A Medical Student Shares Her Complete Awe After Seeing Her First C-Section

Cesarean delivery accounts for approximately one third of all deliveries in the United States, but despite their ubiquity, many new moms have complicated or even downright horrible feelings about the surgery. They feel disappointed, or even guilty for not delivering their baby vaginally. But what if we could see c-sections from another point of view?

TikTok user Hennelie Hawes (@hennh_) recently offered just that.

Hawes is a medical student and recently shared a video from the first day of her OB-Gyn rotation. It’s a competitive rotation to be matched in, and she had high hopes for what the day might bring. Deliveries, surgeries, and one surgery in particular.

“I’ve heard the first time you see a c-section is absolutely wild,” she says. “Hopefully I get to see that.”

After ticking off a few more expectations, the video cuts to the “after” and it’s clear that Hawes is astonished. She can’t stop trailing off into a state of absolute wonder at what she’d witnessed.

“You guys, I saw my first c-section today!” she recounts. “Literally my first day on OB-Gyn and I just got thrown into a surgery right away. I had heard that c-sections are a wild experience, but nothing could ever prepare you for absolutely how insane the entire thing is. I was shocked. Jaw was on the ground the entire time. And then to see a living human emerge from the abdomen?! WHAT?! Literally what?! That is crazy! And the patient is awake. The mom is awake the entire time! It has got to be one of the craziest surgeries to ever witness.”

“Safe to say I had an amazing first day,” she concludes. “And I think it will be a really, really good rotation.”

I sort of love the idea of thinking about the surgery through her eyes: it’s truly a medical marvel and a testament to the strength of the person having the baby. A c-section ushers new life into the world in a way that wasn’t possible for the vast majority of human history. Doctors peel back seven layers of human and pull out another human.

“There’s not enough respect for what the woman goes through,” one commenter replies. (Hawes enthusiastically agrees.)

Plenty of experienced moms in the comments shared times when their birth — usually a second, third, or fourth — was observed by a medical student and laughingly recalled having to be a kind of emotional support for them due to the intensity of the procedure.

“I was someone’s very first delivery and I think she cried as much as I did,” writes one. “I’ve had 4 children and personally having students is a fun addition to the experience.”

“My recent birth — my third — I had a nurse who just finished school and was training,” said a second. “She was so nervous! I was like ‘girl do what you gotta do take your time.’ She literally said ‘thanks for being nice to me.’”

“First time moms need the experienced nurses, first time nurses need experienced patients,” another joked.

Surgery, any surgery, has its downsides. But it can be helpful sorting through any feelings by remembering that this one is pretty remarkable... and if you go through it, you are an absolute badass.