Worried about C Section

Hi everyone,

Just looking for some reassurance that everything will be OK.
I've been told that I may need a c-section. I don't really understand why, but thats what I've been told.
I know that bub's has Gastroschisis, but that shouldn't change anything in regards to delivery.

I'm worried about having a c-section, mainly cause I'm worried that I won't be able to hold my baby before they take him away for his op. I was hoping to get a picture of bubs, me and DP.

I'm so scared about this. I want to hold my baby before they take him away.
Also, I'm don't like the thought of having an epidural.
But, whatever is best for my baby is the option I'll go with, of course.

lolz, this has to be the most complicated thing I've ever been through, and I'm only 18!!

Only 13 weeks til my due date.

I hope that comes fast!!

I'm not sure what Gastroschisis is but I'll give you my experience of having a c-sec, I had to have an emergency one after 20 hours of labour. Afterwards DH could hold DD2 but I couldnt obviously the epi is quite a lot stronger than the standard and I wasnt capable not to mention it makes you (or made me) shake quite a lot.
Then I was sent off to recovery where about 2 hours (from blurry memory) I was able to hold her.
Having said that Im not sure if we were allowed a camera in theatre i know we werent allowed the video camera not sure about still but given your circumstances im sure whilst they are stitching you up (IF you have the c-sec) you will be able to get a few snaps as a family.

I wish you all the best, although ive had a c-sec Im still scared about having another as Ive been told I'll have to with the twins

After the birth of my bub (which wasn't a c section), i wasn't strong enough to support bub but my hubby helped and held her on my chest. Unless bub is unwell and needs to be looked after straight away, you should be able to have a cuddle with him/her even if the epidural makes you shaky or weak.

:hug: Charlotte.
One thing I learnt over the time with my c/s was to sit down and do a birth plan, their not just for vag births.

Discuss with your carer what you'd like to have happen, eg the photo opportunity, your worry about having an epi and most of all having to hold your baby to say hello for the first time. Also ask WHY you have to have a c/s rather then a vag birth. Inform yourself on your choices and to get the answers to your questions.

IF the time comes to have your c/s then let the theatre staff know of your plan's also...theatre staff are just fantastic and will help you achieve what you'd like the best they can.

again :hug:

If you want skin-to-skin contact and immediate breastfeeding then ask for it and keep asking for it every time you go to the hospital. As the date gets closer you are more likely to meet the ob who will be looking after you on the day, get them on side too. If it's a breastfeeding friendly hospital, they are supposed to support you in establishing breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth, so skin-to-skin and having a midwife available to help you try breastfeeding in theatre or as soon as you get to recovery is a very reasonable request.

On the day, tell everyone how much you want to hold baby. When you go into theatre find out which person is the midwife and get them on side. A birth plan is really good for this. Good luck. Ask lots of questions and keep asking and getting information until you are happy with what they are telling you.

Hugs, charlotte.

The best advice I can give you is to make sure you ask lots of questions about exactly why in your case this might be needed. You need to understand and be at peace with the decision, because for me after the event it was even harder to process and you begin to wonder whether you could have done things differently. Remember that it is your decision, and you need to make it an informed decision, it isn't up to the doctor (although I don't condone going against his advice - you need to make sure you take it on board).

In terms of the practicalities, you can only get what you ask for!!! Make sure you tell them that it is important for you to hold if possible or at least touch your baby and get a good look at him before he needs to go. Make sure you ask how long they expect that he could handle before he needs to go and ask for all of this time to be spent with you.

There should be no issues in terms of getting photos. In fact when mum and bubs need to be separated, I think it is seen as preferable that the mum has some photos. You can even request that a nurse get photos as he comes out of you (I didn't do this and still have trouble connecting that my baby came from me!). But remember, you will only get these things if you make it clear that you want them.

I recommend that you look at writing a birth plan for your c-section. Have a look around here and online elsewhere and you'll see what others have done and use that as a basis. Make it clear what you want and discuss the whole thing with your ob.

Also, you will need to consider whether breastfeeding your bub is important to you, and if so discuss with your ob how you can make this possible in your situation.

Lots more to think about, I'm sure!

All the best xxx

Thanks everyone, thats made me feel better. Will have to talk to Royal Womens when I go for next appointment next week.

