Mikayla's Birth Story

"I can't rave about my caesarean enough, I LOVED my birth".

Read on to hear Mikayla's beautiful story about the birth of her little girl. It's full of positivity and calm, I think you'll love it!

What was your life like 'before' this birth?

Myself and my husband run a local cleaning business. I was doing the accounts/admin, around raising our son (who was born in 2020, quite conveniently between two lockdowns!).

I found my transition to motherhood super easy, as we had what we affectionately call a 'unicorn baby'. Very contented and sleeping through most nights by 9 weeks old!

Our lives didn't feel like they'd changed that much, with the exception of the immense love and joy our boy brought with him!

Tell us about your pregnancy...

I'm fortunate to have had a fairly cruisey pregnancy, though I had more severe and longer lasting "morning" sickness than my first pregnancy.

I also suffered from SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction) towards the end which was, on occasion, debilitating. Otherwise, bub was growing nicely and so was I 🤭.

How were you feeling as you got closer to the birth?

I had opted for a caesarean, due to trauma that occurred during my first birth. I sustained a 3a tear from  a compound presentation, a haemorrhage in theatre and as a result of my tear, 8 months of anal fissures.

So I found the whole process very straight forward, calm and completely different. All of the nurses, anaesthetists and surgeons were very engaging and checked on me constantly to make sure I was feeling nothing but calm.
 

Baby girl was apparently face up and a little difficult to get out so forceps were used to pull her out, and I sustained a slight tear on the right side of my uterine wall, but had minimal blood loss.

Immediately following the birth, I had skin-to-skin with my girl. She didn't leave my chest until I finally gave her up to her Daddy a few hours later.

What was 'good' about your birth?

I absolutely loved my caesarean birth, and I think I can say that it was the most amazing experience of my life!

I loved how calm the whole process was and that I could just solely focus on meeting my beautiful little girl, while everything else was being taken care of for me.

After she was born, it was nice to not have to worry about anything else but my baby and I could thoroughly enjoy her and just soak up those very fresh snuggles.

Was there anything unexpected, or surprising, or negative?

Something that I probably would have appreciated was being told what was happening when it was happening.

This is probably something I should have communicated beforehand as a preference.

I didn't realise that the procedure had started until it was well under way, and only because I asked my husband if they had made a start.

The only other thing I found was that my spinal wore off quite quickly, so I didn't get as long as I had expected to not feel any pain/discomfort.

How was the physical side of your recovery?
 

I had heard that the quicker you can get up and moving, the better your recovery, so I kept that goal in mind.

I didn't get up until 24 hours after the birth, but I was able to get up and walk independently by the end of that day.

I had bought myself some compression leggings and shorts for when I went home, and I made sure to air out my incision, and get horizontal rest at least once each day for even just 10 minutes.

I made an appointment with a pelvic health physio (Heather from BodyBeGood) at 7 weeks postpartum and got some good stretches and exercises to start doing at home to start my active recovery. At the time of writing this, I'm 9 weeks postpartum and I'm looking at beginning postnatal pilates to further build my strength!

 

What tips or advice would you give your pre C-section self?

I held a lot of anxiety about my decision to have a caesarean. I went back and forth in my mind for months, after various OBs and midwives told me the pros and cons for birthing my baby vaginally or via caesarean.

I made up my mind at 32 weeks to have a caesarean birth, knowing that it was the right choice for me. But even on the day, I went into the hospital with doubts.

I wish I could go back and tell myself that I was in for the most amazing experience, that I would never regret my choice.

It was 100% the best way for me and as it turns out, my baby had meconium in the womb so who knows what could have happened had she been in there much longer.

No regrets, just gratitude and love for that special day!

I also did a lot of research into the procedure and recovery process, so I went into my birth fully informed and ready. I appreciate that not everyone finds it helpful to know all that can be known, but it really helped me.

 

Anything else you'd like to share?

 

"I have never felt more empowered and strong than when I birthed my beautiful girl via Caesarean."

I don't for one second think that I took the easy option (there is nothing easy about having a caesarean!) or that my birth was any less valid.

I got to meet my daughter in the most calm and controlled of settings and I could just enjoy every minute of those fleeting newborn moments!

How beautiful was that?! I loved reading Mikayla's story, it was so positive and heartfelt. And I love the gold nuggets she shared in her tips too, about compression, airing your scar, and staying active.

Thank you Mikayla!