A woman has described how she ‘sobbed with joy’ after assisting her own caesarean section to give birth to her baby daughter.
According to The Mirror, Leila El Alti requested the innovative procedure for her third child after being “traumatized” by the experience of giving birth to her first two children.
If a mother wants to be involved in the process, she must wear scrubs and be an effective part of the operating room team performing the C-section.
It was carried out at Wishaw University Hospital in North Lanarkshire, which is part of the NHS Lanarkshire health board.
At a board meeting on Thursday, Ms. El Alti described the moment she pulled her daughter from her womb as “the most magical experience of my life.”
“I would recommend it to any woman who feels she would benefit from such an active and empowering role in C-section delivery,” she added.
Ms El Alti further stated: “I felt euphoric for weeks after Aurora was born in March, and my joy was not just for myself; having done this successfully has hopefully opened the door for other women to experience this wonderful experience as a valid birth option as well.”
She also explained that she gave birth to her first child, a girl, while living in Sweden, where she said she was “forced to undergo a very traumatic introduction.”
Ms El Alti even claimed that the experience left her with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that she waited five years before having her next child, a boy.
By then she had moved to Britain and said a second birth only exacerbated her trauma as she faced “resistance” to elements of a birth plan designed to take her PTSD into account.
When she became pregnant for the third time, she said she knew she wanted a maternal-assisted caesarean section, and discussed the option with staff at NHS Lanarkshire.
She continued: “I was delighted when the NHS Lanarkshire team agreed to the mother-supported option and my other needs and wishes, and we had multiple discussions and a full simulation session with a manikin – a first for the doctors.”
“When she was born, the lead midwife brought Aurora’s head and shoulders out and then I completed the delivery by taking her under her arms and lifting her close to me. The team were also great at dealing with a list of my requests, including not revealing the baby’s gender, dimming the lights after I picked her up and having a quiet moment to talk to Aurora so that my voice was the first she heard. But eventually I started sobbing uncontrollably with joy,” recalls Mrs. El Alti itself.
“My recovery was very easy compared to the previous caesarean sections. Aurora and I had no complications and we were able to go home the next day. Aurora is a healthy and happy 10-month-old child who is the light of our world,” she concluded.
