Gentle C Section

@ai1226 Happy to hear that despite the last minute decision, your delivery incorporated some of the things I’m hoping to experience this time around. From what I’ve heard from friends and some quick reading online, this isn’t necessarily the norm! Knowing it was possible even without months of planning beforehand is really reassuring.
 
@pringles24 I had an emergency c section in a standard hospital and had all this as well. I didn't have a mirror or anything, but I don't think I would have wanted that anyway. It's definitely do-able!
 
@pringles24 I had an “urgent” c-section - as in my water broke, I wasn’t in labor, they were going to induce and we found out little dude was frank breech. Had a c-section 4 hours after coming into the hospital.

Had I had time, I would’ve asked if we could have our music in the OR, I would’ve had my husband take way more photos in the OR, would have brought my own pillow from home, and would’ve bought a ton of high waisted undies for after. I also apparently didn’t know I could move my arms when they placed baby on my chest, so the nurse was holding him the entire time lol.

What I did right: got up and walked 4 hours after, brought a ton of nursing nightgowns to the hospital, and had my anesthesiologist put warm blankets on my arms and head during the procedure. I got super cold and started shaking!

I’m going to be looking into the gentle c for my next!
 
@y6a3h9o7o Your delivery sounds similar to mine, I had a c-section for my first for the same reason (water broke, no labor, and breech baby) and baby in my arms within 60min of going to hospital. Although i was able to have a VBAC for my next three.
 
@velveteyes79 I had a similar thing, my body just would NOT go into induced labor! Although my baby was not breech.

I'm now facing the decision for number two. I've been a little bit afraid that my hips just aren't 'good' for birthing, haha. My doc said sometimes it's about your pelvis.

For you to have a successful VBAC, what was your plan? Did you go later on? I'm 39 years old so they're pushing the whole 39 weeks thing, but I think my body just needs longer. But I also want to follow what they suggest, because if something went wrong I would always blame myself. I've been so worried about it I'm considering just scheduling a C-section, but I know that's not ideal either. Curious if you have any tips!
 
@spacedog2k5
For you to have a successful VBAC, what was your plan? Did you go later on?
Click to expand...

I did go longer for my VBACs. For the first one that was breech, she was early, 36 weeks. For my 2nd, she came at 39 weeks, my water never broke but I was in labor all day and finally went to hospital at night when contractions got pretty close and had her early next morning. For the last two my water broke at around 38 weeks for each and went to hospital right after and they induced me to speed things up. I will add that the first vaginal birth was tough but the last two were much easier on me.
 
@y6a3h9o7o Thanks so much for sharing your experience here. I hasn’t thought about asking to play our own music in the OR— despite of all the things that went “wrong” during my 2021 delivery, I really enjoyed the vibe in the room as our medical team all hung out with us listening to Fleetwood Mac while our baby made her entrance into the world 😂 I’d love to bring that feeling into this birth, as well. Great tip!
 
@pringles24 You can also potentially ask them to lower the lights, they'll have the task lighting they need for the surgery but it may be possible to lower the general room light for a softer ambience
 
@pringles24 Hi OP :)Congrats! I'm also pregnant, and thinking a lot about how to give birth. I had an urgent c section similar to /@y6a3h9o7o - they just couldn't induce me and my water had been broken for too long.The thing about skin-to-skin just after - apparently something about the drugs/pain relief they put you on, makes you shiver and shake a lot. It was weird, but didn't hurt or anything... but when they offered for me to hold him, I literally said I wouldn't feel safe holding him because i was shaking so much.

So my husband took him right away. He was wearing a big white suit, maybe we could have him take his top off this time so he could do skin to skin if I didn't feel safe. It didn't feel like a horror story though, I don't remember feeling like he was away from me for too long!

We will probably do a c-section again, and I hadn't heard about gentle ones, so thanks for this! I'm thinking this time I also could ask for more support/ people around me to help me hold her.
 
@spacedog2k5 Thanks for sharing your experience! We had a contingency plan for my husband to do skin to skin in the delivery room when my daughters delivery wasn’t going well; I didn’t know that might be an option with a c section. I’ll add this to my list of things to mention to the OB when I see her next!
 
@pringles24 Definitely have an anesthesia consult ahead of time! Anesthesia isn’t one drug, and it’s not one-combo-fits-all. If you understand the different drugs they use and their potential side effects ahead of time, you’ll be able to recognize anything unpleasant early and the anesthesiologist will be able to change course faster. They also have anxiety and anti nausea meds available to help keep you more comfortable, especially if you know to ask for them.

One thing to remember is that any planned c-section is an incredibly routine procedure for your doctor and the surgery team. There are very few complications that come up if you’re not contracting (or if there are issues you know about ahead of time). The team will be chit chatting about the office gossip while they’re working on you, and if you’re feeling well enough on the anesthesia you’ll be part of the conversation too.

Last tip—ask if there’s an alternative to having your hands held down. That was one of the things I hated the most when it was done to me.
 
@llama0079 One of the possible side effects of the anesthesia is violent shaking. They need to keep your body still and prevent you from hurting yourself or others. The way I was restrained was arms stretched straight out with my wrists bound, but I’ve heard other people had their partner or a nurse holding them gently instead.
 
@pringles24 I had a planned C-section and like others have said, it wasn't "gentle" but it was extremely easy and pleasant, all things considered. I didn't request music and honestly, from the time I walked into the OR to the time baby was out was like 6 minutes? Maybe 8? It really went fast and I definitely wouldn't have noticed it after baby was on my chest. My OB said delayed cord clamping comes at the cost of increased blood loss for mom, so they delay as much as possible to keep mom safe. Overall, it was an amazing experience and baby and I have both done great since - absolutely no birth trauma for either of us. The one thing I do tell other future C-section folks is to be prepared for some pretty aggressive movement when they are getting baby out. It felt like my hips were on a roller coaster! Best of luck - you've got this!!!
 
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