"Healing birth experience"

I had a planned c-section at Wishaw earlier in the month. This was the birth of my second baby. For a bit of back story, I had an emergency section with my first baby at a different hospital in 2019. This was after a four day labour so I was pretty out of it by the time my daughter was brought into the world. I don’t remember my daughter being born, seeing her face and I didn’t get that special golden hour that you desperately look forward to all the way through pregnancy. I didn’t manage to breastfeed and ended up with a really bad infection into the bargain. All of this caused me to really struggle to bond with my daughter.

Fast forward to this birth, I decided that a planned section would be the best option for me. I would be in control, coherent and present during the birth. The consultant midwife at Wishaw, Maureen, informed me about gentle sections and this is where my journey to a positive birth began. During the section, they lowered the drape so I could see my daughter being brought into the world, she was immediately placed onto my skin and had delayed cord clamping for 1 minute. She was then put under my gown and we had immediate skin to skin. This is probably something that the staff do every day but they have no idea what they have done for myself and my family. Each and every one of them have had a positive impact on my relationship with not only my new baby but with my first born. It was such a healing experience. So I would like to thank Louise, the surgeon, who helped me birth and bring my baby into the world and accommodated my requests that were so important to myself and my family. All the theatre staff and midwives that made me feel safe and laugh before and throughout the procedure. The anaesthetist who made sure I was comfortable and stayed by my side the whole time. The midwife on the postnatal ward, Karen, who’s words of encouragement and positivity is the reason I am still breastfeeding 2 weeks on. You all have a special place in my heart for what you have done for me. The way I now look at motherhood and birth has changed forever. The bond I have for both my girls has been strengthened because of all of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.