Was this a typical birth experience?

While it is true that baby is often taken to the resuscitare to be checked over, this can be literally a minute or so when all is well with him/her. It’s actually harmful to do suctioning without good reason and it isn’t standard after c section by any means.
Re the sterile field, baby is placed across the mother’s chest and covered with towels. In the absence of complications, every mother should have skin to skin offered and supported.
Please do check your information Pussycat22.

When the baby is delivered by c section it goes straight onto the midwives / paediatrician to be checked over and ensure that it is breathing and healthy. They are purple when they are delivered by lscs and need their airways clearing. Also your abdomen is open and needs repairing. You need a sterile field or you will have an infection to complain about. There is nowhere to put the baby on your skin because you are draped up with sterile towels. Another NHS bashing thread where people have no idea what they are talking about .

Midwife with 20 years experience here. Congratulations on your baby! Hope he’s doing really well now.
Your postnatal time all sounds very difficult and you should have had far better care than you did. I worked in a baby friendly accredited hospital and every well woman and baby were offered and encouraged to have skin to skin. Barring complications, skin to skin was supposed to continue as long as possible and at least until the first feed had taken place.
With a c section birth, baby is placed across the chest, covered with towels and supported by partner and midwife keeping an eye. Weighing etc can be done later in recovery unless a reason to be done sooner. Tucked in with mum on the way to recovery.

You say your little one was smaller and hadn’t been growing as expected. Then had hypoglycaemia after birth. In my experience she should have had blood sugar monitoring, observations and a feeding plan. Even without all that support should be offered at or before 6 hours for baby’s second feed.

it is extremely scary to be recovering from a major op and be a new mum and learning what to do, in a strange environment. You did well managing all of that.

Why isn’t good care happening on postnatal wards:

midwives having 10 mums and 10 babies to look after at once.
Mothers who are poorly and need a lot of input
ditto babies
Feeding support takes a long time
Every mother and baby needs a daily check
Discharge checks and paperwork
As soon as 1 mum goes home, a new mum is admitted, with all her admission paperwork and needs
3 drug rounds in 12.5 hour shift (30 mins each plus more time for IVABs.
Maternal and baby obs
Complex social problems including liaising with social workers - takes a long time and is very important
Talking with drs about plans of care.

People can’t be ‘ticked off’ and forgotten about. Often you’ll spend a while with someone and move on. Then a call bell will go and client 1 needs you again.

Women and babies have shocking care on the wards a lot of the time. Midwives have terrible time too because you are run ragged but no one is really helped. I ended every shift feeling a massive failure as I couldn’t give the care I wanted to.

Anyway, a massive post! Sorry! I definitely think you should complain about all aspects of your care.

Childbirth these days is a bloody disgrace. We never had it this bad in the past.

I’ve had two (very much unwanted) sections. All the reasons I didn’t want sections came true even though I had a birth plan for if a section was needed. I didn’t get skin to skin with either of mine. My first was a bit shocked so I understand that. My second they just said “I don’t do that” when I asked and asked for it. I wanted delayed cord clamping and didn’t get that either. My husband wasn’t allowed into recovery with me and my midwife had to leave as end of her shift so I had very little support. Nurses took ages to respond to my buzzer too but did eventually come and change the baby and try to help me feed. I would definitely complain about that. After my first my husband was able to go to the garage and get me a sandwich. My second they gave me a sandwich in the ward eventually. None of the famous tea and toast apparently offered to women who have natural births! I think hospitals are absolutely shocking at how they treat section mothers. It really should be better and I’m sorry you went through that. I would consider complaining even if it just helps bring some closure to you. A birth debrief might also be helpful to share how you’re feeling.

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I agreed for my waters to be broken and then agreed a csection instead of induction by drip.

I may sure the consultant agreed my birth plan before I would agree to the csection. She was lovely and I'd already seen her the day before.

Consultant made sure the theatre team knew birth plan.

I had skin to skin in theatre - they also lowered screen enough for me to see baby's head coming out and being lifted up. I let them do their quick baby checks then had the baby straight back. After a while in recovery, I then was ready for them to weigh the baby. It was lovely,I have some great pics as we were stunned how massive our baby was 😂

My midwife sorted us tea and toast and some biscuits even though it was around 1am. I was ravenous!!

