Elective CS and birthplans - any advice?

[CaptainCaveman]

Ds1 elective cs due to breech and I had no birth plan. I wore glasses at the time (since had laser eye surgery) so when ds was born I could only see them waving a purpleish blob at me, as they wouldn't let me wear my glasses in theatre .

Four years on, slightly older and wiser, but ds2 is also breech and I have been booked in for elective cs in 3 weeks time.

Any tips/clues/ideas on birth plans greatly appreciated! I want to bf asap. I hate the fact that I'm bed bound until the following day and can't participate in ds2's immediate post-natal care.

TIA

I had a birth plan for my CS.
It was a full birth plan for either CS or VB, but the bit about CS said this....

After the Birth
? I want my other children to be present as soon as possible, depending on the time of day.
? I want to breastfeed and also to allow baby to breastcrawl to initiate breastfeeding so skin-to-skin contact is extremely important.
? I am happy for my baby to have the vitamin K injection
? Baby is not to be fed formula at any point.
? Baby to be examined by any health professionals only with parents authorisation and in our presence.
? If there is any concern regarding baby we wish to be told immediately.
? I plan to keep the baby near me following birth and would appreciate if the evaluation of the baby can be done with the baby on my abdomen, with both of us covered by a warm blanket, unless there is an unusual situation.
Caesarean Section
? Having had two previous c-sections, I do not want another without dire need.
? Caesarean Section can only proceed with my consent.
? I will not accept a Caesarean section for time limit reasons, if my baby is still healthy.
? I will not accept a Caesarean section for maternal tiredness, an epidural may be enough to give me a rest and try again.
? I do not want to be left without anyone I know before the operation, no pre-operative abandonment.
? I want my partner to cut the baby's umbilical cord.
? I want my partner to tell me the sex of the baby please do not announce it for him.
? I have already had a caesarean operation, please use the existing transverse scar.
? I wish to have skin to skin contact with my baby, please leave one arm accessible/unrestricted.
? I may be depressed about the birth and need to talk about it without any criticism for feeling the way I do.
Breastfeeding
? I am planning on breastfeeding my baby exclusively.
? I wish for skin-to-skin contact immediately for at least 10/15 minutes before any checks, unless checks can be performed whilst baby is on my abdomen.
? I do not want anyone to give my baby formula or to supplement its feeding.
? Although I have previously breastfed, I would appreciate full support with this baby.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that aids me during labour incase I forget or do not get the chance later. I understand that in certain situations my birth plan will not be able to be adhered to completely and ask that my wishes are taken into consideration as much as possible. The main objective is to get baby out safely but I wish this experience to be one I look back on positively and not full of regret.
Thankyou.

They adhered to it all, and I had a great ELCS.

The whole thing seemed much less clinical than my previous ELCs, more intimate.
The surgeon told me when they were doing ym waters, and then they pulled him out, lowering the screen to show us and everyone knew not to mention the sex, so DP could announce it.
DS2 was put straight on me and had a blanket on us, he was there all the time I was stitched up and the only time they took him off me was when they swapped me to a clean bed, at which point they weighed and dressed him for me then put him back on my bed.
Within minutes of being back in the room they latched him on for me and left us alone to enjoy our new baby.
They were really fab.

They didn't let you keep your glasses on? That's ridiculous!

Gosh that is awful they made you take your glasses off!

I didn't really do a birth plan for my elective (2 previous em cs)but I had stressed that I wanted my music on and the baby delivered straight onto me, and kept with me as much as possible in the first instance. However they said the theatre was too cold for him to be brought straight to me, and fair enough it was blardy chilly. So they let me cuddle him straight to me all wrapped up and then took him away to be dressed, especially as he was quite dozy and looking a bit blue. I insisted dh stay with him and not a midwife. I was sad that they weighed him and dressed him before I was done (it took an hour to stitch me up due to the previous two cs) but as soon as I was out of theatre he and I were together. He stayed by me right through that first day too and dh and midwife helped me together to look after him those first few hours.

It's important I think to have a clear idea of what you really would like to happen in an ideal world and be quite adamant. Write it all down and try to discuss it with them a bit in advance. For example I insisted on having a room to myself should one be available - they uhmed and ahed and eventually gave in

Good luck.

Lovely plan VS.

CC.. think about the things that you might like eg: your voices being the first that the baby hears (so quiet in the theatre no chatting as baby is born). What music do you want playing? Do you want a running commentary of the birth? etc. VS' plan is gorgeous. Well worth making use of, esp the unrestricted arm!

Thanks ladies. I was very naive when I had ds and this definately was hindered by having ante-natal depression. By the time I had my cs I was pretty much living in a state on constant anxiety and panic attacks (twas a bloody awful time!).

This time I am much better and have been able to remain on clomipramine throughout the pg. After seeing cons last week and confirming ds2 still breech, cs is now booked.

I didn't have a birth plan last time and your thoughts/ideas are really helpful to start planning this the way I would like it to go. Thanks v much!!

I was very happy with both my ceasarian deliveries. The first was emergency, so there wasn't really any negotiation about how it was done, but I was given very clear information.
Both were actually very much like VS birth plan, except we already knew the gender for both, and he didn't cut the cord.

They were both given to me straight away,DH then bathed and dressed them whilst I was stitched up (that was the only point we were separated) and I fed them both straight away after that in the recovery room.
I would check hospital policy against what your wishes are- I suspect they will not be all that different- the 'baby friendly initiative' has certainly worked well for me.

I tend to get very low blood pressure after surgery, so I was in recovery for a long time, under observation, but the three of us were given privacy where possible.

goog luck

I highly recommend doing a birthplan (mine was similar to VS's but I had a whole separate bit for CS). Just having them read that and follow it made me feel in control of the situation although obviously I wasn't.

CaptainC - what a great name you have! I'd second the idea of having a commentary + your own music. Both of those were really nice to have.

DP cut the cord and went with DS when he was being checked - that was really quick + felt like they were only away for a few seconds.

My experience (at QC) was that they expect/encourage you to do skin to skin straight away. A MW helped me get DS latched on and I fed him while the doctor stitched me up.

Good luck - I hope it's a really lovely experience

Reading back I had a crap experience last time - noone even asked me if I'd done a birth plan . This time, thanks to all you posts, I will be well prepared. Thanks so much!