You have been ticking all your boxes throughout your pregnancy. You have eaten all that was to be eaten, avoided all that you should have, exercised as was required, and remember all the breathing techniques by heart. To summarise, you are all ready to head to labour and then normal vaginal delivery. 

However, mid-way or may even towards the end of your long labour, you are told that things are not going as planned and you will have to be taken in for cesarean. 

This information, most commonly and understandably so, is followed by a lot of anxiety and panic in some mothers and unacceptance in others. A few may even feel relieved to be going ahead with their journey and coming closer to seeing their baby. Some may feel disappointed, as they feel that all the work that they put into coping with labour got wasted if it eventually resulted in an emergency cesarean section. A lot of other mothers may blame themselves for not doing enough or better. They may harbour a sense of failure.

But is it really? Have you really failed?

As much as we stress the advantages of having a normal vaginal delivery, we should not forget to appreciate a Cesarean section for what it really does for us. When the gates for a normal vaginal delivery close, cesarean section comes to the rescue. It is this procedure, which makes sure that when things don’t go according to plan, you still end up blessed with a healthy baby and mother. 

But how do you make sure that you feel a certain way? After all, feelings are not voluntary.

You can. By making sure that you are aware and informed about the ‘what ifs’ as much as you are about the ‘has tos’. We often panic in situations that we are not aware of, and hence not prepared for. So make this education an important part of your preparation procedure during your pregnancy. Enroll yourselves in a good prenatal programme and arm yourself with all the information that you need about any and every hurdle that you may face, to make sure that when faced with a rock in your journey, you learn to go around it instead of tripping on it.

So mothers, do not panic or be scared if you are told that you may need a cesarean. Most of all, do not blame yourself. You have done nothing wrong. Just like most situations in life, how your baby reaches in your arms can not always be planned and it is okay. Have faith in yourself and your doctor and know that the both of you can together make sure, that you still have a smooth and rewarding childbirth experience. Look ahead and await the arrival of your newborn wonder with the same vigour and cherish every moment.

As in normal vaginal delivery, as soon as your bundle of joy arrives, make sure to put him/her skin to skin with you as soon as possible to initiate a satisfactory breastfeeding experience, and get ready for the most challenging but also the most blessed months of your life ahead.