Planned Section Births

[Steppingstoneselcmw]

Hi everyone,
I’m an NHS midwife who works specifically with people having planned / elective C-section births.

Over the years I’ve noticed that although the decision for a planned section is made either by patient or doctor, many still feel quite unsupported, especially when it comes to:

What actually happens on the day (the real step-by-step)
Birth preferences during a C-section (yes, these matter too)
Emotional preparation and expectations
What recovery realistically looks like
Wound care and post-op comfort
Feeling like the birth was something that “happened to you” rather than something you were actively part of.

These are all discussions I generally have in practice, but I continually feel there is either not enough antenatal education around planned C-sections, or people are simply not fully prepared for what may happen both practically and emotionally.

I’d really like to hear people’s experiences only if you feel comfortable sharing! If you have had or are planning a section birth

• Did you feel prepared for your planned section?
• What information were you given vs what you actually need/needed?
• Is/Was there anything you wish you had known earlier?
• What could have made you feel more informed, calm or in control?

I’ve been a midwife for 15+ years, with at least 10 of those spent supporting planned caesarean births.

I’m considering setting up a more structured way of offering preparation and follow-up support, because it feels like a genuine gap in care but before I move forward, I’d really like to understand parents’ lived experiences.

Thank you to anyone willing to share even a few lines would be really helpful.

We had covered C sections in NCT. I also was invited to join a briefing call by the hospital and was called briefly by a midwife. The staff on the day talked through everything (least so the surgeons but the midwife and anaesthesit. My section was planned because of unstable lie + my age otherwise Id have been tempted to wait.

My baby's APGAR score didnt allow for DP or me immediately holding him (it would have been DP as i was being sick).

I wish i had known that forceps was a possibility even during a section (or do i? Would it have helped?)

I wish i had had more support to try breastfeed in the first 24 hours - DC didnt latch properly

Did I feel prepared? I did. But I don’t think anyone can really prepare you for the reality.
I was given a lot of info. Tbh if I’d been told that it would feel quite as brutal as it did that would have scared me more. I was shocked by just how physical it was and how much I could feel- despite no pain. It was visceral and intense and distressing.
I felt well looked after and cared for and tbh don’t think anything would have softened the reality of having my body sliced open and my child forcibly removed though- it wasn’t nice and I don’t think it could have been.

I second that request for more BF support. I knew what I wanted to do as I’d BF before with amazing support but I was physically unable to do it due to my incapability following CSection and felt the staff could have done more to help guide and support me in the short while I was a patient (24 hours)
it would have been far too easy to allow a shallow or poor latch and have my nipples shredded by day 2 had I not already known from previous babies what to look out for.

Planned C sections - just told by private consultant to turn up on the day and that's all. I didn't give it a second thought and all went well. A stress free experience each time.

I had a very thorough pre-op with a specialist midwife (mine was a long-planned c-section due to previous birth trauma) and the thing I remember the most was she said: when it feels as though someone’s doing the washing up in your stomach it’ll be about 30 seconds till you meet your baby. And it was. Amazing