Caesarean Section vs Natural Birth: Our Birth Stories with Jen Chae! 

Loved hearing women share positive experiences with c-section, since I feel like c-sections are often much-maligned/pitied by people who haven't had one. I had a scheduled c-section at 39.5 weeks bc my daughter was frank breech and I had partial placenta previa. After the spinal wore off, only needed ibuprofen for a couple days. Got to do skin to skin immediately, milk came in right on time. Came home and did stairs, walks, pooping, no problem. No painful sex or incontinence issues postpartum. If you're scheduled for a c-section, you need not fear or feel less than.

Tearing is more scary to think about than having a Cesarean.

Wow this makes me feel so so grateful to be giving birth in the UK!! We have a health visitor visit you at home the next day after going home and several more times after that. That is standard. And it's free!

The three of them look absolutely gorgeous! Can’t believe they actually had babies in the first place

It's amazing to hear stories about the moms being forgotten about in the US. It's so different than Japan! I just had my first baby in Japan (although I'm American) and after the birth you stay in the hospital for at least 3 days and your doctor comes to check on your recovery before you are released to go home. The nurses also check your healing twice a day! A midwife from your clinic comes to your house to check on you after one week and you come in to the clinic one month postpartum to check on your recovery and the baby. I also could message my doctor at any point if there were problems with recovery.There's so much more aftercare here than in the US!

Love how honest and real this video is! Thank you for sharing ladies! xx

Thank you ladies for sharing your birth stories! I just gave birth to my first baby and the whole labor and delivery lasted about 5 hours (vaginal). When I was pregnant, I watched so many birth vlogs and mentally prepared myself for the worst.. i was Terrified of giving birth and pain. I kept telling myself that if I'm lucky I'll have an "average" kind of labor and delivery. However, I was veryy lucky. Felt my water break at 3 am, then started to feel contractions. Got to the hospital in 30 minutes and once they checked me in, then checked me i was already 7 cm dilated. Got epidural at 6 am and waited for my labor to progress and for some other stuff. Doctor told me to start pushing at 7:30 am and by 8:02 my son was out! My recovery also felt like it went pretty smoothly. My son is almost 2 months now! The nurses thought that this was my 2nd or 3rd time giving birth

Oh my goodness, I am so grateful for your story Jen. I thought I was the only one who had such a terrible afterbirth experience. So many people were telling me just go for a walk, you need to get up and walk around. I couldn't sit, I could only lie on one side. It was rough.It made breastfeeding really difficult onto of it already being super difficult to feed my baby. I didn't heal properly and ended up in the hospital for 4 days because I had an infection, -10 days after giving birth. My experience made me see how much people forget about moms and that sometimes moms need time to heal and theres so much pressure to take care of your baby and you are just expected to have to do it all. When you go into any kind of surgery there is recovery time but for some reason birth doesn't count. Thank you ladies for sharing!

I really appreciate how honest all these women were. People don’t talk about how difficult birth and bringing a baby home is. They also acknowledged how Mama is semi-ignored and all the attention goes to baby, but that’s when mama needs the most support and attention. Great video, so glad you ladies shared😊

I love listening to your stories and love how open you are, I wish more people were open and honest like you. I am a first time mom and have not had much of a help and was really depressed and scared about the birth plans. But listening to your stories definitely makes me feel less lonely and set my expectations right. Watching your videos are so informative. I definitely feel more informed.

I watched Jen's video when it came out, but her story just so resonates with me. It's disgusting how we as the mothers become chopped liver the second we have our babies. I was on hospital bed rest for 30 days before hand and was literally hardly allowed to go to the bathroom alone. It was the worst, but after I gave birth I didn't see a nurse or doctor for 18 hours and then was sent home. Mind you, I was not like in the sticks. I was at the largest birth hospital in Southern California! I also had to go back to urgent care 2 days after and had a D&C 7 weeks later for a retained placenta that my perinatologist left inside! Every time I hear other stories like this I have so much compassion for the mom's this happens to and so much disgust for the state of postpartum healthcare.

