Maternal-assisted Caesareans

[SamanthaP]

I haven't disregarded your feelings, Mamaduke. I just expressed mine - does that mean you are disregarding mine? Why are your feelings more ok then mine? If we all thought the same it would be a very boring world. Support doesn't always have to be given mindlessly you know. If this is the only option for you (and I mean the only, not just because your Dr said so), then go for it. But it does concern me and I do think that it could be used as a way to further marginalise and disempower women. It's a bandaid solution to a really deep-rooted problem.

[tiggerandpooh]

for the sake of Charli'smumma - I just want to stick my hand up ladies and remind you that as Charlismumma already stated - she started this thread to give women who HAVE to have c-sections the opportunity to explore a possibly different avenue for them. She was sharing knowledge, and knowledge is power...

Different strokes for different folks... makes the world a far more interesting place.

[Hoody]

Well said astnatlaur. After reading through the whole thread i was about to post something similar

I have had 2 CS's emergency and elective and did not know that this option was available although i dont think it would be for me the more knowledge the better so thanks for sharing charlismumma.

[BellyBelly]

Let's get back to topic folks and can we please be respectful of people's choices, either way? I love helping people where I can too, but it's much more effective/useful where advice is being asked for. Perhaps we could start a maternal assisted c/s discussion thread in the general labour forums? I also love a good debate but everything must be done tactfully and respectfully - we lose all credibility when we stop using respect.

Continue on ladies...

[meow]

I have to say I think maternal assisted c-sections are a great idea. What a way to empower the woman and child through the birth process when the means to go naturally aren't possible!

I'm actually glad to read of the 'negative' side of them of though as I really hadn't considered how they could increase the possibility of elective c-sections. It's given me some food for thought.

Currently maternal assisted c-sections seem to only be available to women who have a scheduled c-sec though so I'm all for these women pushing for a change... so that one day if any of us discovers we need one in an emergency hopefully the whole process will be different and maternal assisted c-secs will be available for all!

[Lily J]

I'm only new to this section and I have to say that I'm a little disappointed to find the heading of "caesarean support" a little misleading...

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of "support"...

I thought Charli'smumma had a great question - sad to see that actual answers got overlooked in exchange for judgements...

Maybe we need to have a "caesarean" section for general questions/comments as well as a "caesarean support" section for people who don't want to be judged for the circumstances/decisions surrounding their birth...

Lily

[{sarah}]

Lily, that is exactly what this section is for & steps have been taken to rectify the situation within this thread.

Kelly posted an apology when she realised which section this was in as well -

I have to admit, I accidentally posted here without looking at which section it was posted in, so that was my bad!

[BellyBelly]

I've also posted saying let's move on, any more off track / unsupportive posts will be removed. So can we please move on and stay on track with the OP please.

[~mamaspice~]

Wow, there's been a lot going on in here since my last post.

Thankyou for the positive feedback guys. I think after much tooing and froing from post to post the reason why I posted this topic in the first place is now pretty clear to everyone. YAY

And if there is even just one person out there who has been inspired by this thread to make their necessary c-section a better experience, then this whole topic has been well worth posting.

Take care guys.

[EthansMumma]

Hi Charli'sMumma & also to MamaDuke

Congrats to both of you on being able to convince your obs to agree to this type of C/S.

Do either of you have any advice or info that you think might be helpful in convincing an Obs to agree to this type of C/S?

I soon to have my 25 week appointment with my obs and will be raising the topic with him then. I am pregnant with my third child, and for medical reasons will be having an elective caesar. I am hoping for a MAC/S as my last experience of an emergency caesar was quite distressing.

Is there anything you recommend that I do (or don't) say in trying to get him to see things my way?

I have a different obs this time, as my previous one has moved. To complicate matters further, it is most likely that the new obs will be on leave around the time of the baby's birth, so yet another obs will probably end up delivering my baby.

