Gentle C-Section

[BeeBear2019]

Has anyone experience a planned gentle c-section?
xx

@BeeBear2019 I'm hoping I can have one, in 8 weeks time!

@tig67 Amazing! Were you hospital very accommodating?
You will have to let me know how it goes!

Is this your first c-section? xx

@BeeBear2019 my hospital, are happy to let me have a c section this time- had no issues with getting it agreed! I had a emergency section last time with my first, after failed induction and infection! This will be my second c section x

@tig67 I am still undecided whether to try VBAC, or go for an elective c-section, but I have seen numerous things about a "gentle" c-section - they don't pull the baby out quickly, delayed cord clamping, immediate skin to skin etc xx

@BeeBear2019 I want to have all them bits like, delayed cord clamping etc, last time we both had infections so I don't remember much! This time my consultant, doesn't want me to have a vaginal birth if it can be helped! I will report back in about 8 weeks time!

@tig67 Yes, please do! Good luck, and hope it all goes well :) xx

I had one for my last section. It was amazing, especially after a very scary emergency section on my first, and a very clinical planned section on my second. My consultant had never done one before but because I’d been hoping for a vba2c that had to be scrapped so she comprised and after said it was Lovely and would suggest it to other patients where possible. So went it, got spinal, drapes up for cut and rummage and then just as she was about to pull baby out, the nurse dropped the drapes and baby came out, straight onto my chest and, I had a sneaky cuddle cos I wasn’t supposed to put my arms onto sterile area, while she waited for the cord to drain and clamp. Then midwife took baby to dry, weigh and wrap while the drapes went Back up and I got stitched up and baby went straight into my arms, and then came with me to recovery where I fed him. It was actually amazing to watch him being born after feeling very removed from it for the previous two sections.

I had one a few months ago. They dropped the drapes so we saw him being born while the anaesthetist also videoed it and took lots of pictures on my phone. The doctor passed him to the midwife who put him straight on my chest. The monitoring pads were placed on my back instead of my chest so they didn't get in the way. He had a couple minutes of delayed cord clamping and stayed on me for about 10 minutes before being taken to be weighed. He then had a cuddle with DP and was put back on me before I left theatre.

We had our own playlist playing and it was really really lovely.

I want one but I've been told they don't do them I can't be bothered to argue to be honest. I'm hoping that by definition an elective will be gentler than my emergency was

Mine was planned and very calm. Walked up to theatre, had c-section whilst music was playing and went to recovery. Home two days later and driving within three weeks. Perfect!

So lovely to hear positive stories!!
I had a traumatic unplanned c-section with my first.. still feeling very uneasy about a VBAC (if it's an option for me), but have been looking into the gentle c-sections and just having more choice around what happens during the surgery. I want to take away as much unknown as possible, so do feel more swayed towards a planned, as gentle as possible, c-section.

How did people find recovery after a second c-section - quicker, easier?

Thank you! xx

Mine was somewhere in between. Baby not delivered straight into my arms, but some delayed clamping, and skin to skin within 2 minutes of birth, which continued for an hour before baby was weighed etc. Most of that was on me, but my husband also had skin to skin contact in theatre. Baby was born to our playlist, and the anethetist took dozens of pictures for us.

I mentioned it and they looked at me like I had two heads. Depends where you are I think.

Can i ask how it was with having the curtain lowered? Is it scary/upsetting seeing the surgery? Excuse the bluntness but do you see your own insides?

I think a gentle c-section sounds lovely but the curtain lowering part has me a bit worried.

I didn’t have a “gentle” section but I saw him being born. They dropped the drapes a millisecond before he was born then they went back up again. I think the angle you’re at means you only see the baby! We had a photo too and you don’t see my insides.

To add, it might be my favourite photo in the world.

I had one for my third (and final!) c section in spring 2020. I was amazed to learn that the things I wanted were now standard - low lights, my music if I wanted music, slow birth (ish - they did help him out, but space was tight and being my third section they wanted things to go smoothly!), delayed clamping, straight to chest etc. I put it all in my birth plan, but the midwife said it was all fairly standard anyway now.

A complete departure from my second section, 5 years earlier, where they agreed to delayed clamping, but expected me to know when they'd delayed enough!

Rather than asking for a "gentle c section", ask for the specific things you want. They may not "do" gentle c sections but they may well accommodate all the ingredients of one!

Think of it as a menu of options really, you choose the bits you like.

Obviously there are some absolute no's - reduced lights ok, no lights = bad idea for doing surgery ;-) and you obviously can't pull out your own baby, and they need to make sure things stay sterile, but as long as it's safe, most places are pretty happy to accommodate your wishes, in my experience.

@PinkPlantCase, definitely not scary having the drapes dropped. They did it literally just before the baby came out so you don’t see any of the cutting or moving around of your insides. You just see a hole and the baby come out straight away and for me that’s all I could look at then, then once the cord is clamped and cut the curtain goes back up. It doesn’t last long cos obviously they want to be able to get on with the operation and close you up as quickly as possible.

I had a second unplanned csection last week, and made lots of requests, which were all accepted and put in place:

• keep placenta attached (no cutting the cord until we were ready)
• no talking while baby was coming out
• baby to be brought out slowly
• immediate skin to skin with me
• baby to stay in my sight at all times
• my husband to announce sex and cut the cord
• no cleaning baby off

It was a lovely healing, positive birth experience compared to the first time round.

It is also possible to do a maternal assisted csection, where you scrub up before so you are sterile, and then you reach down to pull baby out. If you Google it there have been some recent articles about this happening in Australia, but it is definitely possible in the UK if you have a supportive doctor.

I asked if I could have my gown on back to front so I could have skin to skin and feed straight away and was told no
Think the gentle side of things must depend on the hospital