I cried listening to Jen because I also had a vaginal birth and tore. My recovery took about a month so I could feel somewhat “normal” again. Loved hearing your stories ladies!

Six months after I delivered, while I waited at the OBs office, I came across an article in the cosmo. It was an eye opener. it was an exhaustive list of very common post birth conditions that people don’t talk about or even acknowledge. One of those was pain in the vaginal area post birth and painful sex. I had been suffering from that after birth and sex was torture. My OB was so dismissive of my concerns and told me I just need a glass of wine before sex and thought it was all in my head. Ofcourse I trusted her and believed her and it wasn’t until I read the article that I realized I wasn’t crazy. I started seeing a pelvic health and rehab center. After 5 sessions of trigger point therapy, stretching exercises, I was completely cured!!! I was so disappointed in my OB because honestly, I don’t look for post partum advice in cosmo, heck I don’t even read cosmo. If I hadn’t come across that article, I would have still been in extreme pain

Such a great video! You ladies are all amazing! Love you guys and thanks for making this video!

Girls start to take 1 teaspoon on olive oil everyday 2 months before your due date. Also, apply oil on your private area everyday 2 monts before your due date as well. Many moms even apply inside. It helps prevent tearing.

I️ work on a high risk labor and delivery unit in Syracuse NY. It’s a crazy experience for both patient and nurse.. these babies take a lot out of us! Thanks for sharing

What is Jen’s lipstick 💄????? Love it!!!!!

I needed this tonight. I’m 29 weeks and starting to panic about giving birth. I was the girl who passed out while touring the maternity unit last week. Thanks for sharing ladies!

My first birth was a nightmare - the second was wonderful! For my second, I stayed home as long as possible because I was worried that medical intervention would cause me to need a c-section again. I had the baby in triage right after I arrived at the hospital and it went perfectly. Best day ever.

I really loved hearing these stories. I also think it's important to say that if you do have an ideal birth it's okay to be happy with it and proud. I remember I felt like I was supposed to have a traumatic experience or some kind of crazy story but I have been very fortunate and I had amazing births. I used to feel uncomfortable talking about it with other moms because they always had horror stories, and I didn't want to seem rude. We all end up with our beautiful babies so every birth story is perfect in its own way.

I think for all those expectant mothers out there, remember - the care provider is there for you. YOU call the shots. Be strong, and stand your ground, the care providers cannot do anything legally without your consent.

I think I was really blessed that my nurses were pregnant and nice to me and understood my pain level alot of prayers too

You guys make me feel so seen, not alone, and not judged❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you 🥹

previously i got labour pain for 12 hours nd then shifted to opration theater for c section cnt tell u wht i feel omg really great respect for all the mothers after all tht....

Great video!!! Thank you! I can relate most to Jen's story. Postpartum recovery was absolutely horrid.

I am so glad you shared your birth stories! I have 6 children; although, I never had a c-section, I did have many good and bad things happen. As a mom, I would do it all over again, to have the beautiful children, I have. I was blessed to be in the labor and birthing room with my second daughter! It was exciting and stressful, to watch my daughter go through labor was so painful, for me. I would have gladly switched places with her. But, knowing I had gone through the process 6 different times; I was able to calm her down and talk her through some of the anxiety and fear, that she was having. Something else, I am so close to this particular grandchild; I do have 11 other grandchildren, and I don't play favorites with anyone. But, we have this bond, I don't know if it is because I was there during the whole labor, delivery, and her hospital stay; but we are very close. Thank you for your stories; reminiscing was such a joy, the baby that came from it. ❤❤❤❤

I loved hearing Jen’s story! Thanks fo watching everyone!

I love you guys for being so candid ☺ Shahrzad i miss you being on TMV alot gurl so glad that i found this channel.. Hugs for you all 😍

This was so great to hear! Very informative for first time moms!

yeah I work on a dairy farm and we're still doing checks 2 weeks after a cow gives birth for infections it's so lame that a person gets sent 24hrs after birth home

Love this series. I just had my second son, and it’s crazy how different my deliveries were. I wish I had seen this video before my first son was born.

