My birth experience traumatized me, and now I’m not sure if I want another baby

At 38 weeks pregnant, I had been in what we thought was labor for almost two days—but was actually a kidney stone. I was in constant, terrible pain for nearly 48 hours straight, and morphine didn’t take the pain away—it only took the edge off. I watched out the hospital window as the world went by outside, and the hours dragged on. I didn’t sleep because of the pain. My body was completely drained and had gone into survival mode because of what felt like endless torture. Eventually, I was induced because of a small leak of amniotic fluid and had to give birth in an exhausted physical state and a completely anxious mental state. I was in no way ready to have my baby—the baby I had been so ready for just weeks earlier. This lead to all the things I had hoped to avoid for my birth—inducement, more inducement because I wasn’t progressing fast enough, having to lie flat on my back, epidural, episiotomy and forceps. By the time my sweet daughter finally entered the world, and they placed her in my arms—all I could do was immediately fall back onto the bed and close my eyes. My body was shutting down from sheer exhaustion . I wasn’t even able to look at my brand new baby, let alone admire her or watch her take her first breaths. This part of my birth story still breaks my heart. After they moved me to my recovery room, I asked my husband what our delivery room number was—because I never wanted to go in that room again. I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to walk down the hallway past it. And I really didn’t want to think about what happened in there. My mind was scarred by the fear and anxiety I experienced.

The hardest part of all of this is that now, the thought of getting pregnant again terrifies me. My heart longs to have a house full of little feet running down the halls, yet my body says “closed for business.” It’s a confusing tension. I know of women who have suffered through experiences much worse than I have. I know there are stories out there that are almost unbelievable. I don’t know if or when or how I will ever feel ready for another baby again. Yet, I have been realizing a few things. It’s okay that I’m scared. It’s okay that I didn’t feel as strong as I hoped to be. It’s okay that I didn’t power through childbirth without assistance. It’s okay that I wasn’t like the moms who can give birth in their sleep. And it’s okay that I wasn’t physically able to witness my daughter’s first moments of life. It doesn’t make me a bad mother. It won’t ruin my daughter’s life. She doesn’t even know what happened—only I do. I’m the one whose heart is broken because of this—not hers. She was in mama’s arms and that’s all she knew. So I’m giving myself grace. I’m letting my mind and body heal for however long it takes. I’m not going to feel the guilt of failure—because I didn’t fail. So, mama with the traumatic birth story, please give yourself grace too. You’re a good mom. You’re a strong and powerful woman who has done something amazing.