Birth plans for c-sections

Does anyone have any ideas for my birth plan?

I totally forgot about it and Trish just reminded me (thanks!!)

So far I have:

Cord to stop pulsating before cutting
No cathetar unless totally necessary-- and numb first
Drop screen so we can see him being born
Dh to be with Junior at all times if Im not
Need to have skin to skin contact ASAP
Need to be able to feed ASAP
Please wait until I can come with him to be weighed and bathed
No hepatitis injection at birth-- we prefer to wait

im sure there is heaps more than i cant think of right now...

I'm pretty sure Brooke had hers on here somewhere and she had a great one done up - very comprehensive. You should ask her if you can see it.

Ok some other ideas....

Do you want vitamin k for junior?

Would you prefer no-one but DH to cuddle him after birth? If you are unable to be with him straight away you can request that no-one else (family, friends etc) holds him until you have had a cuddle if you want.

Can DH & junior be with you in recovery?

If you *must* have a general, you can request no-one to see junior (other than DH) until you are awake.

Cailin also has a very good one for c/s as well she might be able to share again.

Hi Danni
if they let you put off having the catheter put in until you are numb please let me know - i will definitely ask for that next time as that was the most unpleasant thing about my c/s!!

One thing i might ask for next time is to have a second support person for me around as once the baby is born and is taken off to be checked etc i was left by myself (ie no dh but lots of others in the room) and no body talked to me for ages and i can remember feeling very alone and it seemed to go on for ages. So if you have someone else who could stay with you once bub is born that may be an idea although i don't know if it's alowd.
Good luck and hope you have a great experience meeting junior.
Julie x

Some people ask for the screen to be lowered so they can see bub being born.. not sure if thats your cup of tea but something else to think about?

One special thing is to remember your camera.

Most of the time the catheter goes in first before the numbing....

if i HAVE to have one...I want to make sure Im numb first.

Trish said she didnt have a catheter for her c/section

I had the spinal block in first before they put the cath in with Alex and Eleanor. They find it easier that way as you need to swing your legs up on to the bed so it's best to do it after the spinal or epidural.
With Kimberley i had it in first but that was done in the UK and they had to rush to get things done with her.

Yup, Danni, as I said obviously it is not an absolute necessary thing to have a cathetar for surgery. But I have a feeling you will be hard pressed to find a Dr that doesn't do it.
I was so lucky with Noah's birth that the Dr didn't put on it. It was one of my greatest fears, oh along with an episiotomy. Oh yeah, had no real problems weeing afterwards either. They just got me a bed pan and I sat on it. Well, I fell asleep on it. HEHE.

I made it so that no one else could hold Noah before I did, other than DP. My mum was even there and didn't get to hold him. Nor did my big boys. This made him feel like he hadn't been passed around to everyone before me.

I'm sure little things will come to you over the next few days Danni. Be sure to take a copy of this in with you for your next visit. Tell them you want it in your files. Make sure you make several copies too. No excuses that it has been misplaced then :D

Honestly a catheter is not *that* bad ;) If you want a copy of my c/s birthing preferences let me know :)

*hugs*
Cailin

yes please cailin!

thanks so much brooke-- i just had a quick read. I am so glad that he was able to remain with you at all times. I dont think I will have that luxury...but I sure am going to push for it! :D

Having a birth plan for a caesarean is tricky, because most, if not all, decisions are made by the anaethatist and / or the Ob - and because you are public you don't know who you are getting, and more often than not, they get it their way. So try and bring it up with the hospital as soon as possible before the birth, but it's really pot luck with the Ob/anaethatist you have and their beliefs.

I have supported women who have been birth centre clients and needed to transfer, a couple having c/s and all their preferences tend to go out the window as the Ob just wants the procedure done and over with. I know one Ob recently who said to a client of mine, 'I don't agree with leaving the cord to stop pulsating, do you want to bleed to death on the table?' WTF?!

Private Obs you have more negotiation with as you know who will be there and can talk to them before the birth - and if you don't like them you can change - but you still know their beliefs and what you are going to get. So be prepared this may happen, I do hope your birthplan gets to work out as you hope hon. Perhaps you could hire a midwife so you can breastfeed in recovery as Brooke was going to do? Run it by the hospital first though as something you want to do in order to get that ;)

B456 and Cailin, could I please see a copy of your CS birth plans? You can email to me at my contact detail (remove the Nospam) and I will most grateful!

Kelly, I've been thinking about hiring a midwife specifically so that bub can stay with me and be BF in recovery (ever since the hospy told me they try to do this but if they're busy then not) - but here in Canberra I don't think there are any midwives who are allowed to practice in the pub hospital (all that insurance stuff). Should that matter or do you think I could get one anyway?

WTG Brooke!!! Good on you for being so pushy - it really paid off for you and Lucas :)

My main ones if I had to have a C/S this time would be that I can see the birth, and that bub could come to recovery with me.

I have been told the reason that they usually don't let bub to recovery is that they have to legally have a nurse/midwife there with you both (ie: one per mother & bub) the whole time. Which would obviously be expensive. I have an aquaintance who works as a midwife at my local hospital, so if I had to have a C/S, I would see if they would allow her to come & be that 'extra' so that bub could be with me.

This thread has been really interesting.