I had already fought for a private room so my dh could stay 1 overnight due to some medical needs I had. The night duty definitely didn't like answering the buzzer and actively tried to discourage us from using it. I discharged myself 23 hours post section as no way I was going to stay in the ward by myself overnight after the lack of care I'd had the previous night!!

I've had 1 vaginal hospital birth, 1 csection hospital birth and 1 home birth. The homebirth was the best for my mental and physical health all round!

I took some food - fruit, cereal bars, crackers, bottled drinks - into hospital with me for both my births as I'd heard horror stories from friends about not being fed or not being able to get food. For DC1, I had one hospital meal (a sandwich) in the two days I was in there. For DC2, the food was actually quite good (as was the care compared to my first birth) and I would happily have stayed longer but had to get back home for DC1. I did have trouble getting it as I was in a side room and you had to collect a tray from near reception. The other women seemed to have husbands or partners doing this, but DH was at home looking after DC1 so I couldn't collect anything until the catheter and drip (blood loss) had come out and even then it was a mad shuffle there and back since I had left the baby in the room, which you're not really meant to do.

Tbh I purposefully didn't really sleep beyond a light doze the entire time I was in hospital and mostly held onto the baby, since getting them out of the cot was such a faff. It wasn't hard for me to stay awake as I was absolutely wired after both births. I made sure everything I needed was within reaching distance and changed the baby on a mat on my lap so I didn't need to get up. The low point was when someone had moved my nappy bag so I had to shuffle out of bed and simultaneously move drip and catheter along with me to change the baby. But although I had somewhat traumatic births for both (severe tearing and blood loss), I hadn't had a csection so slightly different scenario.

Becoming a mother has highlighted to me the innate contempt society has for women's health, including women giving birth. There is a huge inequality - women as a group provide so much care for others but their own care needs are bottom of the pile. It's just "shut up and don't complain". But even recognising this, I remain horrified at the treatment of women who have just gone through major surgery and have another life to care for.

Oh and both babies breastfed, second baby latched on in theatre!

Not typical in my experience. 2 planned csections, both at 37 weeks due to small babies that stopped growing (and breech for my 1st hence the section). Both time I had the sheet lowered so I could see them born, skin to skin on my chest in theatre (they had hats on and I popped my gown and some towels over them). Both times they didn't get dressed for hours and hours, lots of food given to me in recovery. Luckily in our trust you get your own room and partners are able to stay. I loved my births, I'm sorry you didn't have the same if that's what you wanted!

OP, I had a vaginal birth but DS was whisked away to suction his airways as there had even méconium in the delivery. I was being stitched for a tear. By the time they’d done all that they wrapped up DS and gave him to DH. Also he spent quite a bit of time in NICU in an incubator for the first 2 or 3 days as they thought he had a chest infection. So I was pumping, had very little contact, and struggled to establish bf in the first week.
However. After that rocky start DS was a cuddly baby and toddler, an affectionate child, and is now a great big teenager who still gives both of us big hugs (my head fits under his chin now, he’s nearly 18).
So, whilst I think you were treated pretty poorly and they deserve a talking to - don’t worry about it long term. Cuddle your boy and it’ll all come right in the end.

Sounds similar to my last c section nearly 15 years ago.

anaesthetist was rude (I think knackered as I was last on the list) and got huffy and told me off when I jerked when the spinal needle hit a nerve.

No help all night one once on the ward. Asked midwife to change nappy and she refused (I couldn’t reach due to catheter twisting and tight).

Certainly no post op food, so I went from the night before the section, all through the day of the section while waiting for the op, and then all the next night with zero food. Nearly 48 hours. Nearly 24 hours of that was without water (had a few ice cubes).

When changing catheter I said I was concerned that the in-laws due to visit would arrive, open the curtain and there I’d be spreadeagled. The nurse said oh well we don’t have time to do anything about that and shrugged.

The day afterwards, I was instructed to get out of bed and lift my full bag and case from the floor onto the bed as they were moving me to a different bay. When I said I’d had a c section and couldn’t lift the case, the HCA/midwife said well no one else will do it because of health and safety.

This is a large teaching hospital in the SE.

