it's not quite the same. It feels a little more clinical, I guess is a good way to describe it. Like it's different. So, like they were great about letting me, you know, have some comfort things. But I was actually surprised by how quickly being born. I feel like one song played, and then they're like, All right, dad, get the phone out for pictures. Like he's come. And I was like, What already? It's been like three minutes. And yeah, like they lifted him out. We could see him through the drape. He started crying. I start crying. They get him like all cleaned up, they brought him over to my head so I could say hi to him. And like at this point, I was like starting to like shake. Um, and I know a lot of people who have C-sections, like and I mean, even when you have a vaginal birth, like the shakes happen. Um, but it was like violent, and I just felt like so cold. And then sometimes too at the C-section, like because of the spinal and it's up higher, like you kind of feel like you can't breathe. Like you're like your lungs don't work, and it's like they're working, you just like can't. So there was like a little panic moment for me where I was like, Oh my god, can I breathe? And I'm like shaking, and they're like, Okay, you're all right. You're so that was a lot. And I think too, just like right after the birth happens, you know, there's just so many emotions when you finally see your baby too. So there's just like so much happening at once. Yeah, I'm just like crying and they're all like, Are you all right? And I'm like, it's just a lot, you know, like so much is happening. I'm so happy. And then they did have to take him away. Um, and and it's really common with C-section babies because they're they're not being pushed through the vaginal canal. So they're not able to get all that like amniotic fluid and stuff out of their lungs. So they do have to have some of it like suctioned out. So they did have to bring him away so that they could do that stuff. Had my husband go with him too. So then I'm just kind of like there by myself and I'm like, where'd everybody go? Um, but the anesthesiologist assistant, she was so great standing right there with me, talking things through, you know, because she could see the baby and my husband. So she, you know, she's like, okay, this is what they're doing with your baby right now. This is what's happening. So like that was really nice that she was like talking to me, keeping me calm, making sure I was still in the loop. Really actually surprised too that like the the actual birth process was so short, but then the process of them getting me stitched up was so long.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

Yeah, I I mean that must have been a lot to just process, both like you mentally, but also for your body with how like quick everything happened. And then you're like, oh my gosh, like you know, like you saw him for a second, but you're not able to just like be there in that moment right away. Um, I think that is that what is hard that happened with um Luca and they just had they had to take him away to check him immediately. I was like, what's going on? Like, you know, it's a lot.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Right. Yeah, it just all like happens so fast. And I think too, even with the C-section, like I did expect it to take a little longer for them to like cut through everything and take him out. So like I was just like chilling on the table, you know, I mean like, okay, like we're gonna be here for a little bit, but then it was suddenly like, okay, he's here. Okay, we're taking him away, we're doing this, we're doing that. And I'm like, ah, this is happening so fast. So they, you know, started to get me all

