"Traumatised from C-section experience"

I attended Sutherland Hospital for care during my pregnancy during 2020. Everything was perfect in my pregnancy until the 38th week check up when my belly was measuring 40 weeks and the baby was very high. I didn’t think much of it but they asked if I could have an ultrasound straight away to check the baby. I said sure.

The day after I had an ultrasound, they rang me and said to come in the next day to discuss results. They made it sound scary and wouldn’t give me any information over the phone.

The next day, they said the baby measured 4.5kg in the ultrasound and that ultrasound was not that reliable in the last trimester, in fact, the baby could be 5kg and unsafe for me to give birth naturally. They convinced me that if I waited past my due date, which was still a week away, that baby would keep growing and get even bigger and the shoulders could get stuck in my pelvis, which stops oxygen and can be dangerous for the baby. Also, I then might not go into labour and that stillbirth is more likely the longer I go past my due date. I said, could I be induced and they said no this would probably end in an emergency c-section.

All this information freaked me out as I had my heart set on a drug-free water birth. I booked in for a c-section on my due date but said I wanted to have a natural birth if I went into labour before. That night I cried for hours because I didn’t want a c-section.

The next few days were filled with so much anxiety I felt sick. At this point, I knew I wasn’t going into labour naturally because I was so stressed out. They rang me and told me to come in earlier at 39 weeks and 5 days.

I never had a contraction. I never had anything else wrong with my pregnancy. I felt I was pressured into a c-section by the doctor and I didn’t know better. In fact, on the day, the doctor told me to lie and say I was having contractions.

It all happened so quickly and it seemed they used scare tactics on me so a natural birth felt like a risky choice. My baby was only 3.9kg and I was very healthy and only a young adult.

My hospital papers said it was an emergency c-section and it wasn’t. The c-section affected my breastfeeding as holding the baby hurt my belly and we were both so drugged up.

My belly is still in pain 6 months later from the c-section. I now feel upset about having to choose c-section or VBAC for future children. I feel traumatised from the c-section experience at Sutherland Hospital.