10/04/2026
āØ Positive Birth Story - Elective C/SāØ
I am sharing my story so that it gives hope to people who have been recommended to have an elective caesarean that in can be a beautiful experience!
My pregnancy was pretty straightforward, I had some first trimester sickness but aside from that baby was moving well, I stayed active walking 3 miles with the dog everyday (despite the PGP!) and worked up until 36 weeks.
When I envisioned my birth I pictured hypnobirthing in a pool but at the anomaly scan I was told that my placenta was low-lying and blocking the babies exit! We were told not to worry at this stage as I would be rescanned at 32 weeks and most placentas move up and out the way by then (approx 95%) but to keep a close eye on any bleeding in the meantime. So I went to my pregnancy Pilates and Hypnobirthing classes and began to felt more empowered in my body.
However, at my 32 week scan I was told my placenta hadnāt moved and therefore a canal birth would not be safe. I met with the obstetric team and recommended an elective caesarean-section at 37 weeks due to the risks of going into labour. To say I was upset was an understatement - I felt like all the prep for a beautiful, calm, vaginal delivery had been ripped away from me. It took me around a week to get to grips with this and a lot of research bluntly I felt more comfortable to alter my birth plan and take the things that were still important to me into my elective caesarean, planning for it to be as calm and gentle as possible.
The day of the surgery came and it felt very strange leaving the house knowing weād be returning home with out baby! We arrived and were taken to the recovery area where I was prepped for the birth, questions answered and procedure explained. of the day of the op, it felt surreal leaving the house knowing weād be coming home with our baby girl. We were nervous but so excited. We met the anaesthetist, midwife and consultant who all read and truly considered our birth preferences.
At 10.15 we walked down to theatre (trying not to expose my bottom completely out the back of the gown!). We met the numerous staff who worked in theatre which was a bit overwhelming at first but they were very friendly and smiley and the way in which they just went about their job chatting away and signing to the radio made me feel so at ease.
The spinal was administered which gave me the shakes and I felt nauseous but the anaesthetist who stayed by my head the whole time, gave me some medication to sort that. I also practised my Hypnobirthing breathing techniques which really helped me to stay calm. And then with a bit of pulling and tugging our beautiful baby girl Tallulah was born at 11:22 to āTroublemakerā by Olly Murs (Iām hoping that wasnāt a sign of things to come!)
The team lifted her up to show us as soon as she was born, and the midwife took some photos of her coming out of my tummy too (I will keep those private). We requested delayed cord clamping and immediate skin to skin which was facilitated. We couldnāt have the lights dimmed as it was explained the lights were needed to ensure the procedure was performed with as much visibility as possible.
In total I lost 1.2 Litres of blood which wasnāt bad considering the placenta praevia and I didnāt require a blood transfusion. We stayed in hospital for a couple of days as Tallulah had some troubles breathing (which can be quite common with elective births as babies lungs arenāt being prepped for breathing like they are during contractions of labour) and we also got some much appreciated feeding support. Now we have a 4 month old who is thriving, my wound is healing well (apart from the occasional āpullingā sensation and numbness) and Iām so thankful our birth preferences were listened to and we never felt like we were being forced into anything.
My advice for any parents due to give birth is to use your BRAINS acronym for any care recommended, put in the prep work (people donāt just turn up to run a marathon so birth shouldnāt be treated any differently!) and enjoy meeting and becoming a team with the wonderful people who surround you on the most important day of your life.
