“I experienced postpartum much better than pregnancy”: Juliette recounts her birth

• First name : Juliet

• Age at delivery: 30 years
• Child expected on: April 10
• The baby arrived on: March 23
• Time of arrival at the hospital: 4:30
• Delivery time : 6:31
• Baby’s weight and height at birth: 2.470 kg for 47 cm

My husband and I are 30 years old and when we decided to have a baby it all happened very quickly. My partner’s grandmother was sick, and I think that was the reason: we wanted our grandparents to one day see our children. So we decided to stop the birth control we were using in May and I got pregnant in early July.

I found this quite surprisingly. I had to get vaccinated against Covid and at the time the recommendations for pregnant women were wait until the second quarter. Before the vaccine date and a good week before my period, my husband advised me “just in case” to take a pregnancy test. I didn’t feel any change, but I did it without conviction… And it was good!

I was so shocked that my first reaction was to tell her, crying, “I will not get vaccinated!” “. I didn’t think it would happen that fast.

My spouse immediately reassured me by being happy and telling me that everything would be fine, that this was what we wanted and that it was great news!

An anxiety-filled pregnancy

I was happy to be pregnant, but extremely anxious. I spent the first three months in ask me if everything was okay what if my baby’s heart hadn’t stopped. I had no pregnancy symptoms other than fatigue (which should have made me happy), but a friend had just had a miscarriage and I thought about it a lot.

After a first ultrasound and fairly thorough blood tests, as my baby was at risk for trisomy 21, everything was fine until the second ultrasound.

During this, the sonographer gives us the sex of the baby, tells us that all his organs are perfect, but detects a potential problem in the transport of nutrients between my placenta and the baby. An issue to watch out for, as it is a risk factor for preeclampsia and stunting in the womb (IUGR) of the baby … He explains to me that for the moment everything is fine, that I am not in the red zone, but that there will be more echoes than for a classic pregnancy. She adds that it is possible for everything to break free in a month, at the next ultrasound – according to her, what is called a uterine cavity can occur more often than you think in a first pregnancy, but it can also disappear quickly.

Unfortunately, by imaging the following month, my baby had grown very little … the problem was still there. He taught me that my placenta was not functioning well, that it was pathological and so on we could not help but watch.

I had to pay attention to the smallest details

By himself my baby was fine, he was just a lot smaller than he should have been at this point. They explained to me that I would have to have an ultrasound every month to follow his weight curve and monitor his heart rate using monitoring. For my part, I had to pay attention to the signs of preeclampsia: tension, edema …

I found it extremely difficult to take. I was just dealing with all these signs that could herald a problem for both me and my baby. For example, I was always told to go to the emergency room if my baby moved less or differently. How can you know if your baby moves differently, especially when he is the first ?!

On the third trimester ultrasound, my son was even smaller than average, but he was still growing. However, I was facing another problem: was sitting.

I tried acupuncture, which didn’t work, and was offered an external manual version, a manual technique for turning the baby. Initially unmotivated, I was convinced by my midwife who explained to me that given its small size there was a good chance it would work.

What I can say is that the experience was painful for me and two doctors tried to reverse the situation to no avail. I don’t regret trying, but I would especially recommend it to people who absolutely want to give birth vaginally.

A scheduled caesarean section … which will happen in advance

When my last ultrasound comes, the doctor tells me to take the baby out within 10 days. It is no longer growing, and the balance between risk and benefit is no longer good. So I have to give birth before March 29th.

On March 9 I got Covid and even though I tested negative a week later, my partner and I were considered sick for two weeks. He couldn’t accompany me to appointments until March 23.

So I find myself, my last month of pregnancy, having to go 3 times a week to the hospital alone, with the fear that my baby has a problem, all while being covid! I was offered to give birth vaginally, but I refused. I am therefore scheduled for a caesarean section on March 25, after Covid, but before the deadline of 29.

My child has decided otherwise and has decided to arrive the night between 22 and 23 March. Luckily it didn’t happen before: my husband couldn’t come!