I like to tell other expectant moms picking the right health care provider is really key in having the birth you want. And to not left fear over take you.

The after care in Europe is much beter! I live in the Netherlands now and here you get 8 days of a day nurse coming to your home helping with the baby and checking on mom. They will even do laundry if you can't anymore. The midwife comes to your house to check on you also!

I got emotional because you reminded me my first birth. À part from the pain I went through I became very depressed. But I'm happy you shared this with us.

Ugh! I wish you guys made this video before I had my first born! And I wish I had watched sooner. I went through the same thing Susan did. With all the research I had done only a tiny percentage of me was prepared to have a c-section. Now I’m 6 months pregnant with my second 14 months later. Doctors say I could try to do vaginal birth but since I had a c-section a little over a year ago their is a tiny risk of a uterine rupture. And I definitely don’t want that to happen. I had no clue what to do until now. Thank you Sharzad for sharing your story which has now helped me decide! Now I’m going to definitely schedule a c-section. Even with my second pregnancy I’m still learning new things! You guys are awesome! 👍

I am 4' 11" and 90 pounds soaking wet too. Being too small was one of my greatest fears during my first pregnancy too. I then learned that there is no reason for a healthy woman to be afraid. There are many variations of normal. I had to kids completely naturally without incident 7lbs 14ozs, and 8lbs, 5 oz. So far and I am currently pregnant with my third child. The important thing to remember is that your body is stretchy and pliable especially during pregnancy when the hormone relaxin does its magic and makes your joints and ligaments more flexible. Your tissues soften and your bones separate. Also important to remember that baby has a moveable head! It molds to the shape it needs to be to fit. I psyched myself out so much too before I realized that we were designed to give birth as women perfectly suited even if we are small!! 😉😁

Thank you ladies for sharing your stories, I having my second child and plan on having a c section and feel better about after watching this videos

Thanks so much for sharing this ladies! 🙏🏾 Very critical

Thanks a lot for this video! After having a very healthy pregnancy, I recently had an emergency cesarean after 36 hours of the water bag bursting. Nothing prepared me for that ordeal and I was mentally and physically quite broken. But video sharings such as this is very healing!

Hi Girls! Thank you for the amazing content. Do you have a video about the recovery? Maybe tips? Thank you

Luv Ur experiences...three birds....oh my god I laughed so.much listening the birth experiences u been through .... truly ....I am going to b a mom soon ....iam seriously lovin it

My sister in law labor was for an hr and push 3 times. In the other hand I was in the hospital for 5 days didn’t eat for 4 days and push for like 3 hrs and had such a bad recovery that it took about 2 months to walk normal and long period and sit on my bottom. Baby also had some medical problem which put more stress on me. So thankful that I feel more normal now and baby is going great. It gets easy day by day.

It is so interesting to hear your stories. I am from Germany and labour, delivery and recovery kind of works differently here. At first, in most hospitals midwifes are managing the delivering rooms and stations. Doctors only join for the actual birth moment. Also, epidural is not that big of a deal. Some woman get one, but it is not on a regular basis. And than, when you go home after 2 days. You get a midwife, that visits you every day for about two weeks and than every other day up to 8 weeks. She checks on the baby and also on you. That is very helpful. Every mom should have that.

Hey girls, thanks for sharing this, really helpful

You ladies are lovely! Thanks for sharing!

I enjoyed hearing about your birth stories! I loved both my births! I had 2 water births with a midwife (who is actually a friend) at a birth unit next to a hospital. Both were crazy and beautiful! My son was born after 10 hours of labor, started with contractions and ended with about 2 hours of pushing. I was discharged about 24 hours after the birth but we spent another 5 days in hospital because my son had an infection. My daughter was born after 4.5 hours of labor, started with my water breaking and ended with about 3 pushes and she was out. I was discharged on the same day, I gave birth at 7:26 am and we left the hospital at about 4 pm. Both were intense but nothing I could not handle. I did not have any interventions. I did have second degree tearing both times but luckily recovered well. I would not have it any other way!

