A woman whose daughter was born via cesarean section has opened up about the one thing that left her upset following the birth.
Natalie from Colorado's story, which was shared to TikTok under the handle @itsonlynatalieee, went viral, striking a chord with many other women who evidently went through a similar thing after their C-sections.
Cesarean births are a common, everyday occurrence. According to the CDC, in 2023 32.3 percent of all live births in the U.S. were by C-section. There was something slightly more unusual about the experience of Natalie, 26, who asked that her surname be omitted from this story.
Natalie told Newsweek she was inspired to share her experience after seeing several videos of fellow new moms "talking about the amazing emotional experiences they had when they birthed their child naturally and got to have immediate skin to skin contact."
Because she underwent a C-section, Natalie didn't get to have that. In fact, she said she was "not even close to being the first" member of her family to hold her newborn daughter. Natalie celebrated the arrival of her first child back in October. "I have five siblings but I am the first to have a child so my parents were pretty excited to be grandparents and my sisters were really excited to finally be aunts," she said.
She had always planned on having her mom and two sisters in the birth room with her. However, the majority of those plans went out the window when doctors determined she would need a C-section.
The problems began soon after her daughter was delivered. "I was a little dissociated after my C-section from the medicine so after they stitched me I was wheeled back into my room without my daughter," Natalie said. "When I got there she was already in my birthing room with my husband, mom and two sisters who had already been holding on to her since I was held back to get my stitches done."
Though she is keen to stress that she was thankful to all of them for being there, she came to a heartbreaking realization at that moment.
"I love my mom, my husband and my sisters and I was super thrilled to be the first to have a baby to give them that experience," Natalie said. "It just saddened me to realize I was not the first to hold my daughter like I originally planned, but instead I ended up being the fifth."
Natalie's TikTok provided a platform for her to share her experience. "While my family meant no harm, and I love them all very much, I still felt saddened by the fact that that piece of my first time birth was taken away from me," she said. "For a lot of women who have C-sections, I think it's upsetting to not get that experience or memory of being the first person to hold their child, especially when their birth plan originally indicates a normal birth."
The video ended up going viral, amassing over 150,000 views and a glut of comments from mothers sharing their own experiences. "I'm already bitter that my husband got to hold our daughter first," one woman commented.
Another wrote: "With my first I wasn't the first to hold her.. and then I constantly had visitors so I let them hold her before me because I didn't get my first hour alone." A third added: "I was the third person to hold mine."
The response was a welcome one for Natalie. "It made me feel better knowing I wasn't the only one who felt saddened by my experience," she said. "Originally I felt silly that it made me so upset but it was nice to see that it was a valid reason to be sad over it."
Natalie hopes that her story will inspire other pregnant women to "communicate with their families" to ensure they enjoy that first special moment with their baby, whatever happens with their birth plan.
"I had multiple girls comment on my video saying they didn't even think about it until they scrolled across my page," she said. "I'm happy to have been able to help them adjust their birth plan to be exactly the way they need."