Gastroschisis is a defect in the abdominal wall, and a small amount of bub's bowels are hanging out. So bubs will be taken to Royal Childrens and will require immediate surgery. So, even with a vag birth I don't think bubs will be able to lay on my chest. I know that they're going to wrap him/her in plastic. I'm so confused as to whats going to happen.
But, I'm meeting with a pediatrician on tuesday, and a pediatric surgeon in late november.

Not sure when we're going to discuss my birth plan in Melb, I know that here they do it at 36 weeks. But, I've been told that bub's will probably come 4-6 weeks early.

Wow, that means that bub could come in less than 2 months!! I better start doing things!! lolz.

Thanks again everyone!!

Hugs Charlotte :hug:

I had a CS 3 weeks ago, and I struggled with it on a number of aspects, one being my baby not chosing her birthdate, it wasn't a decision I could make myself, I had a thread on it and it got lost when BB went down :(

But I will go through my experience...

We had to have a CS because Miss A had stopped growing, I had no amniotic fluid left, my BP was rising quickly even though I was on a high dose of Meds that lower BP, she was breech and had been having contractions for over 8 weeks and had been medicated for 13 weeks, and was at the point where we could no longer stop things progressing. I was 35 weeks when the decision was made and the CS booked for two days time. I was at peace with it because it was a necessity, we couldn't drop the meds because my BP would have likely sky rocketed and highly likely ended up with an emergency CS, she was already not coping as well as we would like so would would have just put her into distress.

I have a thread on how Caesarean ~ how did you make it an empowering experience and the suggestions in it gave me a lot of information oh things I could do/ask for.

Prior to my Section i spoke with my OB, MW and Paed, and went through what I would like to achieve..

First touch after delivery ~ achieved :)
Skin to Skin as soon as possible ~ didn't achieve it in theatre or for a couple of hours as DD2 had breathing problems and had to go to SCN
Family Photo ~ we got beautiful photos of the delivery and the birth itself before she wa taken away
Breastfeeding ~ as soon as she was well enough and I was we had our first breast feed, she was still on monitors and on O2, but we brought her out of the humidicrib and her saturations improved witht he skint ot skina nd when the MW left she started to suckle :)
No unecessary intervention ~ no NGT, IV etc unless she really needed it, when DD1 was born as soon as they hit the nursery an NGT goes in within a short time and IV and it isn't always necessary and we wanted to avoid anything that would hinder breastfeeding.
A gorgeous friend and fellow BB'er was able to have full skin to skin in theatres :D It is possible.

Be prepared that bubs may have to go to the SCN and if he/she doesn't then it is a bonus, because I had been there before a VB with DD1 @ 33 weeks she was taken very quickly, I knew what to expect so it didn't stress me out or worry me and I was able to cope with it all a lot better.

Write a plan and disucss it with everyone, even reiterating things in Theatre, walk into theatre if you are allowed to, I found that by taking those steps made me feel as though I was strong enough to go in and deliver my own baby. Ask questions, don't be afraid to stand up for yours and your baby's rights.

There is a link to my CS Story in my Sig - Anastasia's Birth :D

Take care hun :hug:

Hey hun,
I've been following your threads, but didn't really have anything to add.
Surgery and gastrochisis I do know about.
It really is better for your bub to be delivered via the sun roof with an issue like this. Birth can be very traumatic and can pull on things that in you bub's case do not need to be pulled on and traumatised. They will need to ensure that bub's bowels don't completely disembowel nor dry out or drop bubs temp after birth, that's why they want to get bub covered straight away. A c/section and immediate assessment will prevent (hopefully) further bowel troubles for bub later on in life. Plastic sounds awful but in terms of protecting and maintaining body heat, it's the best thing. It won't be any old glad wrap, it will be specialist and sterilized.
I also think it would be a great idea for you to get into contact with some other mums of gastro bubs. The Royal Children's hossy should be able to put you in touch with a support group or at least in contact with some other mums for some help.
ETA your bub will need some medical intervention. As much as I would love to say it will be your choice, your bubba will need help.

I agree with *star* that you need to find out why they want to perform a c/s so that you can make an informed decision. It's your baby and your body so ask as many questions as you want so that you understand the reasons behind their decisions. I had an elective c/s because after weighing up all the pros and cons of a baby in breech I decided for me that was how I wanted to proceed. And it turned out to be the right decision I feel because of the position DD was in. But I did ask a lot of questions and made sure I understood everything before I made the decision.

