Parents Grappling with Difficult Birth Experiences

“I am 34(f) and i just gave birth to my 5th and last baby just 2 days ago . My birth was extremely intense and painful but overall in the end all went well but since coming back from the hospital i dnt feel like myself and i have these intense period of crying where i cannot stop crying and i just miss my baby in my belly and just want to go back to the time when i was pregnant with her even though my first trimester was awful because of 24/7 nausea and vomiting that it effected not only me but m”

“Helloooo, after a stressful labor and emergency c section that accompanied some issues meaning baby had to stay in the NICU until I was discharged…… We’re home! Except I’m so frustrated and emotional. I can’t sleep despite needing to recover from surgery. I’m worried about my partner doing night shift— doing something wrong. I’m worried about my baby getting enough clean air. I’m worried about what my cats are going to do once i finally let them near her. She’s waking up. Partner is passed out.”

“Not NICU, but I did pediatrics for 6 years. Dealing with stressed, traumatized parents is a lot. Having them breathing down your neck and hyper analyzing everything you do can be more stressful than anything else. And in 13 years of nursing I’ve only ever heard that NICU departments tend to be very toxic. Personally I couldn’t deal with 12 hours of screaming babies but mad respect for anyone who can handle that. [re: NICU nurses]”

“I am overwhelmed with grief. I went to my last OB/GYN appointment last Friday. That was my due date (40 weeks). Heartbeat was strong, he was active and kicking. We were ready to start talking about induction. She says that we will wait another week and have me scheduled to be induced the following thursday evening/friday. So on Monday I get a confirmation that my induction is scheduled to be on Friday afternoon. The week leading up to it was full of nerves, waiting for any signs of labor. I woul”

“At 37 weeks pregnant, my wife went in for a procedure called an ECV where the nurses and midwives attempt to manually ‘flip’ a breeched baby. They explained over and over again that there was a remote, minuscule chance that the baby would not like this and they may have to perform an emergency c-section. Well— that’s exactly what happened. His heart rate dropped fast and the room flooded with people and our baby boy was out in 3 minutes. I did very well supporting my wife and keeping her calm bu”

“My son was born last week at 37 weeks due to severe gestational hypertension. He spent the first week of his life in the NICU on a ventilator then a cpap and while it was the scariest week of my life, I have both of my beautiful rainbow babies under one roof now and we are adjusting to life as a family of four. submitted by /u/Wild_Show895 [link] [comments]”

“FTM here... Ive had terrible experiences at hospitals. i get his fear. And Im absolutely afraid of giving birth... im also afraid of something going wrong and not having resources right there and ready.. i care more about babys health than my comfort. So hospital sounds like an easy choice to me. Despite my fear of them.. We have a birth center nearby which we toured and seemed nice. I was open to the idea.. but im scared if something were to happen they would not be fully prepared. Transporting”

“I’m sharing this because I know so many others have experienced something similar, with a traumatic birth and a difficult year to follow. After labouring for 2 days post induction, I ended up with an emergency c section under general anesthesia. When I woke up I didn’t want to see my baby until hours later, at which point I felt a disconnection. The days that followed were a struggle and things went dark. I spent days in bed with the door closed while my husband tended to our newborn downstairs.”

“I am a relatively young dad (26) - he is our first. It was an emergency C section and he was a nicu baby because he wasn’t breathing. He is a perfectly healthy baby now he is now almost 3 months. He is so handsome and my wife is simply the absolute best. My life is as good as I could have ever imagined but I don’t know I am always scared. I am always thinking what if there is an issue. I get worried so easy. I never enjoy these moments. I am always thinking about him hitting milestones and getti”

“I delivered my baby vaginally five days ago via a traumatic birth (epidural didn’t work, needed vacuum assist and almost went into emergency c section). I could barely see baby nor put her on breast immediately until baby was 24 hours old. Now I am home and have had painful engorgement since yesterday and have leaking whenever I feed baby with formula and I try to bring baby to breast to get her to suckle at each feeding. I pumped and got maybe 1ml out which is barely anything but wondering if a”

