After much consideration, I decided to briefly share my unique C-section experience, hoping that expecting mothers who are seeking information and considering a possible C-section might find this valuable. My intention isn’t to lean toward any particular direction, but to illustrate that things can happen this way too.

Deciding on a planned C-section always requires a lot of thought when it’s an available choice. Even if it doesn’t demand it, there’s naturally much to contemplate with all the fears and anxieties. For me, during a planned C-section, exactly the complication I didn’t think would happen did occur – a fact I dismissed every time I educated myself about everything that COULD happen before the surgery.

A planned C-section due to a baby’s breech position

For us, a C-section became an option due to our baby’s breech position, and we chose not to attempt turning the baby around. Before the surgery, in spring 2018, I went through all the potential risks and complications associated with the C-section that I found online several times. I meticulously contemplated and accepted each risk. Risks included bleeding, infections, surgical wound problems, and a lengthy recovery period.

For a moment (just a brief moment), I had even considered trying a breech birth because it was suggested, and my pelvic measurements would have allowed for it. In the end, the risks of a breech birth were so significant in my personal evaluation that I didn’t dare commit to it unless there was a super-fast sudden birth where there was no time to react!

But I ignored one possible aspect: the fact that anesthesia doesn’t always work in surgeries. There was limited information and experiences available on this at the time, and I thought that since I had previously had a spinal anesthetic during a knee arthroscopy, and it worked perfectly then, this couldn’t possibly happen now. Perhaps the most terrifying thought about any surgery is feeling everything that’s being done.

Why does what you don’t expect often happen?

But it turned out differently. Right from the start at the hospital, it felt like things weren’t going smoothly. We were supposed to arrive at the ward at seven in the morning on an empty stomach, but we didn’t head to the operating room until three in the afternoon. The wait was excruciating, especially as it seemed at first that due to emergency patients, the surgery might be postponed to the next day. It was unbelievable that such postponements happen, especially when it’s a C-section!

In the operating room, after the preparations, the anesthetist didn’t immediately find the right spot in my back to insert the needle, having to make multiple attempts. That alone was agonizing. As I lay there on the table, I briefly thought, “Well, sometimes this happens, and this will probably resolve itself.”

Then I was told that the anesthesia would soon start to work, and I wouldn’t feel anything in the lower half of my body. However, having experienced this anesthesia once before, I was puzzled because, within minutes, I was still feeling the cleaning of the stomach and other procedures. The staff reassured me, saying that feeling cold (when the area was being cleansed) and the pressure during the surgery were normal and might feel uncomfortable but not painful.

Then the cutting began. I felt it, the entire long incision. Undoubtedly, the anesthesia somewhat reduced the sensation of the incision, but it stung for a long time. After that, there was more cutting, and soon there was a feeling of digging into the stomach. It felt as if my insides were being torn out, releasing air, and I couldn’t help it.

I mentioned that I was in pain, but it took some time before the anesthetist and I agreed that it was actual pain, not just an “unpleasant sensation.” Towards the end, I was crying out in pain, and panic began to loom. I was asked if I wanted to be put under full anesthesia or if I would try to bear it until the baby was out – I decided to endure it.

The rest is then shrouded in darkness. When our baby was born, we briefly saw him, and then I quickly received such an effective painkiller that I have no further memories of the latter part of the surgery. Initially, I thought I had been awake for the entire end of the operation, but after discussing the events with my partner afterwards, I realized that almost an hour had passed before I was in the recovery room after the baby was born. I had been in some kind of daze. Fortunately, I did retain the memory of the post-surgery initial meeting and the attempt to breastfeed in the recovery room – even though it’s a hazy recollection.

Complications of failed spinal anesthesia in C-sections

The failure of spinal anesthesia is one of many risks associated with surgeries and anesthesia. More commonly, anesthesia might stop working during surgery. In certain anesthetic methods, such as epidurals, fortunately, anesthesia can be supplemented during the procedure. Later, I went over the events with a nurse, and then with the anesthetist who was present during the C-section. No explanation was found for the anesthesia not working. Despite everything, I would choose a planned C-section again, even with everything that happened, if the situation required it—such as a baby being breech. There was also the alternative of attempting a vaginal birth, but in my evaluation, its risks were much higher than those of the surgery.

Recovery from the C-section was quick

Even though the surgery itself was a tumultuous experience, I physically recovered very swiftly. A skilled professional performed the surgery, and they used dissolvable stitches, ensuring I didn’t have to have any removed, and there was no visible wound. Additionally, the incision was made so low, almost at the bikini line, or even slightly below it, that the C-section scar isn’t visible while wearing any clothes. This made me very happy. Nowadays, the scar isn’t visible unless someone specifically looks for it… and due to its location, it’s rare for someone to see it. XD

Recovery from the C-section indeed happened rapidly. The wound didn’t bleed, and any post-surgery bleeding was minimal. When I started moving