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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

no screen during c-section?

46 replies

issywoo · 19/02/2004 21:08

i am 39 weeks and not engaged so my obs thinks its unlikely i'll have a vaginal birth. my last baby, like this one, was posterior and never engaged and despite a 38 hour induction i never got beyond 3 cms. so if i don't go into labour by 41 weeks he's going to do another c-section. last time i felt really cut off from what was going on because of the screen - can i ask them to remove it or will they refuse? also, i would like the moment the baby is delivered to be caught on video (my husband doesn't relish doing this) - will they object to that? i just want to feel a part of it which i think i would if i had a vaginal birth. any ideas?

OP posts:

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suzywong · 19/02/2004 21:13

keep the screen, that's my honest opinion - i;m a veteran of 2, albeit emergency Caesars.

nutcracker · 19/02/2004 21:13

I've had 3 c-sections and always had the screen in place but you can see whats going on in the big light above your head.

suzywong · 19/02/2004 21:15

OMG Nutty, glad I didn't know that!

nutcracker · 19/02/2004 21:16

Have to admit that i didn't look, well not too much anyway.

twiglett · 19/02/2004 21:17

message withdrawn

suzywong · 19/02/2004 21:21

keep the screen, it's major surgery and even if you miss your baby emerging you certainly don't want to see them putting you back together , which as you know is the bulk of the op.

Original poster

issywoo · 19/02/2004 21:23

have watched the labour programmes on sky and am not put off by the gore of the c-section. i#d just really like to see it being born. so if i kept the screen can it be videod at least?

OP posts:

nutcracker · 19/02/2004 21:23

My dp was always trying to look and see what was going on. I didn' think i'd mind watching until i realised i could see IYKWIM

suzywong · 19/02/2004 21:25

yes, do that. Video it and then DH can hold baby next to your head while they do their gory needlework. That's what I did. Also BF briefly while on the operating table

survivour · 19/02/2004 22:03

Hi issywoo, I asked that the screen be kept down on my 3rd c-section, mainly because of all the problems I was told the baby would have anti-nataly. I could not see anything, and the large light above you just shows blurry images. And I was told to keep my hands under the green cloth when I tried to move it out of the way. And you can't lift your head up to look over because, the surgeon said I was pulling the muscles he was trying to cut........I hope there is not to much info here????

aloha · 20/02/2004 08:48

I think I would have preferred not to have the screen. Someone on mumsnet has just had a section without the screen...now who was it? I also felt cut off and tried to look and got told off! I would also ask for the baby to be given directly to me instead of being cleaned up and weighed first. it seemed like an enternity to me last time.

bobthebaby · 20/02/2004 08:51

Was it Ghosty?

mears · 20/02/2004 09:25

Yes you can ask not to have a screen. Depends on what the surgeon thinks - they might not relish you watching them. Might make them nervous! You might not be allowed a vidoe in theatre. Again, the person performing the operation has to give permission to be videod and they may prefer not to be. You will only know if you ask.

aloha · 20/02/2004 09:51

My bump was so vast it would have provided a natural screen iyswim!

FairyMum · 20/02/2004 09:59

I would have kept the screen. Have you any idea what you would see if you didn't ? I would faint!

Giggler34 · 20/02/2004 10:10

I did not have a choice if I had a screen or not, but I probably would have had it anyway as I am not sure I would like to have seen myself being cut open. Baby was given to me really quickly, after quick checks, then was weighed and cleaned after both me an dad had a hold, although it was pretty impossible for me to hold! My section was decided upon after being on delivery ward for nearly two days and never dilating more than 4cms, so I probably would not have cared if they had chopped my legs off in front of an audience at that point! iykwim

Momp · 20/02/2004 19:21

I wasn't given the choice of having a screen or not, but in a way I'm glad that the theatre staff decided for me. I had planned sections with both DD and DS and therefore was quite nervous about the whole procedure. Taking into account how nervous I was, I don't think seeing the op would have helped the situation at all.

suzywong · 20/02/2004 19:23

Isywoo, I know you said you have watched labour programmes and are not put of by gore butit is a very different story when it is your own gore.

Tia · 21/02/2004 16:50

My surgeon kept the screen on for most of the procedure, and then just as he was about to pull the baby out, he dropped the screen just enough so that I could see her come out. He also turned her so that I was the first to see what sex the baby was. It was quite amazing because I could see her half in and half out, but with no blood or gore. I highly recommend this- it really made me feel more involved with the birth process. Then they lifted it up for the stitching and cleaning up bit.

aloha · 21/02/2004 16:53

I think that sounds fantastic. I do object to someone deciding for me what I can see of my own body! I would have loved to have seen my ds come out.

suzywong · 21/02/2004 16:53

that sounds ideal, what a co-operative and sensitive surgeon you had

Furball · 21/02/2004 20:59

The anethesists assistant asked my dh for our camera and took photos of it all for us. Which I'm really pleased about. They're not gorey at all, even if you really try to look.

suzywong · 21/02/2004 21:14

It's cheering to hear all these positive experiences

When I asked the anaethesist what was going on he said, cheerily, 'they've got your womb out'.

JanH · 21/02/2004 21:21

We never took pictures - never occurred to us (mind you DH is the world's worst photographer) - have subsquently watched sections on TV and am v glad we didn't!

suzy, "they've got your womb out"???? That's not normal, is it? Hope they put it back the right way round!

suzywong · 21/02/2004 21:22

Yes, they did, I later discovered.
I was so off my face and had such bad epidural shakes I asked anaethsitistisisi what colour it was??????

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