C-Section Birth Stories: Rachel Patriarca

1. Please share the circumstances that led to your c-section birth(s):

Our story starts out at my regular doctor’s appointment on June 8, 2020, around 2:30 pm. I showed up at the appointment, gave my name, and headed back as always. When getting into the room, the nurse took my blood pressure. Right away I knew something was wrong because she said “you need to lay down on your left side.” She wouldn’t tell me what my blood pressure was, but I could tell it wasn’t good. Next, my doctor came in and decided to do a cervical check to see how the baby was progressing. She said I wasn’t yet dilated, but my cervix was really soft, and that she was going to admit me to the hospital to have this baby due to pregnancy-induced hypertension. I called my husband and told him to finish packing the hospital bag (to which he said “I’ll do it in a few” and I had to inform him ever so gently he will do it NOW so we can go have this baby!). I got home, threw Peter and our hospital bags in the car, and headed to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital, we were admitted straight away. They started me on Misoprostol, which is supposed to continue to soften the cervix, and hopefully lead to some contractions around 5:30 PM. Then at 10 PM, I got my second dose of Misoprostol since nothing was happening. Finally, around 2 AM the next morning, they decided to give me some Pitocin. That really got the contractions going! I was okay for about the first 5 hours, but I wasn’t dilating much and was starting to have a lot of pain. I then got an IV pain killer that made me feel VERY loopy. I ended up having about 3 doses of this, and on the third one, I decided it was no longer working for me. My nurse suggested I move on to the epidural (which she knew was part of my birth plan) and so the anesthesiologist came in to give it. It was VERY painful and took some time to find a good spot, but he finally did!

So after that was done, my nurse went to go put the baby back on the heart rate monitor. This is where the fun really starts...she could only get the baby on the monitor at around 70 BPM (beats per minute) and about 5 nurses ran in to figure out what was going on. They saw I was only dilated to 5 centimeters, so they decided it would be best to prep the operating room for a c-section. While doing that, luckily our little girl’s heart rate went back up to about 115 BPM. My doctor came over and told me we could either risk her heart rate dipping again, or we could just continue with the plan of going into the OR (which was his recommendation) so that’s exactly what we did. We headed into the OR, my husband got into his scrubs, and we were all set for an emergency c-section.

15 minutes later at 11:12 AM, our baby girl was born! She weighed 5 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 18 inches long. My husband was able to cut the cord and hold her right after they cleaned her up, and I got to do skin-to-skin as soon as I was all stitched up! This definitely wasn’t the birthing story I imagined sharing, but it’s our life, and from day one, we knew this little girl’s story was going to be an adventure to share!

2. What surprised you the most about having a c-section?:

I was shocked at how quick the entire procedure was! Although my c-section was not planned, I still thought it would be a long, uncomfortable process. I was probably in and out of the OR in under an hour. My doctor and the whole OR team was incredible!

3. What kind of support do you feel you received (from friends, family, healthcare team) after your c-section(s)?:

When we got back to the recovery room, my doctor came in and explained exactly what had happened to me, why I had to have a c-section right away, and offered a lot of support! My family and friends were incredibly proud of me, as they knew that going through the c-section was my biggest fear in this entire pregnancy!

4. What’s your #1 piece of advice/encouragement for a new c-section mom?:

Ask as many questions as you have to! Because my c-section wasn't planned, I didn’t really do much research or know what to expect, and I was so scared when I did have to go into the OR! I think if I had known more of what to expect and how a c-section truly works, I would have been much more prepared and not as scared.

5. How do you believe having a c-section birth(s) made you stronger?:

I feel like superwoman! Not only did I go through 17 hours of labor, but then I was thrown into a full-blown surgery! I will always have my scar as a reminder of my daughter’s birth, and I am proud to tell people that she was born via c-section.

Name: Rachel Patriarca

How to Connect With You on Social Media: @Mrspatriarca428 on Instagram