The time of delivery

My water broke the night between March 22nd and March 23rd at 3am with no contractions.

Arrives at 4 hours in the hospital, check my cervix and have me monitored. Result: there is no rush. The midwife tells me that I will probably give birth during the day, or even the next day. Towards something 6 hoursshe comes back and actually tells meit’s for now!

I wore all accessories for cesarean section and in five minutes, here I am on a stretcher towards the operating room.

In the operating room I am told that my spouse will join us once the blue sheet is put on (which avoids seeing the operation). I am given an anesthesia that will make my whole lower body painless and, in fact, I can hardly feel my legs anymore when I lie on the table. Is cold. They pinch my stomach and ask me if I feel anything, I say yes. The anesthetist tells me that it is normal, that I will try things, but I will not have pain. I insist that I feel like they are pulling my hair out, he stings and burns a little at the same time. I feel it’s not normal, but the anesthetist insists and tells me again it’s normal.

My spouse joins me and the operation begins. I ask my partner to breathe with me because I am in pain. Then it blurs. I start yelling “ouch” here and there.

Then I wake up on the stretcher in the delivery room, groggy. They introduce me to my son who is in the incubator, because even though he is very well, he came out at 35 degrees and had to be heated. I’m crying. I barely have time to see it to be taken to the operating room, where I will be monitored for a few hours.

What happened during my caesarean section

I was lucky that my partner came to see me with my son in the recovery room for the welcome breastfeeding, because it was 6:30 am so there were nothing but some nurses and me!

Struck by two anesthetics, I had a lot of trouble emerging and stayed more than three hours in the operating room instead of the usual two! My son stayed in the incubator until I left the recovery room.

When I get to my room, I’m sick, but I am full of extreme happiness. My bride arrives with my son in the cot on wheels, and I cry again! My spouse then explains to me what happened during the caesarean section.

Apparently I reacted badly to the anesthesia. I was really in pain and my legs were shaking with pain. When the doctor asked me to stop moving them, my spouse replied that I shouldn’t move them as I was anesthetized… I was undergoing vivisection! In 30 seconds, the doctor ordered a general anesthesia and poof, I had left him in Morpheus’ arms! During these 30 seconds, I had time to get completely delirious and asked to be given either Lexomil or Attarax, which, afterwards, made my partner laugh!

Then he had to go out (protocol requires) and in five minutes they came to him with our son in great shape despite his low weight! My very modest spouse told me he broke down in tears… I think after the stress he experienced (leaving his wife and child under general anesthesia) he expelled everything! I’m sorry I didn’t see it. Strangely, I who am very emotional have cried a lot less than I imagined.

Above all I was completely gaga and in love with this being that I didn’t really know, but with whom I had already shared a lot galleys!

After giving birth

Aaaaah convalescence … Between pure happiness and intense pain, between the ecstasy of seeing my son and the pain of the operation. It is a rather antinomic situation, because you are told to get plenty of rest, but you need to take care of your child and it is intense. Rest, you just don’t have it!

I think my partner and I only slept three hours the first three days. I was in the hospital for five days and for the record, the hospital bed is one of the most painful parts of childbirth. My back was in compost!

The days following the delivery were ok, the fatigue was extreme but we were still in seventh heaven. I believe that it is from the third week, when the ecstasy descends and the routine is done, this is the hardest part.

Let’s quickly set up a sleeper rotation system. I chose to breastfeed and pulled the pump and slept from 8pm to 4am while the baby slept in dad’s arms and then the baby slept in my arms and dad slept from 4am to twelve o’clock. We didn’t have much choice, because our baby just slept and (still sleeps) in our arms!

For my part, I have experienced much better after childbirth compared to pregnancy! Yes, because I was no longer alone in managing everything since my partner could take care of everything with me, but also because I had a real crush on my son.

I wanted to be satisfied for more than two months during this pregnancy, but the stress took over. Despite everything, I have a very good memory of it all because by the time I met my son’s gaze, all the bad times were over!

Photo credit: Fe Ngo / Unsplash