Jen is absolutely lovely! Subscribing to her right away! Thank you for introducing us to her! There was SO much in this video that I would have loved to talk to you about. :) I loved the video! I'm just gonna mention some random things that I started thinking about. :) The whole going number two after birth was weird for me the second time around (don't really remember the first to be honest). The first time I went to the bathroom after having him was fine. I was so worried, but it was fine. BUT. After that it all went downhill. For weeks I was in so much pain every time. I was on and off of stool softeners and I was constantly worrying about my stomach hurting because I really just couldn't go to the bathroom for days. This was the absolute worst part of recovery for me. Next time I will totally be more prepared. :p In Sweden everyone pretty much goes to 42 weeks before being induced, unless there's something specific about the pregnancy. Also you can't do an elective c-section here. The doctor has to feel like there is a medical reason to approve it. Sharzad, you're getting funnier by the day. I just LOVE you. 😍 "Still gained all the weight though." 😂 You kill me!

Love your channel, girls!

I tore for my first born but labor was easy his weight was 8lbs 1oz he is now a happy 8 year old. I how ever didnt tore for my second but labor was very hard his weight was 6 lbs 3 oz he came out sunny side up cord wrapped around him 3 times and born blue which was very scary lucky hes doing fine and is happy health 2 month old! Thanks for the up load

I love your makeup Susan! So pretty!!! ☺️❤️

Omg the bathroom after a c section made me glad I didn’t have to push. I wanted to die!

Thank you! This video is perfect.

Thank you sooo much for sharing!

Great episode

I want to write here for all those women that are pregnant. Guys, what you hear in this video maybe somebody's story but it doesn't have to be yours! I had a natural unmedicated delivery, contractions for 10 h at home and 2 h labor in the hospital with my sister and a midwife. It was amazing, truly, not amazing like a elegant ball or party or your wedding day, but amazing like you feel GOOD, you feel powerful, you feel soooo satisfied that nothing can compare to it. I'm so glad my daughter and my sister have me in their life to tell them MY story and encourage them to not be scared of birth. And btw I didn't take any softeners and going to the toilet was no problem at all, so that's not a rule either!

I just found this channels OMG they have just became my favorite you tubers.

Girl I feel you. I got induced and finally had my baby 30 hours later (via csection). OMG. never again. I was so hungry that was honestly awful. I'm totally scheduling a csection next time, no vbac for me.

This was so helpful!

Susan, can I please know the name of your lipstick? Love that magenta color... have seen you wear it in a couple of videos and I love it!

This so needs more likes 👍👍👍 sharing it x

A great video girls thank you! Jen chaes grey sweater with white bow in this video is stunning. Where is it from?

Oh wow our everything I watched you guys are amazing and funny anddddd lovely!

This was my experience. I had a vaginal birth developed a undetected hematoma and I am 19 months postpartum and still trying to heal. I am also currently 36 weeks pregnant. It's so true there is literally no after care for mothers unless the believe you have something seriously wrong. I couldn't sit down with out pain for 9 months.

Omg. Please go to a birth center because usually a good postnatal follow up is standard. My nurse drove to my HOME to check on me and baby and answered any questions I had. I even got like 2 calls during the next month!

Thank you so much for telling your stories! I also was induced and had a crazy delivery. I agree that it's rediculous they let you go and offer no help for the mom after you leave the hospital and I'm Canadian.

Such a great group of mamas! I could listen to you three all day! :)

Wow Susan what’s the lipstick that youre wearing? So pretty😍

Miss Jen, where did you get your gorgeous sweater? I love it!

Had two unmedicated home births. The first one took longer to recover, and the second came out at 10am and by 5pm I was talking to neighbors on my front porch. Such a quick recovery with the second and both natural unmedicated. However, I did not tear with either mainly because midwives are a lot more patient through the pushing process.