Sounds awful and not like my experience.
I had emergency section and held baby with partners help. They give me three slices of toast and a cup of tea when I made it back to the ward (even fed dp). I had baby 09:24 but they weren't planning on sending partner home as luckily they were quiet on the ward - I sent him home because it was pointless for us both to be shattered.
I stayed in a couple of nights due to some issues but found the midwifes (most of them) very very good, kind and helpful. They heard baby crying and popped in and said oh you needn't have got him, we can help. I fed him and then she talked me into them taking him for a few hours.
Our local hospital gets a bad press but honestly found the midwives to be really kind and couldn't believe how much more they done (washed me, unpacked bags, made cups of tea, changed bums etc etc)

rubbish. If all is well with both mum and baby it's completely normal to have skin to skin after the cord's been cut. Once the baby's out of the sterile field then there's no increased risk of infection.

there may be maternal or neonatal reasons why skin to skin isn't possible (and some women just don't want it immediately/find it rather uncomfortable having a 3-4kg weight plonked on their chest whilst lying flat & numb), but those are more the exceptions rather than the rules.

I didn't have a section but I found the ward midwives absolutely awful on both occasions.
I discharged myself 4 hours after the birth of my first they were that awful.

You're not meant to have skin to skin immediately after a c - section due to infection

Yep sadly I think experiences like this are becoming more common due to lack of staff and then less empathy due to stressed midwives. I was supposed to have a c section , as I was having a big baby, waters broke naturally however and at the time the only anaesthetist on duty was in theatre and couldn’t prep me which by that time two hours later I gave birth! Thank god she was actually just long not big. I also didn’t get given an evening meal as they said I hadn’t ordered one- I wanted to ask them how on earth I was I supposed to know when my baby was going to make an appearance on that particular evening shift! But thought there was no point! Husband ended up going to the 24hr garage and got me a bag of hot cross buns! Also on my first labour a different one to this, I was in labour and waiting three hours for an epidural 4cm dilated when I arrived- is that normal?

Ah okay; yes all full term babies. None needed SCBU but obviously if your son stopped growing it was different. Im sorry you had a difficult time.

It is shit OP. I had similar first time around but forceps in theatre and not cs. Second time I had an assisted delivery in the ward and was taken to theatre for stitches. I was much more aware second time around and insisted baby came to theatre with me for skin to skin and to feed. First child never latched and second is ebf (although not without issues!). I also had better staff second time round who were more aware of my needs.

They made you have a C-section because of his size? This seems bizarre to me. My sister and I have both had similar sized babies and she’s had 2 vaginal births with no issues. 5lb 2oz and 5lb 5oz.

it has been nearly 16 years since my c section but from memory as they were concerned with a pp haemorrhage they wanted to deal with me so DH did the skin to skin - and I would expect that as a bare minimum. He then put a nappy on her and a vest etc until I was in recovery then I did skin to skin

the second bit is awful and needs complaining about

Tbh it doesn’t sounds that non typical to me in general

• skin to skin in theatre was offered to me when I had my first c section. I was so shaky and too many tubes, I declined and my husband did skin to skin in theatre and I did in recovery room. With second baby I had a crash section and didn’t meet my baby until almost 11 hours after the birth. We still bonded and I still breastfed after we were reunited. It wasn’t ideal but I was glad baby and I were alive so I didn’t dwell on it
• yes if you didn’t go to the ward until 4am I’m not surprised the kitchen was closed to 7am
• both babies I had to get out of the bedside cot myself every single time, it wasn’t an option to buzz a midwife to pick them up for every feed or nappy change. I was expected to care for baby (husband couldn’t stay because of Covid and visitor hours)

It sounds fairly typical (ie AWFUL ), and honestly better than my c - section experience, but that isn’t to say it’s right!! Women (and their babies and birth partners) deserve so much better, I’m sorry it was a traumatising experience :( if you feel able to then I would make a complaint. Four years on and my family and I are still suffering the ramifications and so we haven’t, but I haven’t ruled it out in the future if we feel stronger! X

Your experience sounds like a shambles. I had a planned CS. Once DD was delivered, they briefly checked her over and she was on me for S2S whilst I was stitched up. Husband was allowed in the ward briefly to carry my bags in (and leave them in reach!) and then had to leave due to visiting times. Also terrible that midwives didn’t respond to your bell. I did find postnatal ward was massively understaffed and MWs were generally pretty snappy at night as a result. This was during covid though. I had one have a go at me when I requested water- I had to talk over her pissy voice to state I’d had a CS and had numb legs! I’m hoping this time round it’ll be more pleasant…