Bachelor’s Krystal Nielson Shares Distressing Birth Experience and Uterine Rupture Story

The Bachelor alum Krystal Nielson opened up about her traumatic birth experience as she faced “unexpected complications” during the arrival of her second child with her husband Miles Bowles.

In an exhaustive post shared on Instagram on Wednesday, December 3, Nielson, 38, described the birth of her son, Rowan, last month as “the most traumatic experience” she has ever gone through.

Nielson, known for her appearances on season 22 of The Bachelor in 2018 and season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise that same year, recounted how she and her son “stared death in the face” during the delivery process.

Initially, she went to the hospital on November 14 “for a scheduled induction due to an umbilical vein varix,” a condition she also encountered during her pregnancy with her daughter, Andara, who is now 4. As noted by the National Institutes of Health, this condition is a rare pathology that causes the umbilical vein to enlarge.

After 33 long hours, Nielson’s labor was stagnating, and she was given an epidural so doctors could break her water and help expeditious progression. She later noticed a double rainbow outside and felt emotional. “In that moment,” she expressed, “it felt like heaven itself leaned in and reassured me, ‘I got you.’”

However, circumstances quickly changed when Rowan became “stuck low under [Nielson’s] pelvic bone,” making a vaginal delivery impossible. It was soon discovered that her uterus had ruptured.

“Within seconds, a full code team rushed in and transported me to the OR for an emergency C-section — while I was awake,” Nielson recounted, explaining that it took ten minutes for the medical team to safely extract Rowan, “while my body was maneuvered with such force that Miles had to brace my shoulders and hold me down as I cried out in agony.”

Rowan’s shoulder was wedged through a tear in her uterus, complicating his extraction further. Doctors were uncertain whether he had been “without oxygen long enough to cause brain damage,” so he was immediately taken away.

“Rowan swallowed a significant amount of blood during the rupture and was quickly rushed to the NICU before I could even see his face,” she shared.

“Not being able to see him, hold him, or even know if he would survive those first crucial hours was a pain I find difficult to articulate,” she continued, adding, “The doctors later informed us that if we hadn’t been in the hospital and received surgery so promptly, one or both of us would not have made it.”

Nielson underwent surgery to repair her uterus, which was “shredded, falling apart, and refusing stitches.” Fortunately, the hospital’s top uterine oncologist was available to perform a procedure that saved her uterus — although she was advised against having more children due to the elevated risk of another rupture.

“Given that we had been planning for a third child, this news was heartbreaking for both me and Bowles,” she shared.

Rowan spent 72 hours at 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit in therapeutic hypothermia to safeguard his brain. Nielson finally met her son for the first time when he was two days old and was able to hold him on day four after he had been “rewarmed and cleared of seizures and brain damage.”

The family departed the NICU after spending six days in the hospital and returned home to big sister Andara.

“We stared death in the face and were handed life — a raw, trembling, breathtaking life,” Nielson reflected. “A double rainbow amidst the chaos. A world-class surgeon merely ten minutes away. Modern medicine that wouldn’t give up. Thousands of your prayers. Miracle after miracle after miracle.”

Nielson mentioned that from now on, they will “immerse ourselves into ice-cold water together” each year on Rowan’s birthday, remembering what 92.3 °F felt like when everything hung in the balance.

She added that both she and Rowan are doing well and are “healing at home.”