Sarah's Beautiful Birth Story

I'm so excited to bring some amazing and beautiful C-Section birth stories with you guys, and the lovely Sarah is the very first to share her story! Sarah is an emergency room nurse, and Mum to 2 ridiculously cute boys, Hudson and Lenny. 

Here's her story...

Tell us about the birth of your twins:

I went into spontaneous labour at 31+5 weeks gestation with my MCDA twins. I got transferred from Ballarat to the Royal Women’s in Melbourne, where I had been receiving majority of my antenatal care, and I had been planning to have a vaginal birth given that the presenting twin was head down. 5 days prior to going into labour twin A was head down, upon arriving to Melbourne 5 day later they were both now breech.

I was given medications to stop the labour but the contractions persisted and eventually my cervix began to change. I went in for an emergency cesarean around midday and at 1.50pm Hudson was born, shortly followed by Lenny at 1.51pm.

Despite coming early, they both came out with almighty screams, and were quickly whisked away to get checked. I was able to briefly meet them before they were taken to NICU. They spent the following week in Melbourne with breathing support, and once they were able to breath on their own, they were transferred back to Ballarat Hospital for another 3 weeks prior to coming home.

How was your recovery after your C-section?

I was very fortunate to have a very smooth recovery following my c-section, I also think because the boys were in NICU I had incentive to get up as soon as I could and moving, I could only go a small way to start off with, but I believe that being able to get up and move in those early days was integral to my recovery!

How did you manage to get back to moving around, and exercise?

For the first 6 weeks, I spent a lot of time up and walking around hospital while the boys were in hospital, but I rested when I needed to. Once I had the tick of approval to get back into exercise post my 6-week check up, and in discussion with my physio, I started with some simple mobility exercises to get my body used to moving again and I would go for longer walks. Once I had some strength back, I began alternating going to Pilates and the gym, which was perfect for me.

I also had a postpartum massage with Ballarat Pregnancy Massage with Sarah who is also a qualified midwife, she said as able to educate me about the importance of c-section massage and I implemented that into my daily routine.

What your pain levels were like in the days/weeks afterwards?

In the days following my c-section my pain would fluctuate. I had really good days and then some average days. I found getting up & moving and staying on top of my regular analgesia was important to ensure that I was able to manage pain levels. But, also realising when I read done too much and resting when I needed to, and not feeling guilty for that, otherwise I would pay for it later.

Any activities that you found surprisingly easy or hard, after your C-Section?

I’m not sure that I found anything particularly easy, I was probably more surprised at how soon I was able to get up after having the c-section. I did however find my lack independence really hard, not being able to simple tasks around the house, lift little things or even drive the car.

Any tips or advice you’d give your 'pre-C-Section self'?

My biggest tip would be to get up and move as soon as you feel like you can, it only has to be a couple of steps, but that small movement can have a massive impact on your recovery.

What does life look like now?

My boys are now 19 months old and I’m back at work as a Nurse working in the Emergency Department 5 days a fortnight. I’m also returning to university this year to study Midwifery. I’m staying active and running around after our busy boys!

I'm so grateful to Sarah for sharing the beautiful story of how her boys arrived in this world! You can check out more gorgeous photos of Sarah and the twins over on Instagram @completecsectionrecovery

If you'd like to share your C-section birth story, I would LOVE to hear it, please get in touch with me at [email protected]