My Birth Story With Sophie: Hyperemesis Gravidarum, Hopeful Home Birth Turned Unwanted Elective Caesarean, Breech Birth, NICU Stay, Pathological Jaunice, Infected Caesarean Scar

About this episode

Marley Blunt shares her challenging birth story with Sophie, detailing her experiences with hyperemesis gravidarum, a breech birth, and the emotional aftermath of an unexpected caesarean section.

In this episode, my husband and I chat on a Friday night just before our five-year wedding anniversary, then dive into our second pregnancy and birth story with Sophie. I got pregnant quickly and blurted it out on the phone, but early scans had us anxious when I measured two weeks behind.. before everything thankfully eventually progressed normally. From about seven weeks, I experienced relentless hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) : vomiting daily, surviving on broth and frozen cokes, struggling with pelvic floor issues, and feeling depressed, embarrassed, and like I had lost my personality. Meanwhile, my husband carried much of the load with Jamie. A quick Bali trip gave brief relief, but the pregnancy challenges kept coming. Late pregnancy brought a big twist: Sophie was frank breech . After a failed ECV and the hospital declining support for a vaginal breech due to head entrapment risk, I very reluctantly chose a caesarean , despite desperately hoping for a home birth. Sophie’s cord was wrapped around her head multiple times, and her early days included NICU care for severe jaundice , almost requiring a transfusion. My recovery was very very tough too, tense pain, fluid buildup at…

People in this episode

Host: Marley Blunt

Topics covered

• birth story
• hyperemesis gravidarum
• caesarean section
• breech birth
• NICU experience
• parenting challenges
• emotional recovery

Keywords

• hyperemesis gravidarum
• breech birth
• caesarean section
• NICU
• jaundice
• pregnancy challenges
• emotional recovery
• home birth
• pelvic floor issues
• support community

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bali, NICU, midwife

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