The medical establishment for birthing is a business! It really is true that doctors treat birthing as an illness while midwives treat it as natural and healthy. I have had an induced, epidural and episiotomy birth with nurses and doctors as well as a completely natural, non- medicated water birth with midwives (still in hospital as it was our preference). My second born was a big baby too: 8lbs, 1oz and 21 1/4 inches tall. My births were not comparable whatsoever!!! Night and day difference. I am 100% in favour of midwifery care.

In the UK we can be in the hospital for as little as 5 hours after giving birth, I’m 41 weeks today, trying a second sweep tomorrow and if nothing happens I’m being induced Sunday. I’m glad I found this video tho as it has helped settle some thoughts!

I got induced five days after my due date, was able to get an epidural, and was able to give birth vaginaly. Very grateful for that. I also was cut, so I didn't tear. They did sew me back up, and I ended up popping a stitch, and it got infected.... it sucked so much.

Am so lucky I had my son in the England. I had home visits from the midwife for 6weeks and got checked to make sure I was healing properly.

So Jen from head to toe aside from your doctor and nurse where is your family i.e your mother who can tell you about her experienced on having baby and on how to know if it's you are ok or not? I know our Doctors are the professional but still we fallow our guts when we know something is not right. I'm 40weeks right now expecting my first one and I talk to my mom almost everyday to get some ideas and the good and the bad. But good stories ladies def catch my attention. Def a good video to watch specially for us ladies who is mom and becoming a mom.

I can so relate to this. I also had a really bad tear and didn't get checked by my doctor until 7 weeks after delivery because of a holiday. I went to urgent Care prior to my appointment and was out on antibiotics for an abscess. Now 3 months pp and 3 rounds of antibiotics later I'm facing two surgeries because the OB doctors (I saw 5) failed to recognize the real problem.

My vaginal birth was traumatizing . It took me 3 months to heal physically and 6 mo the to heal mentally . I cried everytime when I talked about it . This time I’m pregnant again , I will opt for c section

when I had my first baby I was diagnosed with preeclampsia so I was supposed to be induced on a Tuesday. the Sunday before I was supposed to be induced I went to the hospital to get checked becuz i was a first time mom and I felt like I needed to be monitored. I found out I was 2 centimeters dilated I went home and rested. Sunday night I woke up from really sharp pains and we went to the hospital and I was at 3-4 centimeters dilated I cant remember exactly but I stayed over night and they induced me at 6 in the morning Monday. when they started me on pitocin my contractions started hurting really bad really fast and I told my mom I want the epidural already and she suggested I get the pain medicine they offered me first and see if that helps and I slept threw my whole labor my labor was 5 1/2 hrs. I barely remember waking up when the nurses would check how much I dilated. I didn't get an epidural. I was pushing for like 15 mins becuz the nurse that was in the room before the dr kept telling me to not push and she was trying to hold my baby back becuz his head was already out and she didn't want him to be born yet not til the dr arrived and when the dr got to the room he didn't want me to push becuz he didn't want me to tear and I kept pushing. I felt like I needed to push so I pushed. I tore and for me the worse pain I had was when I got stitches. by Wednesday I was getting ready to go home and I was walking around making sure I had everything and the nurse that came in so I can sign papers to leave was so surprised I was walking around. I couldn't breastfeed my baby in the hospital becuz i couldn't get him in a good position to feed becuz i had my IV in my arm I had a blood pressure monitor on the other arm. my baby was bottle feed and once my sister had called the nurses in the front and asked for more formula and they thought she was the adopted mother becuz i was 17 when I had him. I went home Wednesday and Thursday morning my milk had came in and the baby latched on right away and I was balling my eyes out saying I did it I did it and I was so happy. when my sister went back to work she was telling ppl my sister is the boss she made it look so easy. I am currently 10 weeks pregnant with my 2nd baby and I hope this labor and delivery is like my 1st but I'll be happy as long as my baby is here happy and healthy.

Thanks ladies

How to deal with belly fat after c sec? I had a c sec april 10 Is there any tips for that? Please help😔

Also avoid pitosin if possible. Lots of you tubers have shared that :)

sharzad story same as me....but could u tell me when did u recover afrt c section....coz me too has been going through nd i really want to recover faster....

