GA for c section - have you had one and was baby ok?

[NotSureYesorno]

In two minds about ttc again as I’d need a C section under GA and I’ve heard horror stories about babies needing resuscitation 😞

Can anyone put my mind at rest ? I don’t want to go ahead and then it’s a big problem but equally I’d love another baby

I had an ELCS for a breech baby, the plan was to be awake so all prep work was done whilst awake.
My spinal failed so had GA, my little girl was absolutely fine.
My only advice would be to prepare for the GA in terms of asking for skin to skin with OH, midwife to take photos etc. I don’t really remember much of the first hour of DD’s life, her being weighed, dressed etc, and it makes me sad that neither me or OH were present at her birth but she’s perfect and if I were to have another I’d probably do the same again rather than risk the spinal wearing off.
No pain for me either, and a very quick recovery :)

So I just asked my wife (who is an anaesthetist). ELCS with GA are not usually recommended - but they can be done if there is a really good reason for it. It's something you'd need to discuss with your consultant/anaesthetist to get the full list of risks.

The main issue is that the baby effectively gets a GA too, but they have ways to minimise the effects. They will do everything they can to make sure baby is safe :)

@Eumy

So I just asked my wife (who is an anaesthetist). ELCS with GA are not usually recommended - but they can be done if there is a really good reason for it. It's something you'd need to discuss with your consultant/anaesthetist to get the full list of risks.

The main issue is that the baby effectively gets a GA too, but they have ways to minimise the effects. They will do everything they can to make sure baby is safe :)

Thankyou that’s really helpful. I have a fair bit of thinking to do about this it seems

Yes and baby was fine. It was unplanned but not emergency/cat1.
I also have a spinal condition that makes epidural inadvisable and difficult. Second time it was agreed that v senior anaesthetist would have one attempt at spinal block and they succeeded.
Everything was fine with my first but I woke up a fair bit later, v groggy and was generally a horrible recovery. Second was still unplanned section but being awake was much better.

Emergency c/s under GA at 36 weeks due to placental abruption. Ds needed SCBU for 48 hours as at birth he went into respiratory distress, probably due to prematurity rather than GA. The pain when I woke was horrendous, then they set up a morphine pump for 24 hours which was bliss.

If you haven’t seen an anaesthetist since the second experience it may be worth asking to if you are thinking about having another baby. Even if it wasn’t the same person who looked after you before, they may be able to shed more light on why the spinals weren’t straightforward (ideally if it’s the same hospital by going through the charts for the previous anaesthetics with you) - scoliosis may explain it all, but equally lots of women with scoliosis have uneventful spinals so it may be that there were other factors that could be managed differently. You probably already know that the reason for making spinal/epidural top-up the first line anaesthetic is that in most cases it is safer for mother and baby, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that a GA is unsafe (as all the positive outcomes up-stream suggest). Most hospitals run obstetric anaesthetic clinics and that maybe somewhere sensible to try and see someone as they’ll be able to consider your general health/anything else that may contribute to the balance of risk & benefit for you and should be able to discuss a sensible plan before the last minute. Hope that helps a bit. (DOI:anaesthetist)

Bear in mind that the vast majority of GA sections are true emergency sections of already compromised babies, so of course they have increased risk of coming out flat. A non compromised baby who's just got a slug of GA via the placenta is much easier to stabilise, even if they may need some help with breathing in the first few minutes.

My first was born under GA and did require resuscitation. However, it was an emergency section, 16 days late, after an extremely prolonged induced labour. 20 years later they are at uni, thriving, and show no ill effects whatsoever.

Spongeboob
I never saw either of my two until they were two days old, and had the same thoughts as your mother!. I first saw them in the arms of a stranger, all wrapped up clean washed and tidy, as if they had been taken from a shelf in a shop.

I had a crash emergency CS under GA with my first. He became distressed during labour so I was whisked in and out under GA. he did need resuscitating at birth but that is likely due to the fetal distress. However, he was fine after a couple of minutes and fine ever since.

The worst part for me was when I woke up I was still so drowsy and had shakes for ages. My baby was fully dressed in my husbands arms. I found it extremely difficult and bonding wasn't right. I ended up with post natal depression.

My second and third I had ELCS u def combined spinal/epidural. Births were much more relaxed and pleasant. Got to hold babies straight away, no bonding issues etc. However I did have fainting episodes when the spinals started working which was very scary. They have since discovered that I have a spinal issue called Chiari malformation.

I am now pregnant with my final baby and really worried about the fainting issue with the spinal. I am under consultant care and am waiting for an appointment with the anaesthetists to discuss the options.

@Damnyoureyes

Yes I did. Emergency though apparently so GA was fast and not expected at all. No idea about baby when pulled out, no one ever told me. There was pre eclampsia and IUGR so possibly some resuscitation involved. Teeny tiny 5lb weight too. just sleepy following GA for about a day, low blood sugar and not feeding well. Picked up quickly though.

Anyway you were asking about baby being ok.
Mine is nearly 6ft tall, head permanently stuck in the fridge and as right as rain!

Mine was a bit like this and he's a strapping lad now.

@Ems2021

I had a crash emergency CS under GA with my first. He became distressed during labour so I was whisked in and out under GA. he did need resuscitating at birth but that is likely due to the fetal distress. However, he was fine after a couple of minutes and fine ever since.

The worst part for me was when I woke up I was still so drowsy and had shakes for ages. My baby was fully dressed in my husbands arms. I found it extremely difficult and bonding wasn't right. I ended up with post natal depression.

My second and third I had ELCS u def combined spinal/epidural. Births were much more relaxed and pleasant. Got to hold babies straight away, no bonding issues etc. However I did have fainting episodes when the spinals started working which was very scary. They have since discovered that I have a spinal issue called Chiari malformation.

I am now pregnant with my final baby and really worried about the fainting issue with the spinal. I am under consultant care and am waiting for an appointment with the anaesthetists to discuss the options.

Oh I had fainting too … one had to be done with me lying on my side in the end as I’d fainted on the previous attempt so a diff dr came in and did it

I found out I have scoliosis after 2 hours of trying for a spinal anaesthetic (eventually used a ultrasound to find the right place to go!). I had a c-section for my second baby and discussed the issue with the consultant so it was agreed a senior anaesthetist would administer the spinal under ultrasound again. I'm now pregnant with my third and have a consultant appointment in a few weeks so imagining it would be the same again. I did find my second spinal a bit anxiety inducing after all the palaver with my first experience but it was completely fine and done in 15 minutes. I would definitely consider speaking to a consultant/anaesthetist about this as they can advise you what would be best for you and baby.

I had a spinal with Ds initially, but I panicked as I thought I could still feel my tummy so they gave me a GA. He was 100% healthy.