How did you make your c-section 'special'??

[QueenofVenus]

...or what plans do you have to make it special??? Im due my 4th child in around 6/7 weeks will be by c-section as my prev 3 have been, i never made any particular special arrangements with the other 3, and afterwards heard all kinds of lovely stories of how people made their section deliveries better by asking to have the screen dropped and their baby delivered straight onto their chest etc etc. What can i reasonably request that will make this birth a little more like a special delivery, and alot less like a 'lump removal'??

Get a tummy tuck at the same time? The ob-gynae at my second one joked that she would do one, as she was tugging about in there - but alas didn't

Oh - the BABY??? well sur le continent believe it or not the baby is shown to you then given straight to hubby to go next door and learn how to wash (with VBs too) whilst they stitch/afterbirth/whatever you - but the chest thing sounds nice. tbh I'm just delighted all is fine and there is a lovely baby.

QOV, we had our own music playing. And DS was put straight onto chest. Twas lovely I tell you!

I dunno. I think they put something in my drip to make me trip afterwards though so that was pretty special.

When I had mine that annoying Terry Wogan was on the radio which traumatised me further and the surgeon was chatting away to the nurses about his ingrowing toenail. About half way through he started whittering on about massive polyps and I remember shouting "what the hell do you mean i've got massive polyps?! and what the fucking hell is a polyp?". I never got an answer to my question

The only thing we did was ask that DH should tell me if the baby was a boy or a girl (as we had not found out already). The anaesthetist joked with me "I know what you have!!" - he was lovely and put me very much at ease. DH was almost incoherent but managed to tell me it was a girl.

As MsHighwater suggests - ask the medics to let you find out for yourself the sex of the baby. For my CS the surgeon delivered our baby and raised him high enough over the slightly lowered screen for me and DH to see for ourselves that we had DS2. I did think about asking for our own music to be played - but in the end I didn't, and have no regrets on that front - it was so exciting it didn't matter what was playing in the background.

DH to announce the sex - if you left it as a suprise!
DH to cut the cord; atleast the bit nearer the DC.
DH presents the DC to you if they take it to the heat lamp thingy.
Music playing - we had Keen!
Compress of Clary Sage the whole theatre reeked! Suprised they put up with that but I guess it was a minor issue compared to what else was going on!

There's a book called "your body your baby your birth" by a midwife who pioneered a method of making c-section as "natural" as possible. check it out. the author's name is jenny smith.

With my elective they lifted her high so DH was the person who said the sex, they handed her straight to DH (in a towel maybe?). They said he could put her on my chest but I said no thanks as realised that theory was better than practice and that it would be a bit tricky to hold her!

They also offered DH to cut the cord, and he was the one who carried her out to be cleaned up, and he got her dressed and brought her back and they sat with me while I was stitched etc. The room where she was cleaned and dressed was open to the theatre, so I could see him gently waving her little arms around to get her vest on

So these things are all possible on NHS. Thing is i suspect a lot of it depends on the midwife and surgical team. The midwife doesn't have much "say" in theatre, it's all down to the surgeon anaesthetist etc. So you can tell the midwife etc what you want but if that isn't the way the surgeon does it then you won't have much joy. I suspect most of tem are fairly nice though!

I was also going to say the baby at the end makes it special! For me, i find the section process really interesting so don't worry too much about the other stuff. How often do you get to see a real operation happening in real life and it's you!

thats true ISNT!! and thanks for telling me your experiences to be honest, im really looking forward to just meeting my baby, i 'know' she's a she, and had it confirmed at the scan - altho i do know they can be wrong! And i'll hopefully be having my mum and my sister there! I was never too bothered by having my own music on as i barely even acknowledge it anyway, what with there being so much else going on, so im not too bothered by that this time either. I did request last time that when dd was dried and had a nappy put on that she be layed skin to skin under my gown as we were wheeled back to the ward - which was lovely, she squirmed and curled up and went to sleep will have to request that again! But i did hear of one lady that had her screen dropped so she could see the surgeon take the baby out REALLY not sure how id feel about that, must be pretty hard to see your own 'bits and bobs' iyswim?? hmmmm im going to google some stories i think too.....

Good luck with it all queenofvenus i am sure you will have a wonderul birth

My DH was the first to hold all of our babies, all have been sections, the last two elective. Having our own blankets, CD was lovely, we videod it which is great as I found I didn't really take much in when I was there. I had skin to skin with mine and he was in a blanket only and smelled divine.

Out of interest have you got a senior registrar or someone doing your fourth? I did, knife to skin to baby out was under a minute.