“Not sure where to start. I had my baby on 9/28/26 and she is beautiful. The birth was quite traumatic. It came really fast and ended up needing an emergency c section. This turned into three days in the hospital. My husband has been super supportive and a great father. I on the other hand am struggling. I can’t stop crying whenever I hold my baby. I feel such overwhelming feelings that I can’t describe I feel guilt, sadness, happiness, and also numbness. I am exhausted. So is my husband, but he”

“I was expecting to give birth naturally so I didn’t really read up much on csections(it’s my 2nd day out of surgery). I have to say, I am having a hard time accepting the pain on my wound. I didnt think it would be this painful and all they prescribed is a little paracetamol?! I’m having so much trouble carrying my baby, feeding him, going to the bathroom by myself. But it’s expected here for moms to do everything themselves. Our partners aren’t allowed in the ward unless during the 4 hour visit”

“The flair is for me. I'm the one with the illness and injuries. Baby is currently 4 months old. I had an emergency C-section and recovered super fast. It was all going well until early August. I developed cough variant asthma, an ingrown toenail infection and because I cough at night my neck and shoulders are busted every day. I'm also having inflammation in one of my eyelids, fml. I'm on medication -- inhalers, things for mucus, got surgery for my toenail and ointment for my eye, am”

“In January I gave birth to my third baby at 27+1, via emergency C-section. For the entire pregnancy, I had a subchorionic hematoma with lots of bleeding and cramping, so it’s kind of a miracle I even made it that far, but eventually it caused me to PPROM. My baby stayed in the NICU for 97 days and came home at the end of April. I think we were in survival mode for a while, then it was summer and we filled our days with as many fun activities as possible, making up for lost time. There was always”

“Our baby was born 8 months ago by a crash c-section. I’d been hospitalized twice for vaginal bleeding from a placenta previa. I had started to feel awful again and passed a huge old clot. I told my husband I could feel another bleed coming. I stepped in the shower and it was like blood poured out. I called for my husband and another gush happened. Our kids were asleep and he wanted to call the squad or my mom. I told him I didn’t think we had time. I drove myself to the hospital (about 7 minutes”

“I recently had an unplanned C-section for arrest/failure of descent and I’m still trying to understand whether things realistically could have gone differently. I was unexpectedly induced at 37 weeks for gestational hypertension. I made it to 10 cm/100%/+1 and pushed for a little over an hour. Baby was OT, had a 95th percentile head, and wasn’t descending despite pushing and position changes. My OB tried manually rotating him a few times but couldn’t get him rotate. I was contracting every 2–3 m”

“I recently had an unplanned C-section for arrest/failure of descent and I’m still trying to understand whether things realistically could have gone differently. I was unexpectedly induced at 37 weeks for gestational hypertension. I made it to 10 cm/100%/+1 and pushed for a little over an hour. Baby was OT, had a 95th percentile head, and wasn’t descending despite pushing and position changes. My OB tried manually rotating him a few times but couldn’t get him rotate. I was contracting every 2–3 m”

“My husband and I had a long journey to get pregnant, two years of trying and two rounds of IVF. I’m now 9 weeks, and it’s been tough as at 7 weeks I was admitted to A&E with a SCH. I’ve been keeping my news in as I’m still bleeding and nervous about what’s to come. Yesterday I told one of my close friends I was pregnant and she seemed generally upset, because my due date is the same day as her destination wedding, which I am a bridesmaid in. The conversation ended very quickly after, and I h”

“gonna first say, please do not let my experience freak you out if you are a first timer, I really don’t think what i experienced was normal or typical. I haven’t even talked to anyone else who has experienced it before, so don’t be afraid to get an epidural! I am aware that the epidural for most does not hurt. I have a pretty darn high pain tolerance, I did not cry from pitocin the first time I gave birth, I am not someone who gets squeamish or freaks out from pokes, I don’t cry easy. I have bee”