As for a cuddle afterwards, they do whisk bub away for a couple of minutes to check their vitals but then DD was placed directly on my chest and we have pictures of DD on me with my DH with us too. I also had my c/s at the Royal Women's in Melbourne and the staff were so lovely. They took pictures for us so we could cuddle and look at our baby. :)

All the best with everything. xx

Thanks again, everyone.
I've come to terms with the fact I'll need a C/S. Gastroschisis, small bub, low fluid, placenta aging too fast, and a breech baby (who, I believe, has no intention of turning around. been breech for over 9 weeks now) all point to a C/S.
I've been thinking and I really need to talk to Melbourne about all of this. Because there are some things that I'd like to know, for example-- where my scar will be? can I watch them pull bub out of my stomach? And a few other things.
I'd love to watch bub be pulled out, I think that would be awesome.
I've read about maternal assisted c/s and if I ever needed one in the future I'd try and go for that option.
Off to Melbourne today, appointments tomorrow so hopefully I get a good doctor that I can talk to.

--Charlotte.

Charlotte, the only tip I can give you is to sit down today and write out all the questions you want to ask - keep it in a little notepad and keep it with you so if something pops into your head you can write it down straight away before you forget. When you get into the Dr's appointment, it will be easy to forget half the questions you want to ask so it's important that you write them down and take them with you because this is the type of situation where you need to know everything you can about the birth, the condition you can expect him to be born in (will he be a bit poorly etc) so not only do you know what to expect, but also prepare yourself for how you are going to deal with it kwim, and also what will happen after the birth with his surgery and his stay in hospital etc. Perhaps even try to find out who the surgeon will be that will do the op so you can talk to them and find out what happens. If it were me, I'd want to know all of this now so I can be fully informed because once you have the c/s, you won't be very mobile and you may not feel mentally up for having a detail conversation about medical things like this.

Good luck and I'm sure that both you and your little boy will be just fine :hug: And make sure you keep us up to date with how you are going.

Hi Charlotte,
I'm having a scheduled cs at the Royal Womens' in 4 weeks time and so far I have found that the doctors have been fantastic in explaining every step of the process, right down to what my partner has to do (hold my hand, tell someone if he is going to faint and go with baby while I get sewn up). As I understand it skin to skin contact is not allowed in theatre as it is too cold for the baby, but they do bring them up to you to touch and cuddle if possible. They have been so happy to answer any questions we have had and it has all been very reassuring. I had a meeting with an anaesthetist where you can discuss any fears about having a spinal and what happens on the day. I agree with the others to take along a list of questions, but if you are seeing the same team we did for our baby's complications (MFM unit) we found they offered a lot of support.
Best of luck to you.
Andrea

Hi Charlotte,
I had a scheduled c/s with my daughter due to her being in a breech position. It was 2 months before my 18th birthday, so I can Imagine how you feel!
I had an epidural/spinal and stayed awake for the procedure and my partner was right by my side the whole time. It only takes about 15mins for bub to be out then the rest of the prcedure may take up to about 30mins. After they pulled her from my stomach she was taken to a table at the side to make sure her throat was clear and wiped her, etc. After that they laid her on my chest while I was still being operated on for me to have a hold. I was a bit shaky (freaking out) and numb at the time so I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have, but I was able to hold her straight away. They then handed her to my husband and wheeled me off to recovery room, and soon brought the baby into me where I breastfeed and cuddled with her for the first time.
C/s isn't the best thing to go through for mother and baby, and this time I am really pushing for a VBAC (vaginal birth after c/s), but they are sometimes the safest thing for the both of you. I'm sure the doctors and midwives present at your op will do everything they possibly can to make it the safest and best experience that it can be for you and your baby. I wish you all the best luck for a healthy and beautiful baby, which I'm sure you will have!
I have watched a doco where a baby was delivered (by c/s i think?) who had gastrochisis, where the whole bowel was on the outside of the body, and they wrapped it in plastic as the baby can out and they allowed the mother to have a quick hold and cuddle before the bub was took for his op. So hopefully you may be able to as well.
*Also don't be surprised if your baby turns around from a breech position, my first was breech and due to me having a bicornuate uterus or 'heart-shaped' uterus, which makes it hard for a breech baby to turn around, and at 34-35 weeks into this pregnancy my baby turned around!! :) So have faith! Good Luck xx