Joy-Anna Duggar, 20, welcomed her first child with husband Austin Forsyth last Feb. 23, and this week, she revealed the details surrounding her intense labor and emergency C-section in an episode of "Counting On." She also thanked her fans for their prayers.
A recent episode showed the new mom looking uncomfortable as she went into labor. Mom Michelle Duggar told the cameras that she was rushing over to her daughter's house in the middle of the night before it cut to another scene of Joy-Anna being wheeled towards the emergency room for the C-section. Just before she went in, she told fans of the show, "Love you guys. Thank you for your prayers."
Joy-Anna originally planned a home birth because she felt more comfortable with that but had a back-up plan of rushing to the nearest hospital some 25 minutes away should the birth of her baby encounter problems.
The new mom was in labor for 20 hours before learning that her unborn baby was still positioned feet first. Baby Gideon Martyn was in breech, which meant that Joy-Anna couldn't give birth the normal way.
Further, the baby weighed 10 lbs., 3 oz. and was 22 inches long. Joy-Anna couldn't risk going through a natural home birth with such a big baby so there was no other choice but to go to the hospital.
After the birth, Joy-Anna told viewers of "Counting On" that she had a good pregnancy experience that was without aversion to certain foods and morning sickness, although she did feel her hormones going into overdrive and felt "things she never felt before."
The new mom and baby are doing fine adjusting to their new life as a family of three.
"I think it's pretty amazing," Austin remarked, following Gideon's arrival. "God is good."