“I’m writing this because I need to write it somewhere and because I think there isn’ t enough information available for when things go wrong in child birth. Eight days ago at 37 weeks 1 day I felt my water break, I had a large amount of clear fluid come out and contractions began maybe an hour later, I went into the hospital in pain and anticipating having my daughter, she has a serious heart condition and we live 45 minutes away from the hospital with our cardiac team, so we left as soon as the”

“I had my baby 9.23 via c section, had to stay in the hospital longer than expected due to baby’s blood sugars dropping. A few days after being home, had to go back to the hospital for preeclampsia and finally got to go home yesterday. I’m currently breast feeding my baby and SO EXHAUSTED I feel like I haven’t gotten any sleep over the past 2 weeks from hospital and Breast feeding. I have never felt this type of exhaustion my whole life. Baby is cluster feeding a lot and wants to eat every 1-2 hr”

“I just gave birth yesterday via an unintentionally unmedicated VBAC and I'm having complicated feelings about it. My water broke at 10:30pm after a full day of contractions. I went to the hospital immediately because i was GBS positive and needed antibiotics. Labor progressed rather quickly after arriving at the hospital and my husband had to leave with our toddler, so I was left with just my doula. This part I think I am actually thankful for because she was amazing and I had to labor in a”

“I Am pregnant with my second 8 years after my first. I had an uncomplicated pregnancy the first time around with a really easy vagina delivery no tearing or anything like that. This time around i have complete previa and a transverse baby and will be getting a scheduled c section. I guess im looking for people‘s experiences and reassurance especially around the recovery and the pain and ability to do things after. also the vain part of me is worried about the ugly scar and ability to exercise, e”

“Hi all, I had a fairly traumatic birth with the plan going completely out of the window and some unfortunate dealings with midwives. I was also incredibly sleep deprived in the lead up to my emergency c section. This has also meant I wasn’t comfortable enough to be able to breastfeed during recovery and are now mixing formula and expressed breast milk to feed the baby. I am really struggling to bond with my newborn, now three weeks - I’m not sure if this is as a result of the above, or it is pai”

“7 days post partum and my lord I am LOST. traumatizing c section after a failed induction. Less than helpful husband. And I just feel like …. I’m dreaming? Nothing feels real. My head feels like it’s up in the clouds and I’m watching myself. Not only do I feel like things aren’t real but I also feel like I am failing miserably. Baby lost weight twice. All he does is poop. The worst diaper rash. Who let me be a mom because I apparently am terrible at it. Anyone else feel this way after birth? &#3”

“I am about a week and a half away from my scheduled c-section for baby #2 and I genuinely like I am going to lose my mind. I have a 19 month toddler and this pregnancy has been hard. Thankfully, i'm not sick or anything but being pregnant with a toddler will really rock you. I have been short-tempered, constantly exhausted, not my normal patient self and just feeling really out of sorts (especially the last few months). I also feel guilty about being pregnant daily and how things will change”

“My birth story was quite traumatic. Hemorrhaged daughter wasn’t breathing much at first and my care team was horrible (gave birth during a nursing strike and the travel nurses were less than empathetic). I got pushed out of the hospital in less than 24 hours and all shit hit the fan when I got out of the car at home. Was weak dizzy and a whole bunch of other shit. And then less than 24 hours from being released my daughter had an ALTE. I thought she was dying so we rushed her to the hospital and”

“I had my first baby in November 2024 and it ended up in a C-section due to a failed induction. I never really laboured but was in the hospital (and awake for majority of it) for 37 hours before they finally called it and brought me to the OR in the middle of the night. The procedure itself was fine but recovery was awful. I ended up being in the hospital for another 4 days afterwards for an abundance of issues (most of which was just poor care but that’s a story for another day). We’re expecting”

“Hi everyone, I had a pretty traumatic birth experience, i had an emergency induction at 36 weeks due to severe preeclampsia, baby girl was just fine thank God but she was very tiny, 4lbs at birth. Turns out my placenta was very small. Then for the first 2.5 months she had severe colic and screamed hours and hours a day, turns out she had cmpa which resolved once we switched formulas. Because of all of this i became very strict and anxious. Constant researching trying to figure out how to help he”