I barely know either of these men (haven't even met the 2nd one), and I have yet to develop any real rapport with them. So I am assuming that I will have a VERY difficult time convincing them to allow me to have a 'different' type of caesar.

Any relevant information you could provide would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks, Nicole
Mumma to DS (born sleeping Apr 2005) and DD (born June 2006)

[~mamaspice~]

Hi Nicole,

Congratulations on your pregnancy and good on you for wanting a MACS.

I actually wrote my OB a letter explaining how traumatic my previous caesarean was for me and that my first choice for next time was a VBAC but that I'd done some research and should I need another caesarean I wanted a MACS. I also printed and enclosed Paula Becktons MACS story (which I have the link for in my original post in this thread) and I told my OB that I hoped she would be supportive of my wishes for this type of c section, should I need one.

I know Mummaduke will tell you that if your OB doesn't oblige' then go find yourself another one who will!

Where abouts are you located?

I guess that the things that are against you are 1: that you don't have a rapport with your new Ob and 2: that you may not even have him delivering your baby - but all you can do is try, so approch him about it and see what he says.

I've actually made a few different choices since I started this thread. I am now going to have midwifery care in a public hospital for my second pregnancy. One of the reasons I have chosen this is because I know it'll be my best chance of having a VBAC, which to me is the most important thing. I know that this may take away the option of me having a MACS if I end up needing another caesar but I have spoken to a midwife at the hospital (I'm not even pg yet BTW ) and I asked that if I have a caesar could I have the screen lowered so I could see my baby being born and could I have bub placed on my chest in theatre and the midwife didn't seem to have a problem with that. Some hospitals may argue that it's too cold in theatre but really, if your bub is skin to skin with you and has a warmed towell or blanket on them then they would be as snug as a bug. I guess what I'm trying to get at is even if you cannot find an OB who will agree to a MACS, I can't see why they wouldn't agree to the other things I've just mentioned. I also asked the public hospital if I could have bub with me in recovery but they said that depends on whether there is the availability of having a midwife in recovery with me.

Hope this helps

best of luck to you and keep us posted on how you go!

Tamara

[lellabella]

I'm very new here and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate this post about Maternal Assisted Caesarians. I also had a Caesar under a general for the birth of my daughter. I did not meet her until she was 3 hours old and she had already been bathed. This resulted in me developing severe PND and unfortunately we both spent the next 3 months in hospital (most of which I don't remember).

Sadly many of the comments here are why I suffered such severe PND. I so wanted a natural non-medical birth and instead got the most medical intervention possible. Many women are so ready to shout from the rooftops about how Caesarians are "not normal" and "Vaginal Births are Best" which to be frank I think you have to be living on another planet to not actually know. I'm sure the percentage of women who choose a caesar because they are "too posh to push" is very very small and in fact most women do it because they have no choice. Most women would LOVE to be able to birth their babies vaginally, and making them feel "abnormal" for being put in a choiceless position shows a lack of insight and empathy.

All power to the women here who have fought to be able to have some form of "choice" in what is such a difficult situation. I for one will be fighting to have a maternal assisted caesarian for my next birth as once again the chances of me having a VBAC are slim. I am so excited that I might actually be able to participate in my own child's birth - thank you for bringing this information to me. Not only are you inspiring, but your strength and determination might just help to give some power back to some very disempowered women.

[~mamaspice~]

Lellabella, to you sweetie. And welcome to BB.

I'm so happy that you have found this thead so helpful. I hope you have a truely beautiful birth experience next time.

If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask

Tamara

[~ Mylitta ~]

When I was pregnant with my angel I had already started to write my birth plan. My plan involved trying to make things progress as naturally and calmly as possibly. It wasn't until my DH started asking questions like "what if something goes wrong and you need a c-section" that I even started to consider that things might not go exactly the way I'm hoping for things to go when I give birth.

