Edna Swart and Reid Stephen welcomed their ‘little angel’ Astyn into the world on April 19. However, the birth was ‘the opposite’ of what they had expected, as both mother and baby could have died.
The 34-year-old mother from New Zealand told FEMAIL she had envisioned a “beautiful, calm, natural birth” and that despite having an “easy pregnancy”, she began experiencing problems four days before the birth when the baby was turned onto his back.
Edna, the founder of skincare brand Ed&i Body, said the gruelling 24-hour labour was horrific and it was difficult to talk about the traumatic experience months later.
In the hospital, something special happened when Astyn passed meconium (baby feces). This can be dangerous for babies if they inhale it and in some cases can cause health problems or even death.
During labor, the baby’s heart rate dropped, Edna developed an infection, and the umbilical cord became wrapped around the baby’s neck.
Despite the doctors’ best efforts, an emergency caesarean section was necessary and Astyn was born within five minutes.
“It was the most pain I’ve ever felt. I only had back pain from the contractions and no pain in my abdomen,” she said.
‘Many people say that a C-section is the “easy way” to get rid of labor, but that is absolutely not the case.’
New Zealand couple Edna Swart and Reid Stephen welcomed their first son Astyn in April, but their birth was horrific. Edna, the founder of skincare brand Ed&i Body, said the gruelling 24-hour labour was unbearable and it was hard to talk about the traumatic ordeal months later
During labor, the baby’s heart rate began to drop, Edna developed an infection, and the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s neck. Despite the doctors’ best efforts, an emergency caesarean section was necessary and within five minutes Astyn was born
A doctor watched Edna and the baby every minute to see – and hope – that he would turn back into the right position. But he didn’t.
“I had an epidural, but I couldn’t sleep all night. I just laid on my side and listened to my baby’s heartbeat to make sure he was okay,” she said.
‘I refused a c-section at first because I really wanted a natural birth. I didn’t want to go through rehab while I was having a newborn. I told my doctor to do everything he could to have a natural birth.
‘Lying in the hospital bed… strangely enough I felt ashamed that I couldn’t give birth naturally. I don’t know why. I was really disappointed, I thought, “Why can’t my body give birth normally?”‘
The next morning, Edna became upset because the baby’s heart rate began to slow.
“A lot of people say that C-sections are the ‘easy way’ to get rid of labor, but that is absolutely not the case,” says Edna.
At 8:30 she was dilated enough to start pushing for a natural birth. She tried for an hour but only the baby’s stool was pushed out.
“The doctors said, ‘We can’t do that, we have to try something else,’” Edna recalls.
She was also prepared for a caesarean section as a precaution, after which doctors and midwives did their best to get the baby out.
“I didn’t realize how urgent it was getting because the baby’s heart rate was dropping and dropping. I remember looking down as I was pushing and they were pulling so hard on my baby that I thought it couldn’t be good for him,” she said.
From that moment on it was a race against time that could make the difference between life and death, when doctors realized that the umbilical cord was also around his neck.
The next morning Edna was upset when the baby’s heart rate started to slow. They then decided to perform surgery with 20 doctors in the room – including three pediatricians – and within five minutes the baby was born
Then they decided to do the surgery with 20 doctors in the room, including three pediatricians. Within five minutes the baby was born.
“It was so intense, I couldn’t feel anything from my neck down to the floor (due to the C-section), I was so drugged that I can’t remember the first time I held him,” Edna said.
‘I couldn’t hold him and all I ever wanted was that moment of first skin-to-skin contact – but I didn’t get it.’
Fortunately, Astyn was not born with any health problems and did not inhale any meconium.
Instead of staying in the hospital, she went to the maternity care center, where she received 24/7 support from nurses. They stayed there for four nights.
Edna chose this paid service because the hospital brought back ‘bad memories’ from when her mother died.
When she got home with Astyn, she knew she had to tell her family what had happened and talked about it a lot through tears. Talking about it often with family has made her feel comfortable now when she looks back on the traumatic experience.
When she got home with Astyn, she knew she had to tell her family what had happened and she talked about it a lot, even with tears in her eyes.
But it wasn’t over yet, because she had to overcome another challenge.
She had a lot of trouble looking at herself in the mirror because she didn’t recognize herself.
“It’s a shocking state to find yourself in. Imagine you’ve just given birth, you can’t hold your baby, you can barely move, your body is retaining a lot of fluid, you’re swollen and your hands look like sausages,” she said.
“My husband had to help me shower and I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror. I had to remember that this is not who I am.”
After the terrible ordeal, Edna immediately returned to work and 10 days later she was already answering emails.
She recovered and took it easy for six weeks.
After the horrific ordeal, Edna wasted no time getting back to work and was answering emails 10 days later. But she was still recovering and took it easy for six weeks. ‘Business was my first baby and I couldn’t wait to get back to work,’ she said.
“Business was my first baby and I couldn’t wait to get back to work,” she said.
Since then, remarkable business successes have been achieved.
Three months after giving birth, the brand recently made $264,000 in sales in five hours, largely thanks to the launch of a new moisturizer known as Day Hydrate.
That was largely due to the launch of a new moisturizer called Day Hydrate.
The Kiwi brand now has a loyal following of thousands of people who brag about their purchases on social media.
But the memories of Edna’s birth experience continue to affect her in other ways. She doesn’t think she’ll have any more children.
“I’ve always been a one-and-done kind of guy, and I think I’m done with it now,” Edna said.
This decision was not only driven by the traumatic birth experience, but also by other factors such as stress, finances, and how the world is a “chaos place” to bring children into the world.
“Our beautiful son is perfect and I don’t see our family expanding, but who knows what will happen in the future.”