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skin-to-skin after ELCS?

13 replies

emeraldgirl1 · 14/01/2013 09:07

Just wondering if I can ask anyone who had an ELCS - how long was it before you managed to get skin-to-skin? I am finding various pieces of info in books that say it's possible right away (?) but a friend tells me it was closer to half an hour for her... Can anyone who has been through the process let me know how it was for them?!

(and in a separate question: was the ELCS scary?!!)

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Sleepysand · 14/01/2013 10:42

Depends on the state of the child. With first (Emergency) it was hours and hours, but with 2, 3 and 4 they were all laid on me while they were stitching me up. Nice thought. That was about 15 years ago.

Sleepysand · 14/01/2013 10:43

PS ELCS was not even a little bit scary, except one time where they whipped the screen down in a rush to get me off. Just so you know, you are not lying there fully dressed with your legs together - which is what I visualised!!! Afterwards I was walking in four hours.

ipswichwitch · 14/01/2013 10:53

we got skin to skin literally as soon as they whipped DS out! I held him while they put me back together, then he got whisked off to SCBU (prem). It does depend on how well the baby is and whether they need any medical intervention.

The CS wasn't at all scary, and I was impressed at how quick it was for me - in at 9am, out by 9.45. It was the prep that took the time - epidural was not easy because I have a condition that involves a degree of vertebral fusion.

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emeraldgirl1 · 14/01/2013 10:53

Thank you sleepysand!

I of course am hoping that the baby won't be whisked away for medical reasons!! It would be lovely to get skin-to-skin as soon as possible, I had been hoping that it could be pretty much immediate but I know it's sensible to be realistic.

It's odd because I had never thought of skin-to-skin being at all important before I was at this stage of pregnancy; thought it was just a precious demand cooked up by mothers for some reason Blush but having now actually read a couple of books I realise how lovely it is to get skin-to-skin if possible. I hadn't really thought about the baby's 'feelings' at the point of birth (inasmuch as they have 'feelings' IYSWIM). I get a bit tearful when I think of her being taken out and then surrounded by strangers, even if it's just for 5 mins!! Crazy I know.

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BonaDea · 14/01/2013 10:54

Good question, OP. I would have thought that if it is ELCS for a reason unconnected with the baby's health it would have been possible straight away - I don't see why not. And, in One Born Every Minute (my sole point of reference for ELCS at this stage!!) they seem to do it straight away routinely.

I would speak to MW about it, make sure it is all over your birth plan and also get your partner onboard that it is what you want so that he can bang the drum on that front for you if you are not able to.

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emeraldgirl1 · 14/01/2013 10:54

Thanks ipswich that's really good to hear :)

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emeraldgirl1 · 14/01/2013 10:56

BonaDea thank you - my brain isn't really in gear and I haven't been thinking about writing down my birth plan!! Also yes, I must impress on DH that this is something I want him to demand on my behalf!! Trouble is I think he'll be a bit gobsmacked/stressed out by the whole thing so I may need to rely on myself...

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Sleepysand · 14/01/2013 11:05

Just also to let you know that for all I back skin to skin, and my 3 ELCS were perfect and lovely experiences, you don't have to feel you have missed out if it doesn't happen.

My oldest was born by Em CS with Apgar scores of 1 at 1 min and 3 at 3 mins - and as a result of being, basically, dead, they had to deal with him. I did not see him at all, he was shipped off to SCBU full of tubes before I had a chance (they had taken my contacts out, the buggers, and I was flat on my back with a spinal block in place - and they weren't really very good about keeping me informed, though they did a brilliant job of saving his life).

When I saw a photo of him about 3 hours after delivery he was in an incubator and then a few hours later I actually saw him, all bundled up in a hat etc with splints and tubes everywhere, and that was when I got to hold him. I didn't see him naked for weeks.

All of that said, he and I had - and have - a brilliant, perfect relationship - he actually is my best friend as well as my son. He had no anxieties, nothing - we bonded immediately and he was a perfect baby, a lovely toddler and despite a few rebellious years got straight A*/As in A levels. He is now a strapping six foot 3 and predicted a first class degree, and I don't know a closer mother and son. So skin to skin is lovely, but not essential - life is more important.

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emeraldgirl1 · 14/01/2013 11:09

sleepysand - wow - you've just made me cry!!

That's a lovely story to hear although it must have been terrifying for you when he was born.

I think my main obsession with skin-to-skin at the moment (and of course you are spot on, LIFE is the important thing here!!) is not so much a bonding thing as just me being very over-emotional about the baby herself being 'scared' or 'lost' if she isn't with me, the only person in the room she will actually 'know' IYSWIM. I do recognise that this is a bit silly and overly-sentimental of me Blush but I think it is hormones...

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BonaDea · 14/01/2013 11:13

emerald - I don't think that sounds silly at all. I feel exactly the same way about it.

Sleepysand · 14/01/2013 11:15

Well, you have just reminded me of another odd thing, and that is that when we went back to the hospital at 6 weeks, for once, DS1 was crying. We saw the paediatrician who had been the first one to deal with him in the Theatre - she had used some special surfactant to clear his lungs within that first three minutes - and she picked him up and he stopped.

I don't think it is silly at all, and I do think a birth plan is a brilliant idea. Mine was all earth mother and anaesthetic free, but it had to be abandoned when it was evident that DS1 was at risk. If you are having ELCS you will not have all that panic, so put it in your birth plan and when you are admitted make sure they know how important it is to you. And the very best of luck to you - I am sure others have said this, but you have no idea what a wonderful experience you are about to have, and how you will never see anything the same way again.

Eskino · 14/01/2013 11:25

I got skin to skin with my ELCS born baby in the recovery room less than 10 minutes after he was born. Tbh I don't know if it really matters, don't let it be the overriding factor. I have 3 children and the first was born when it was the done thing to clean and wrap them and present them to you in a blanket and the second was held by a student midwife while I was stitched back together again in a theatre down the corridor. I have wonderful close relationships with all of them. There's plenty of time when they are new to do skin to skin and if you can breastfeed then that's a good opportunity to get close.

ELCS was the most beautiful birth experience I've had. Very calm, confident and dignified staff who introduced themselves to us in plenty of time, wonderful friendly anaesthetist, low lights and music playing while me and DP talked about welcoming our baby into the world. I'm about to do it again in a week, I'm really looking forward to it.

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emeraldgirl1 · 14/01/2013 15:01

Thank you Bonadea and sleepysand for making me feel less neurotic! :)

Also thanks Eskino - reassuring to hear another story of pretty-much instant skin-to-skin. Good luck with the ELCS next week!

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