So that got me thinking about alternatives. My DH and I have written a seperate birth plan in the event that circumstance prevents me from having the totally natural birth that I'm hoping for. And in that plan it requests a maternal assisted c-section. If I can't experience reaching down and bringing my child to my chest in a vaginal birth, then I want to at least have the option of doing something similar in a c-section. We also still want the baby's cord not to be cut immediately (a tough ask during c-sections I've heard...) and we want DH to still have the option of cutting the cord too.

I, like Ren, did not even consider the implications of increasing elective c-section rates from introducing maternal assisted c-sections as an option. I now can see how this could unfortunately make elective c-sections more appealing for those that may not even require it. But there is no way that I would want that option restricted just to the mothers that aren't able to birth their baby's vaginally due to medical reasons.

I'm pro-vaginal birth, but I'm also pro-choice...

[EthansMumma]

Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to update everyone on the surprise early edition to our little family!

At 35 weeks 4 days, I woke up at 3am with niggling stomach cramps. It felt like Braxton Hicks only a bit stronger and more regular. I tried to ignore it but it wouldn't go away. By 6am I realised that I was gripping the bed-head and focussing on my breathing as each contraction hit... time to take this seriously! So off we all headed off to the hospital, toddler still in her PJs and with no brekkie in her belly.

The only thing they could do at the hospital was just wait and see. If the contractions tapered off then it would be just a false alarm. If they got stronger then obviously it would be the real thing. So I ended up labouring all day. By late afternoon it became apparent that the baby wanted out NOW.

A caesar was hastily arranged for that evening (due to my previous medical complications, another vaginal birth was not advisable). I hadn't yet had a chance to discuss my wishes for a "Maternally Assisted Caesarean" with any of the hospital staff, as the birth was still meant to be more than a month away. Everyone in the operating theatre was on a STEEP learning curve as I explained to them how I hoped things would run. Thankfully they were all really receptive and worked together to improvise a way to make it work.

7.20 pm My "Maternally Assisted Caesar"...
My arms were scrubbed down with a sterilising solution, then a sterile gown was placed on me. The body section was cut off the gown so that I could have skin-to-skin contact with my baby. Then sterile gloves were placed over my hands. (They didn't have any long gloves available in the theatre, thats why they had to improvise the "gown-arms & short-gloves" solution.) There was no screen placed in front of me - I was able to see everything as it happened. The obstetrician made his incisions, and used forceps to deliver the baby's head. She let out her first cry as her face hit the air. Then he told me it was time for me to birth my baby. I brought my hands down and grasped her tiny body. I lifted her out of my belly, out into the world and onto my bare chest. It was AMAZING. No-one else had been able to see whether the baby was a boy or a girl, as I had placed her straight onto my chest. They all kept asking but I kept it my little secret for a few minutes before I told anyone The paediatrician allowed her to stay on my chest for ages while they stitched me up. It was such an amazing, wonderful way to birth my child. I am still buzzing from the experience.

My little girl is now 3 weeks old. She came home from the Special Care Nursery a week ago and is breastfeeding beautifully! Despite giving me a big shock coming so early, everything has turned out wonderfully!

(I have some photos but cant for the life of me work out how to include them in this post... I'll blame that one on sleep deprivation)

P.S.
My baby was born in a private hospital in Geelong, Victoria. I was pleasantly surprised how little resistance I faced when I proposed the idea to my Obs at 25 weeks. A HUGE thankyou to all the women who have gone before me in having a MAC/S. I believe the info you provided was pivotal in convincing my Obs that this was a reasonable request. I would be happy to share more specific details with other women wanting to do something similar if you contact me directly.

[lellabella]

Your post brought tears to my eyes - what a wonderful birth experience you had. Congratulations!!

[~mamaspice~]

Ethansmumma. Congratualtions on the arrival of your little girl.
Oh what a fantastic story. Well done Would love to see some photos

[e_p]

I know this is an old thread - I just came across this 2007 article from The Age and thought I'd share as its about maternal assisted cesareans...mods, if the link is an issue please feel free to delete,
Delivered safely by caesarean with his mother's hands - National - theage.com.au