New Mom Shawn Johnson Says She Felt Like She ‘Failed’ For Getting A C-Section After 22-Hour Labor

Shawn Johnson just opened up about the complicated range of emotions she felt while giving birth to her firstborn daughter earlier this week.

The Olympic gymnast shared a touching, black-and-white picture of her, her husband Andrew East and their baby girl cuddling in her hospital bed.

Alongside the family photo, Shawn shared a candid message reflecting on her labor, which stretched on for 22 hours and ended in a C-section – a method of delivery she hadn’t initially wanted.

“I went in with such a stubborn mindset of thinking the only way I could bring our baby into the world was naturally,” Shawn wrote. “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,” she wrote.

Despite those difficult feelings, her mindset swiftly changed.

“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,” she explained. “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. A love no one can ever prepare you for.”

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Shawn then left a sweet note for her husband.

“@andreweast I meant it in the hospital when I said you will forever be my number one, but she will now forever be OUR number one together,” she wrote.

“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,” Shawn concluded her post.

Fans and fellow moms filled Shawn’s comments with love and thanked her for her honest post.

“I love this message!” author Emily Oster commented. “Birth never goes quite as you plan. But she’s perfect.”

“I felt exactly the same as my journey as very similar, but all that matters is she is safe and in your arms. Enjoy every minute,” celebrity fitness trainer Simone De La Rue wrote in part.

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Since becoming parents, Shawn and Andrew have shared many photos and videos of their little bundle of joy, whose name has yet to be revealed.

On Nov. 6, Andrew shared a precious view of his wife nodding off on his shoulder while their baby snoozed on his stomach.

“cuddles all day everyday,” he captioned the video in part.

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