I was induced with my son and I pushed for over 2 hours before they whipped out the forceps I had a 3rd degree tear plus Hemorrhoids and I couldn’t go #2 for over 5 days it hurt so bad , luckily my partner got 6 weeks off work and was able to help me but my sons nursing pillow became my personal seating pillow

Loved! ❤️

what is Jen Chae's lip stick?! love it :)

Jen Chae I'm the same height and size as you, I haven't planned how to give birth. Thanks for sharing your story, thanks for the truth ❤ and you guys are so funny 😁

I really like the shade of lipstick jen chae is wearing. Can anyone tell me what shade is it called??

That grey and white top!!! What is that, it's so so cute!!! :D

It was true about induction i was that when i when delivered my first daughter its so hard no eating until you deliver you baby and its so hungry i was in labor 6 am until 3 :16 pm only water they give me. First baby was so hard after delivery i couldn’t pee they put tube on my vagy so i can pee , and tgey give me poo softener it was hard and hurt 😢

Omg, idk what crazy, busy hospitals these ladies gave birth in but im glad that wasnt my hospital! Every experience, w all my children i had excellent care from dedicated and compassionate doctors, nurses, other hospital staff. Felt very pampered and always left a long thank u note. Feel sorry for any mom who doesnt get special treatment bcuz we definitely should after all that hard work 😋

in canada (quebec), after mom and baby are discharged from the hospital, they get a nurse visit the week after and another one in the second week

I love the honesty ladies!!! My friends have similar stories, one being that it was a smooth progression then they try to speed it up with medication then same shit hit the fan she was completely asleep during her child’s birth, her husband wasn’t allowed to be in the OR, so no family saw the baby born, I just wish hospitals cared more about the natural process of birth and not try to rush it, I only pray for great care when my turn comes because there are more horror stories than good ones.

Thank you so much....❤️❤️❤️

Just watching this I am 4 months pregnant and from day one I was like I want a c-section so I can schedule it a bit better. I am due May 5 my Moms birthday who passed away in 2006 was born May 9 and I would love my daughter to be born the same day but i wouldn’t mind if she is born May 4th either

I have given birth to 7 babies by vag. birth including an 11lber and never tore. My next and last birth (this March) is going to be a C-Section because they found I have a Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm. I was given a choice of being frozen and having a forcep/vacuum birth or giving birth by C-Section. C-Section seems safest for baby. I have had three epidural births, four totally pain killer free births and numerous inductions. Pitocin has never given me problems, other then maybe BP issues. Nice to see positive C-Section stories.

i had a fast natural delivery squatting on the bathroom floor when he came out and i had to go into theatre an hour after he was born to get stitched back up cause i had a third degree tear, it was so painful i was holding my newborn baby in my arms they are poking around down there and i am screaming in more pain than the delivery and after the surgery the drs told me that if i wanted another baby i would more than likely have to have a c section because of the risk of tearing again and it being a worse tear so that bummed me out cause i was only in active labor for a max of 2 hours and it went smoothly i think and than getting told i won't be able to do that again made me so upset, also i could not breastfeed for so many reasons and i really wanted to breastfeed so i was in tears for an hour after having to make the decision to formula feed my new baby, luckily for me though i was up and about walking semi normal again about 3 days after having him, i was also in the hospital from Sunday till Wednesday because of his latching which was amazing, the nurses and midwives were so amazing to me and bub

I know it's not related but what lipsticks were jen and Susan wearing lol looks so gorgeous

Jen, I felt a bit like that when doing IVF. i was feeling like a recipient, all was about the baby and i was just a recipient no one cared about

im american living in Australia. It is normal here (universal health care) and in the UK for a midwife to be a part of the birth. Ive only seen a midwife this whole time and I have loved it. It is part of the public hospital system. It not that its a hippie eastern thing, I feel like in the states we think the OB knows best but seeing how other countries handle womens health and birth has really opened up my eyes.

Thank u for being real!!!!!!

Omg THANKYOU!!!