Shawn Johnson Says She 'Felt Like I Had Failed' After Having A C-Section
Shawn Johnson opened up about delivering her first child via C-section in a heartfelt Instagram post.
The Olympic gold medalist had planned to give birth naturally without any medication.
Shawn says she "felt guilty" getting an epidural and having a C-section made her feel like she failed.
Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson gave birth to her first child, a baby girl with husband Andrew East, last month. She shared the news in a sweet Instagram post, but the birth did not go exactly according to her plan. Now, in another Instagram post, Shawn revealed she had an epidural delivered via C-section and shared more details about her birth story and tough pregnancy journey.
Shawn shared in the caption: "22 hours of labor to end in a c section. I went in with such a stubborn mindset of thinking the only way I could bring our baby into the world was naturally. No meds no intervention. At 14 hours when I chose to get an epidural I felt guilty. At 22 hours when we were told I had to get a c section I felt like I had failed."
This feeling resonated with many of Shawn's followers who flooded her comments with support and similar stories. One follower wrote, "I love your honesty. I felt this way when our twins came early and I needed a c-section. But a friend of mine said 'you didn’t deliver them any less than your other kids.'" Another said,"Same thing happened to me and the only thing that matters is that little girl got out safely!! Great job, momma!! ??"
Shawn continued in her post: "But after holding our sweet girl in my arms and being told everything went well and she had made it to us safely I could have cared less. My/our world no longer has anything to do with us but everything to do with her. It’s all for her and I will forever do anything for this girl that I love more than I ever could imagine."
Shawn wrapped up her heartfelt post with gratitude. "Thank you to the incredible doctors and nurses who brought our baby girl into the world safely and to the best husband/daddy in the world for being there every step of the way."