After the birth of my daughter Daisy, I suffered both physically and emotionally. The labour was 33 hours long and I progressed to an emergency C-section because of health complications.

During the labour, I was relieved that I would be meeting Daisy soon and that we would both be safe together. When she arrived, I still remember her gorgeous little face, she was beautiful. I remember her screaming, a sign she was healthy and everything seemed ok.

However, the procedure wasn’t simple for me. They cut my bladder and it took a long time for the doctors to repair this.

During recovery, I was apart from my husband Dave and our little girl for hours on end. I became extremely anxious and really believed I was going to die.

When I finally returned home, it wasn’t joyful. I wasn’t sleeping at all and I felt like I was in a fog. A happy fog, but a fog all the same.

I wasn’t sleeping for more than 20-minute blocks at a time and it was really taking a toll on me. It wasn’t our new baby that was keeping me awake, it was my trauma. Every time I slept, I would go back to the moment on the operating table and I would wake screaming, thinking I was about to die.

When Daisy was 13 days old, I contacted the hospital and reached out for help. I was aware I needed it but I didn’t know where to start. The hospital gave me a list of names and a lovely midwife from an early childhood centre visited me that day.

A doctor’s appointment was made for me and I was extremely lucky my GP was aware of Gidget House. I was put in touch with Chris Barnes, a clinical psychologist at the centre and I immediately felt welcomed and safe.

In the first stages of my recovery, my husband and I would visit Gidget House as a family. This was a huge factor in helping me get well.

Today, I am feeling great. Motherhood is as I thought it would be, and I feel so lucky to have had the help and support to get back on track again.

Thank you so much for sharing your story Rebecca.

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