“My baby boy was born very prematurely. He now has a slew of health problems and he hasnt been home for 8months now; only going from one hospital to another for procedures. Latest procedure was for his left pulmonary vein stenosis… which now may have caused seizures. Hopefully not a stroke. He’ll have his MRI soon. I may have already lost my mind sometime during this whole clusterfck. Do I need help, maybe and also I don’t fckn know. I want miracles for my little love, thats for sure. Will talkin”

“Warning: PPH. It took me some time to find the courage to share my birth experience because I didn’t knew this could happen. Gave birth 4 months ago to a beautiful baby girl. The pregnancy was wonderful, no problems at all. Also up until I delivered everything was going well. It was a lot better than I expected. Me and my partner were so relaxed, we were ready and exited to meet our little baby. I had a very long delivery because I dilated fully after a very long time and the baby didn’t want to”

“I had my baby today! I’m so happy, but it was honestly the worst experience of my life. 30+ hours of labor (and no sleep during that time), two failed epidurals, and a baby who turned himself halfway through led to a C-section that I did not plan for but desperately needed for my mental and physical well-being. I’ve never had surgery before and a C-section terrified me because of the nature of the process. What do you wish you knew about healing beforehand, what things did you do to cope, and wa”

“I’m a FTM to a baby boy who was born via C-section because he was breech. He is 6 days old now, and I’m feeling very overwhelmed both physically and mentally but only at night. He is so peaceful and honestly the best baby all day long, but once around 9 p.m. hits, everything seems to change. During the day, he eats every 2–3 hours and takes fairly normal amounts, as directed by the hospital. He sleeps happily in between feeds after a quick burp. In the evening, though, he becomes extremely fussy”

“Wife and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl last week. It was an extremely traumatic birth, with my wife having an actual near death scare. I can’t bring myself to put all the dark/difficult details into words, but it does end with she and I coming home with our baby girl and everyone is doing just fine. But I can’t shake the anxiety - I’m having trouble eating and sleeping, am experiencing intense chest pain, and am in a state of panic most of the time. I feel like I am already failing in keeping”

“TLDR; C-section was hardest emotionally, you should prepare for one even if you plan to deliver completely naturally and are having a perfect pregnancy so far. Focus on the positives. I joined this sub years before I got pregnant and found reading the birth stories immeasurably helpful in understanding and preparing for labor and birth, so I wanted to give back and share my own birth story. My son was breech pretty much the whole pregnancy. He was only head down at one appointment and I don'”

“I previously had a planned C-section, and I found the recovery really difficult. I was breastfeeding, so I was only offered paracetamol for pain relief, which didn’t seem to help much at all. I’m due again in a couple of weeks and I’m planning to breastfeed this baby too, but I’m honestly dreading the recovery. I’ve heard people say that recovery can sometimes feel harder or take longer when breastfeeding, partly because of limitations around certain painkillers and also because it can be diffic”

“Baby is 3 days old and was planned c section at 36w3d. In the hospital he was good about sleeping and was easy to be put down in his bassinet. First night at home homie was not vibing. We could not put him down without a fit. We anticipated rotating who got up every couple of hours but it turned into rotating who stayed awake to hold him and switching every 90ish minutes. I understand his body isn't quite ready to be here and he wants the extra warmth and the bassinet is more open aired but”

submitted by /u/Every-Butterfly-3447 [link] [comments]

“(Please do not read this if you may find the above triggering)🩷 Medical trauma experienced as a child is affecting my pregnancy and birth plan, I know this is probably a bit of a long shot but has anyone been through anything similar at all and wouldn't mind maybe buddying up to support each other? For reference this is my first pregnancy. When I was 13 years old I needed a couple pretty serious operations where I would need to be under general anaesthetic for 10+ hours at a time. When I wa”

