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Unplanned Cesarean Birth Under General Anesthesia
Allison always knew she wanted to have an unmedicated childbirth; her mom had three, so she assumed that is what she would be able to do as well. Allison and her husband took Bradley Method classes to prepare for childbirth together, and Allison was so excited to experience what her body was made to do. Allison started going to into labor 4 days after her due date, and went to the hospital where she labored overnight and into the next day. Exhausted, Allison ended up getting an epidural and dilated quickly. She pushed for over 3 hours; but, the baby didn’t come down, so Allison followed her gut and opted for a c-section. The epidural and spinal block didn’t work, so Allison ended up being put under general anesthesia. She woke up to find out that she had delivered a girl: Cora Jo, 9 lbs and 21 inches.
Birth Trauma Therapy
After her traumatic c-section and blood transfusion, Allison knew she had a long road of physical and emotional recovery. After 8 months, Allison was still having nightly flashbacks and intrusive thoughts, so she searched for a local birth trauma therapist. Going to therapy was one of her best decisions as it taught her how to handle the traumatic flashbacks of her birth. Allison shares some of the helpful exercises on the podcast.
Allison Lynch Bio
Allison lives in Madison, WI with her husband Jesse and their one year old daughter, Cora. She is a research administrator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Allison and her family love spending as much time as they can outdoors, even in the cold Wisconsin winters. Although her birth ended up in a traumatic emergency c-section, she is an advocate for natural birth and is very passionate about postpartum support and finding help when you need it. She is active in her local birth and new mother communities, so if you are local she can connect you. Connect with Allison on Instagram @AlliLynch14.
Resources
How to Heal a Bad Birth
Heal your Birth Story
Madison Postpartum Collective
This podcast was so so so helpful to me. This birth story is so parallel to exactly what happened to me, and hearing the validation from someone else that I’m not alone and also hearing the advice to think about what my daughter would have said to me made me tear up- because I know she would have said the same thing. I am 19 months post partem and 7 months pregnant with my son so this is exactly what I needed to help prepare me for an empowered VBAC experience. Thank you so much for this!!
What a beautiful retelling of a traumatic birth. Allison really captured the feeling of loss of control. I found it really resonated with my own home-birth-became-c-section story. It was 9 years ago and Allison’s story brought it all back. My home birth was overseen by a fabulous midwife that helped me make a mutual decision, and my c-section was a conscious one, so I was able to watch Henry enter the world… and it was STILL traumatic because it wasn’t what I had planned. Kudos to Allison for her openness and in seeking help and therapy in processing her birth trauma. Every bit of love and light as you heal, Allison. And hugs to your daughter <3