Especially about the private midwife thing. My mum is a registered nurse and midwife, so i was saying to DH if i need a c/s call my mum and get her to come straight away (i wasn't going to have her at the birth or even tell her i was in labour, but she is only around 40 mins away by car).

But DH reckons they wouldn't let her because she is my mum and its unethical... I said its not like she is operating on me or something.

Although maybe i wouldn't tell them, as we have different surnames... But we look similar so not so sure...

Not that i want a c/s, but if i do need one, at least i could get to feed in recovery etc and not have to pay for it!

Danni,
I think it's really important to think about what is important for you. As Kelly says it can be difficult if you are a public patient - however, I am assuming you are having an elective c/section so you should have a date by now? If so, you can find out who the surgeon/s is on that day. It is imperitive that you speak with the hospital and be assertive about your needs and wants around your c/section.

Hospitals have policies - so some things will just be NO it's not policy. You will need to decide if you can cope with the no's to some of your requests. If you can't there are options - perhaps it may mean a different hospital or a doula or midwife to be there for your birthing.

Some things that you may think of asking for are: music to be playing, quiet hushed voices, dimmed lights (can be a difficult one but I have seen it!). You may like to request that your baby is lifted straight onto your bare chest. Breastfeed whilst being sutured - baby and you are not separated - again this may require you hiring a midwife/doula to fill this role.

I hope you can acheive the birth that is important for you. :hug:

Thanks very much to all of your replies.

The last Ob I spoke to said baby can not come with the mothers into recovery. (so i think that is a policy...but there is no harm in trying?)

I wont be able to change hospitals nor hire a private midwife.

I understand if my preferences cannot go to plan, but can't blame a hormonal pregnant woman for trying! ;)

Thanks very much for all these ideas...and Cailin I would stil love a copy if you have time :)

:

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Nope its not bad I remember once I had tumy surgery and consequently couldnt pee afterwards (as sometimes can happen) and had to have a cath put in - with NO sedation, numbing etc and that was the days that they didnt have this u beaut pump to do it with...

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same, they are not too bad Danni. One of those things that sound much worse than they actually are.

Sorry Danni it's been one of those days. I'll try and get it to you once the kids are in bed.

*hugs*
Cailin

Here ya go it was on BB all the time ;)

Here

*hugs*
Cailin

Thanks very much, B456. You have given me a lot to think about. In particular your statement about refusing to go to recovery without baby. I think this is the aspect of a CS that I feel most strongly about.

B456, can i ask a question, and please if you don't want to answer it thats cool, but how come you chose not to breast feed directly and to change the baby to formula when you're home??
I'm just interested in your reasons :)

Brooke: that was a massive help!

I will lower the screen because I want to see that first millisecond of his miracle life beginning and hope DH or someone can capture that on VC for me.
I will make sure not to look into that light! ;)

Great idea about the pethidine too as I want Junior to be a champion bfeeder. Does morphine have a similar effect?

I think all of the narcotic drugs have that effect. There is another drug they use to counter it when the baby is born.

That was the reason I flat out refused to have pethedine/narcotic drugs for my labour.

I had morphine &it just made me vomit anyway. what are the alternatives?

Ok another question please Brooke :)

How come you prefer staples over stitches? Obviously i have NO idea...but thinking about staples scare me much more than stitches! :(

B456 - I noticed that you are having a c-section at 40wks. Just wondering what happens if you go into labour before that date?

B456 has already had her baby :)

Staples are alot better. I healed so well with the staples. They are not as bad as they sound.

I had disolvable stitches. Was fantastic. i don't have the railtrack look that some scars can get and din't have to have anyone go near my wound when it was still tender. Dr did and awesome job on my smilie :)

I had the superglue instead of stitches or staples. It kind of freaked me out because I was worried that it would pop but one year on it's a really faint, thin scar.

superglue? omg the options are endless! :rolleyes:

The sound of staples is scaring the HELL outta me...I just imagine an actual stapler...hehe

Ok Ill stop now. I have a HUGE list of questions to ask at my preparation appointment next Wednesday. I will update with all the answers then...and write my birth plan depending on the answers :)

Danni, I had staples too, they aren't really big, they're quite tiny. I only had one that hurt when it came out, but that was because of they way they put it in according to the visiting midwife.

Nic

Danni, I also had the superglue, wonderful stuff that!!! nobody had to go near my scar and was able to heal on its own, i have a different OB this time and i wonder if he uses the glue, i really hope so!!! I know the sound of "staples" sounds a bit scary to me too!! :pray:

well well WELL!!! :rolleyes:

Hahahaha I guess I can laugh about it now.

There was certainly no birth plan for me! For those of you who didn't know....my waters broke on the 15th April (5 days before my planned c-section) and I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, and Mason was born an hour after arriving at the hosp.

I was still asking questions as they wheeled me into theatre!

Basically the answers were....

No- cannot drop curtain down
No- cannot have skin to skin contact
No- cannot breastfeed or have baby with me in recovery
No option- must have spinal block
No option- must have disolvable stitches
YES- Cathetar is inserted after numbing (yay!)
NO- cannot wait for cord to stop pulsating before cutting
NO- cannot wait for me to weigh and measure baby

totally awful rules and regulations! The hospital was a disgrace and was overworked and understaffed.

BUT....Mason was very sluggish at birth with apgars of 5 and 6 and they were so great with him in the Special Care Nursery. So I guess when it came to the most important things, they did the right thing.