“My son is just about to turn five and so many women in my circle have given birth since then. I had a c section, not planned, but not emergency. Apparently the best surgeon at my practice did it and I didn’t have a hard recovery. She said she took her time stitching the layers (my husband remembers this and not me), she gave me real stitches deep and dissolving ones on the superficial layers. I went back after 10 days and she took some out. I expressed vague concerns about my tattoo not being we”

“My son was a large baby, had like a 85th percentile head and was 90% for weight… overall big and I ended up having to do a c-section after failing to push him out (I pushed for 4.5 hours plus they even tried the vacuum and still couldn’t wiggle his head past my pelvic bone). My OB wanted to monitor this pregnancy closer just incase it’s another big one so she could recommend another c-section (if needed). I went in for a growth scan a couple days ago (at 30 weeks 4 days), completely prepared to”

“After two miscarriages my wife and I are very happy to be 11 weeks pregnant, it looks like everything is going right this time. The first two times we barely even had a chance to really think about what life would be like. This time, I’m freaking out. How am I going to know what to do? The internet seems filled with contradictions. How do you know how to keep a kid alive? How do I know what to do with it? I’m worried about the newborn months right now but what happens in year, 5, or 10? How did”

“I’m a FTM, 28F. I had my baby boy 10months last November through an emergency c-section far away from family in a different country. Recently, I have started to feel overwhelmed. I have had a headache everyday for the last month. I am exhausted. my body hurts, my skin is acting up, my hair is falling out, I am constantly on the verge of crying but feel like I can’t get it out but mostly I’m really fucking tired of breastfeeding. I stopped nursing the boy for biting but kept pumping. I have dropp”

“Just had my second baby via emergency section at 32 weeks. Baby is doing really well but will likely need another 4-5 weeks in hospital. My recovery has been slow and painful. My first was born early via emergency section as well but that time I was able to walk to see him in the NICU the evening the day he was born, I was discharged after 2 nights in hospital and had no complications. Baby came home with us after 10 days and it was tough but we managed. I’m now on night 4 in hospital and was on”

“My baby is 3 weeks and 1 day. He was born at 36+2 and came home 10 days later after a stay at nicu for poor feeding on his own. Since he came back, he had been an angel and seldom cried, only when changing diapers or pooping. However, starting 2 days ago, hes suddenly been crying and fussing non stop with gas pain. How are we supposed to handle this? i have help and im still losing my mind hearing him in pain. is this really normal submitted by /u/zz657 [link] [comments]”

“Baby girl and I had a rough start. I labored to 10cm, much of it unmedicated to avoid a c/s. Her heart rate dropped to 60 and didn’t come back up. Room was flooded with nurses. Doctor screamed from behind me “baby needs out NOW do we have consent to do what we need to do?” Of course I said yes. Run down the hall, separated from my husband, and baby girl was out in 8 min. Fortunately my epidural top up worked and I could be awake. Also fortunately my husband made it in time. I lost 1.6L of blood”

“36 weeks today and I am coming to terms with likely needing a scheduled c section at 39 weeks due to multiple complicating factors. Looking for validation, support, positivity, all the things to just feel better about the ups and downs of our first pregnancy that did not go according to any plan. We were so excited to get pregnant after a year of trying. Then 6 week ultrasound showed a 6cm subserosal fibroid. Told at our 10 week appt that I would be considered a high risk pregnancy as this is cl”

“This is aimed for people who knew something wasn't quite right but didn't have the information or support needed. I've read amazing stories and of course there are the horror ones and you truly cannot predict what is going to happen. All you can do is be prepared for whatever scenario arises. Im asking this because I read a story of a woman whose babye head got stuck against the pelvic bone but the constant pushing meant baby kept hurting her head. But she just thought okay were in t”

“Emergency C-Section as a Mythic Descent and Initiation submitted by /u/goldenalien333 [link] [comments]”

“I’m 10 days postpartum with my first baby, and I’m really struggling with everything that happened during his birth and afterward. I’m posting because I genuinely want to know if anyone has experienced something similar and how you eventually processed it. I went into labor and was admitted after my water broke. During labor, my baby started having recurrent late decelerations. They tried different things, but ultimately his heart rate wasn’t tolerating labor and I ended up having an emergency C”

