Natural C-Section

Luckymomma4

 Hi!  I have been lurking here every once in a while.  I am a member of the September 2013 Birthclub.  Anyway, I came across this video yesterday on my facebook newsfeed. My first two children were born vaginal and my third was an emergency c-section. This baby will be a scheduled c-section. I plan on talking with my doctor about this. When my third was born I only got to see him for about 2 minutes and then he was taken to the nursery while they finished sewing me up. I didn't get to see him for about two hours once I got moved to our room. It was very hard after I had carried him for so long, then labored for what seemed like forever, and then to not hold him right away. I just thought I would share even though we have forever to go. Enjoy!

Click on the link and towards the end of the page is the video.

https://www.dallasmomsblog.org/hope-for-a-natural-c-section/

kpearse99

I didn't get to watch him be "born" so to speak, but they did let me hold him while they stitched me up!  My hands weren't tied down and after he was wrapped up they placed him in my arms and close to my face for some skin contact.  The nurse kept a hand on him just in case, but he was all mine and my DH's for that time!  The other nurse even took a lot of pictures for us!

sonshine0609

I've been reading a lot about these too along with c/s birth plans and ways to make it more of a birth & less of a procedure. This will be my third c/s & since there is no emergency or high risk with the surgery or the baby I will be talking to my doctor about this and my other options. I will not be having lower the sheet though. I have a hard enough time dealing with the fact that they are cutting into me without seeing it.

Ana0927

I was able to hold my DD for a while after she was born. Then my DH went with her while they gave her a bath and did all the other things they do to newborns. I was not in recover very long maybe 30 minutes and a few minutes after I got to my room they brought DD to me.  I hope to do that again this time around.

I would love to see the procedure but I do not know if my hospital allows it. Also my DH has a really weak stomach and wouldn't allow it anyway.

sonshine0609

lrachelle80:

I really wanted to do a lot of the "natural" stuff - having them wait to cut the cord, give her right to me for skin-to-skin, etc. Unfortunately, my OB looked at me like I was crazy. haha. I had a big plan to get around her denial (I loved everything about her other than this and didn't want to change), but in the heat of the moment I was like, "Whatever." However, if we have another, I would love to try some of this again. 

When I went in for DS it wasn't quite a natural c/s but it was kind of close. I got to hold baby wrapped up right away & the surgery didn't seem rushed. My doc even removed a mole while "down there". We also went straight from the OR to our room & baby's after care & bath were all done there. The hospital is pretty family focused already so I'm hoping since what I want isn't too much of a jump I won't get too much push back. We'll see on Monday though...

payn0045

I always envisioned having a natural birth, and ended up needing to have a scheduled c-section. I asked my doctor about some of these things, and was disappointed when she said no. She cited the risk of bleeding, the need to be sterile, etc, and I could tell I was not going to be able to change her mind.  In the end, I trusted her and was more concerned with the outcome for me and baby so let it go.

Ultimately, I had a pretty standard c-section and actually have no regrets about how it went. I think the difference between a scheduled cs and an emergency cs is huge both emotionally and physically. I was able to accept and prepare for everything well before the birth, and go in feeling excited and positive. I think it's also important to make sure you're at a hospital with better policies overall - like making breastfeeding in recovery the norm, keeping healthy babies with the family after the birth rather than immediately going to the nursery, etc.

The one thing we did that helped us stay in a positive/not-too-nervous frame of mind was hire a doula.  In our case, it was through a program at the hospital and was pretty cheap since it wasn't an on-call, extensive thing like a standard doula. Worth looking into just as someone to support and guide you through the process, and most of all keep it positive!

laurenmae1228

After laboring for 24 hours after induction, despite hard contractions less than 1 minute apart, I was "failure to progress" and DS had to come out via csection. The doc did ask me if I wanted a mirror to look over the blue sheet, and I opted to. Honestly, I was afraid of seeing gore, but I didn't see anything other than my beautiful DS as the docs pulled him from me. Unfortunately, because DS was not breathing well on their initial check, I didn't get to hold him. DH did get to cut his cord though. Since I had to be stitched back up, they asked DH to go with DS to do skin on skin time, as it has been proven to help babies in slight respiratory distress. So while the docs worked on me, DH and DS were in recovery, doing skin on skin for about 20 minutes before I got there. Once I did, the nurses put DS on me then (I actually didnt really see DS's face for like the first 20 minutes of recovery, because they tucked him right on my chest, with his head right by my chin!). Then after 20, they came to check him, and his breathing was good, so they helped me start to nurse him right there in recovery. Honestly, the csection itself wasnt as bad as my recovery was (incision burst, got a systemic staph/strep b infection simultaneously with mastitis, had to have wound packed/debrieded for weeks, then seroma formed and had to have a 2nd surgery at 14 weeks postpartum to remove it and finally stitch me closed again!) Along with all of that, DS had colic, jaundice, and a pronounced startle reflex, never slept for more than 20 minutes at a time, and DH had to go back to work 2 weeks from the day DS was born.) All of that "recovery" is the main reason I am hoping the the perinatologist will allow me to try to Vbac with the next (even though I will have high-risk pregnancies).