Johannesburg - When she started having pains in her abdomen and a bloody discharge that indicated she was now in labour, Kuhle* knew the time had come.
Her excited husband, who was busy taking pictures of her and recording a video, bundled her into the car and they made their way to the hospital.
This was 27-year-old Kuhle’s first pregnancy. It had been relatively smooth and she expected to deliver naturally and go home as soon as her doctor gave her the go-ahead.
However, when a few hours later she hadn’t been taken into the labour room, she was told that the baby had not yet moved towards the birth canal and she might have to undergo an emergency Caesarean section.
The hospital waited a bit to see whether the situation would change. However, when 16 hours later, the baby had still not proceeded towards the birth canal and she was only 2cm dilated, it was decided that an emergency Caesar should be performed because the baby was now in distress.
It was a confusing time for her and her husband as she suddenly had to prepare to go to theatre.
Kuhle was devastated.
“At the end of the day, you don’t know whether they’re telling the truth or not but all you want is a healthy child,” she said.
And Kuhle did give birth to a healthy baby girl. However, because she had psyched herself up for a natural birth throughout the pregnancy, it was only when she got home that what had happened hit her.
She had depression, which she believes was brought on by not having the birth she wanted and the excruciating pain from the Caesar, which also made immediate bonding with her baby difficult.
“I was plunged into a deep post-natal depression. I felt that my baby had been ripped out of my body and I had been denied the opportunity to bond with her. The Caesar wound was very painful. My breasts were painful and cracked. It got too much at one point and I just broke down and cried,” she said.
Although her husband and parents were there to offer her support, Kuhle said she was too traumatised by what happened.
According to a psychologist on, Kuhle’s situation isn’t unique.
Clinical psychologist Melanie Esterhuizen said that from her experience as a professional working with mothers and babies, a Caesarean section doesn’t necessarily bring on depression, but an unexpected Caesar in the event of complications discovered just prior to the birth could result in it.
Esterhuizen said that if a mother was prepared for a Caesar or even opted for it instead of a natural birth, she would generally cope just as well as a mother who had given birth naturally.
“Of course, it’s important to remember that with a Caesarean birth, the mother has been cut and is sore and uncomfortable, which will make it more difficult for her to move around, and pick up, hold and breastfeed the baby.
“This discomfort doesn’t necessarily end in depression, and is hopefully short-lived.
“It does, however, pose an additional challenge for the mother’s initial care and handling of the infant,” she said.
“Some mothers, especially those who dearly wanted to give birth naturally, feel robbed of the opportunity to birth the baby naturally and sometimes feel inadequate, feel they have failed to do what a woman is expected to do and can begin to view themselves negatively and may slide into a depression. This is sometimes made worse if the caesarean birth was painful and/or traumatic and if she has no support.”
According to www.plus-size-pregnancy.org under the heading “Emotional recovery from a Caesarean”, women whose Caesars were planned ahead of time usually have the easiest time recovering emotionally, as they knew ahead of time that it would happen and more or less what to expect.
“They had time to grieve their lost ideal birth ahead of time and were able to prepare themselves mentally for the rigours of surgery and recovery.
“They didn’t have to go through the pain of labour and the pain of surgery too.
“To go through the intensity of labour and then have to endure the pain of surgical recovery too is a double physical burden.”
Esterhuizen said that at the end of the day, each mother was unique and it was always a combination of factors that led to depression.
* Not her real name
botho.molosankwe@inl.co.za
The Star