“My son was born at 34 weeks and spent 2 weeks in the NICU. Before delivery, I was admitted for a week because my amniotic sac ruptured early. After birth, my husband and I were managing everything ourselves — going back and forth to the NICU, pumping 8–12 times a day, barely eating properly, and just trying to get through each day. What has been hardest is how much advice everyone gives without thinking about the mother’s mental state. People constantly comment on what I should eat, whether my m”

“I am 3.5 weeks postpartum and had a forceps delivery, with episiotomy, and third degree (3a) tear. Everyone keeps applauding me for having a ‘natural birth’ but I find nothing natural about the whole process. For some context, I have always wanted a vaginal birth, and was anti-induction due to it leading to cascade of interventions. I had scheduled a c-section for week 41 if labour didn’t start naturally. But nature had its own plans. My waters broke at 39 weeks and since risk of infection incre”

“Hi all! I had my baby about 3 weeks ago and everyone is healthy and recovering. I wanted to share my story as I had never heard of anyone going through what happened to me and would be very interested in hearing from people who did have similar experiences. At 38 weeks I woke up feeling very strange, almost like I was underwater. I felt physically off balance and couldn’t focus. still a couple weeks away from my due date i didn’t think it was time yet. I went to work (lol) then came home and pas”

“Hi New Parents, I hope this post is ok here as I am desperate for any glimmer of hope. I gave birth via c-section on 8/30. It was a planned pregnancy, however I did have some ambivalence in the first trimester. After my c-section I was bonding with my daughter and seemed to be doing ok. By about the third day I began to feel sick and not connected to my daughter. It felt like I couldn’t care for her because I couldn’t even care for myself. I was released from the hospital on the fourth day. When”

“I had PPROM and delivered my first baby quite early. I know it’s “not my fault” but I‘m still devastated my body couldn’t protect her and carry her to term. I also know there are long term effects of being born early—cognitive and otherwise. I’m reminded of this multiple times a day—can’t find premie diapers, all her clothes swallow her, apps reminding me of my “due date,” friends and family commenting on how tiny my baby is, constant pediatrician appointments. I feel like I failed at motherhood”

“Last week I gave birth via c section unexpectedly, so I’m learning a lot about recovery as I go. While I’m exhausted more easily than expected, I’ve found my physical recovery is going so much better than anticipated. In the hospital my OB said I should not put anything in my vagina (no sex, no tampons, no diva cup, etc) for six weeks. I understand why this is the case for a vaginal birth, as that area is still very much healing, but why is it true after a c section birth? Relatedly, even if I t”

“My husband and I are now parents to a 16 month old and a days old newborn. With our first son, he was born at 32 weeks, and spent a month in the NICU, so we never got to experience the first couple weeks at home with a newborn. Now with our second son, we have had one night at home and I feel woefully ill prepared. I know every baby is different but any suggestions about how to make this transition easier would be greatly appreciated. submitted by /u/spacequeen03 [link] [commen”

“Hi, I am a FTM. I had my baby via emergency c section last week at 32+4 weeks due to pre clampsia. It was a very traumatic birth. Baby is in NICU. I was only discharged yesterday. In the first two days my midwife helped me harvest colostrum. I managed about 0.7ml each time. On 3 day post op I tried pumping but nothing came out. I pumped twice that day. I then tried pumping again yesterday but nothing came out again. I think I still have colostrum? I thought I would have plenty of time to get to”

“I was diagnosed fairly early, around 17 weeks or so. I was never warned of the risk and didn't even know it existed. This is my 9th pregnancy after 5 losses. I had no idea that a d&c could increase these risks. I was also never given a heads up about how painful this would be. Every symptom i experience I keep thinking, "where's the girl with the list?" None of my previous pregnancies were enjoyable and I didn't miss being pregnant, but the discomfort and pain was toler”