“Had to Be Put On Oxygen”: Gymnastics Mother MyKayla Skinner Opens Up on Gut-Wrenching Reality of Delivering Her Daughter

While there’s no doubt that MyKayla Skinner was overjoyed after giving birth to her daughter last year, the celebrated American gymnast has had her share of motherhood struggles. It started during the pregnancy after not being able to commit to her workout routines. “I really thought I was going to work out during this pregnancy, and I just really can’t”, she had expressed. But harder days were awaiting Skinner, and the delivery was potentially the most trying period in her sojourn so far.

Motherhood doesn’t come easy, but the Olympic gymnast has a large smile riven on her face, problems be damned. Skinner went through a whirlwind during the 9-month-long pregnancy period, but before she could hold and gape in awe at her little angel in the palm of her hands, the 27-year-old went through a ‘scary‘ delivery experience, baring it all recently on IG.

 The champ rises to the occasion and addresses motherhood woes in her stride

In a Q&A session with her fans on Instagram, MyKayla Skinner opened up about her delivery experience that led to the birth of her beautiful daughter, Lottie, on September 21 last year. When a fan asked, ‘How was giving birth‘, she replied, ‘The hardest thing I have ever done’. Nothing can beat the toughness of elite gymnastics, but Skinner believes her delivery experience was even harder.

Explaining why it was the hardest, Skinner added that she didn’t know how to push since it was her first child. “I pushed for three hours. Threw up twice and had to be put on oxygen“, the gymnastic mother revealed. As if this wasn’t enough, she then had to make the difficult choice between opting for ‘the vacuum and c-section‘. 3-hours of pushing in excruciating pain would undoubtedly have left her extremely tired, and making this difficult decision would probably have been one of the hardest choices to make in her life. But the thought of holding her baby in her arms kept Skinner going as she eventually opted for the ‘safe‘ one.

Vacuum or c-section? the million dollar question arises

As Skinner wrestled with labor pain, time was running out to make a choice between c-section and vacuum. But she eventually chose the latter and yet safer alternative, per her doctor’s advice. “My OB said he wouldn’t do the vacuum if he didn’t think it was safe so we chose that option, and he got her out safely”, she revealed. As she triumphed in a more important juncture of her life, Skinner, however, was soon left surprised.

READ MORE: “Hurts So Bad”: Olympic Gymnast Turned New Mom MyKayla Skinner Reveals Unseen Struggles Post Pregnancy

Expressing happiness and surprise, she added, “Her head was so big I’m surprised we got her out.” Earlier, when the possibility of having to unwillingly opt for the c-section was still looming in the air, Skinner termed the experience to be a ‘scary‘ one. However, the fearsome moment soon turned into the most beautiful one as she held her little pixie in her arms.

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