Recovery in the hospital

SPEAKER_00 19:32

cleaned up. Um, I think they ended up having to take him out of the room, and I don't remember why. Um, but my husband had to leave as well, and so then I'm like there by myself. And I it felt like I was there for a long time. I want to say probably like 20 minutes. I I truly don't know. It felt like I was there for a long time. And again, like the anesthesiologist assistant, she was so great talking to me. My OB was talking to me as she was stitching me back up, telling me how everything looks so great, everything went so well. Um, so that was good too, that she was talking to me, explaining things to me, so that it wasn't just like me there by myself, you know. Um, so I do feel like overall, given that I was nervous going into this, given the fact that it is surgery, it felt like they were not just like treating me as another patient, you know, like they were treating me like a mom, like something major did just happen to me, like holding space for me emotionally while also like making sure that they were doing their job, making sure, you know, everything was stitched up correctly and all that stuff. They moved me into the hospital bed because of course I'm still numb. Um, and they wheeled me out to the postpartum recovery area, which was just like right outside the OR, bring my son over to me. So we're immediately doing skin to skin. Um, so that was great. Like I did still get to do that. Obviously, there's a period of time where you don't get to, unlike with a vaginal birth, where typically you are able, you know, to bring the baby right to your chest. But like given all the circumstances, they were able to do it as quickly as they could. I want to say we hung out there for maybe an hour or two. They were just checking our vitals, making sure everything was good. And then at that point, they brought us back to our postpartum room, and that's where we stayed. Um, with the C-section, I did have to stay for three nights because it was a solid like 12 hours before I could even like feel my legs and my feet. And they have to make sure that like you can get up and walk to the bathroom, that you can pee after the catheter. That was something that took me by surprise too. How long it took me to be able to pee. And I remember feeling my bladder was so full and like sitting on the toilet, and I just like could not pee. And I was like, somebody help me. She was like, just try to relax. Like my nurse was so great. She's like, just try to relax. She was trying to run water for me. And I was just like, oh my gosh. It was like the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't do it. But it's like, so they wait for you to be able to do that. You have to be able to have a bowel movement, pass gas, like all of them. So we were there for three full nights. Um, and I do remember too, like that first walk to the bathroom was also so hard. And I remember being like, Oh, this is ridiculous. I'm I'm not walking that far, but like I can't do it. It's so hard. You know, everything, this the rest of the stay in the hospital went so well. And so on day four, we were discharged to go home. I do think like the rest of my c-section recovery is another story that we could probably do a whole episode on. We probably will. Um, because even like my my recovery from my c-section is part of the reason why I even got into this work. We'll definitely talk about at another time. But um, the actual c-section itself, my hospital stay, the birth, it all went really, really well, things considering. So I was so thankful for that. And I had a fantastic team, a fantastic doctor. Um, so I really couldn't have asked for it to go better, honestly.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

Yeah, it sounds like even though it was a very sort of like anxiety and like fear-producing pregnancy, you were able to have a really positive birth outcome and felt like you had a really again like a team that was able to like help you feel like special and have good informed care, which is really important. And I think for moms like listening that might be having a planned C section, or they just got out their baby's breach, like this kind of uh story is really encouraging um to hear. And I know that you talked with other people to help you prepare, but was there anything else that you feel like was really helpful or anything even too that you were just like surprised by, maybe?

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Yeah, one actually piece of advice that a friend gave me who had had a C-section was she was like, make sure you always have a pillow nearby in your hospital bed, because anytime you cough or laugh or sneeze, you're gonna want to take that pillow and you're gonna want to squeeze it into your belly to help like splint. I remember like I think I was nursing him or something, and my husband said something that was funny, and I started laughing, and I was like, Oh my god. Like it felt like my stomach was gonna rip open. Then I was like, the pillow. And so I grabbed the pillow, like squeeze it in. I mean, obviously it was like still painful to laugh, but it helped so much. And I was like, Oh, I'm so thankful she gave me that tip because otherwise I would have had no idea. So even just like little things like that, um, yeah, like having a pillow to squeeze in, having some like compression um underwear for the c-section is helpful. And we could probably do a whole episode on probably multiple episodes on C-section recovery. Yeah. Like how to support yourself initially, how to get back into working out. Yeah, I think if you are someone who has a breach baby and you know you're gonna have a C-section or you're having a C-section for any other reason, um, just preparing as much as you can, like learning about what's going to happen as you walk into the OR, the whole process, the recovery, the initial recovery in the hospital, even like those first few days when you get home, um, just helps to alleviate some of those fears and anxieties. So then you can also be like more present in the birth, too, and not like worrying about what's gonna happen next. Um, and like don't be afraid too to like ask your doctor to spell it all out. Ask them again. Like if you need that reassurance, like that's what they're there for. So yeah, like leaning on those people for support helps a lot.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for sharing this, Meg. And hopefully it was helpful for our listeners out there who, again, maybe they have a breach baby or they're having a fan C section. Um, like you mentioned, we'll definitely be doing some more episodes about birth stories with our second babies in a few months. So stay tuned for those. And we'll also have um further uh episodes about C section care. Um, and if you want to connect with Meg further about her story, please feel free to reach out, um, send a DM on Instagram for Handless Vibrant Mama Wellness, and we will all talk to you next week.