Not all bad. (Caesarean Section)

Member Name: loopylis

Product:	Caesarean Section
Date:	10/11/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Safe delivery of baby, many methods of pain relief and stitching

Disadvantages: Its not natural birth

Ok,Im no health professional, but I have had three children. And all three children have been born by caesarean section. Emergancy ones at that!

Now,I was just 17 when I fell pregnant with my first. I had just left a temp job, and after that struggled to get work because of my pregnancy,and the fact I spent 7 months of it with bad morning sickness - that lasted all day! So, I was left alone a lot at my mother in laws house where we lived while everyone else was at work, with nothing but the Sky remote for company. Which then led to me spending a lot of the day watching baby programs,that followed pregnant women right through to the delivery room. Now, some of these can be quite educational, but I would highly suggest watching these shows when NOT pregnant!! I scared myself something rotten watching some of them, and was so stubbornly against a section, that when I was in labour and struggling a lot, when the doctors started talking about sections I really freaked out.

Now, of course all I can write about here are my own experiances. I have spent a lot of time on parenting forums in the last few years, and have read lots of different stories, and can honestly say that no two sections are the same.

With my first, I was 10 days overdue.I was in labour for 26 hours,and only progressed to 2 centimetres dilated. Then, babys head got stuck, due to my pelvis being too small, so theatre was the only option.
I was horrified at the thought of an epidural, but, my aneasthatist was brilliant. He calmed me down, and with the support of my partner and my mum, I got through it, and can honestly say I didnt feel much more than a tingle. I had to lean forward over the side of me bed, getting my head as far down as I could - no easy feat with a ginaourmous baby bump in the way! Then, in between contractions, the epidural was done.
I was then wheeled down to theatre. I remember being in the corridor waiting for them to take me through. I was bawling my eyes out. I was scared for bubs, I was scared for me. The aneasthatist told me jokes to distract me, and assured me he would look after me. The ice cube test was done, which basicallyentails rubbing an ice cube up your bump and chest until they reach a certain height. Once you can no longer feel the ice cube, the epidural has worked and your ready to go.

Being in theatre was a bit of a blur. I remember the screen being put up, the bright lights above me, the hustle and bustle of so many people, surgeons, midwives, nurses...
After a while, I asked how long before they started.I was adamant in my head that the epidural wouldnt work and I would be in agony feeling everything. To my surprise, there were a few chuckles and I was told they were already cutting. I couldnt feel a thing!
After a minute or so, I felt a tugging feeling. Now, I have heard so many times people say it feels like they are washing up in your tummy. It really does! Its a very strange sensation, you can feel the jiggling about, but its almost like an out of body experiance, because you cant actually feel it.
I remember feeling that way fora few minutes, then I heard a nurse exclaim'babys here!' which was then promptly followed by the sound all new mothers long to hear - my newborn baby shrieking. I have to say it is a beautiful noise! I then cried, I was so relieved! I was then distracted, everything was still hidden behind a big green screen, and I was shouting questions - is she definately a girl, is she ok, how much does she weigh?
Then there she was, swaddled in a little white blanket. Because I was numb, the nurses propped her next to me while they held her. That feeling of seeing my beautiful daughter for the first time completely overwhelmed me. I forgot I was laid on an operating table with a big hole in my belly!
After a few minutes, they took her away, she was taken back to delivery suite to meet her daddy and my mum. They then stitched my belly up, using dissolvable stitches. Back then, once baby had been delivered she was taken back while mum was stitched up, and sent to recovery ward for an hour.
I will never forget - and mainly because I also did it in theatre with my next 2 deliveries! - when the effects of the drugs hit me, and I was sick. I still feel bad now, because I had no idea it was coming and managed to get the poor nurse stood to my side. Luckily, with the next 2 I was prepared so managed to give them warning!
My time on the recovery ward was difficult, I just wanted my baby with me, but I was also very groggy. Eventually they sorted me out and I was taken back down to the ward.
I spent five days in hospital with my first. Recovery is slow, you have to be careful and remember you have had major surgery. The epidural wears off after about 24 hours, its very surreal having the feeling creeping back through your body. I was given regular pain meds, which I was grateful for because I did feel sore. Mobility is difficult, sitting up in bed was quite a task for the first 30 hours or so, there is a ladder type thing at the bottom of the beds which helps you to pull yourself up with.
When I finally got out of bed and walking, I could only manage a slow shuffle at first, building up to a slow walk.
For a bit of TMI, going to the toilet can be quite sore, but until you can do that the hospital wont consider letting you home.

It wasnt until we got home that I got a look at my wound. It wasnt as bad as I thought, not as long, probably around 6 inches, which to me was tiny, considering my 9lb 3oz baby had just come through there! But the stitching was very neat, and after a few weeks it just dissolved and left me with a neat scar. It took me around 6 weeks of being very careful - no heavy lifting, no over doing it - to feel like I was back to normal, although you do have to still take it easy for longer because you have to remain careful of the internal stitches.

I was going to write about all 3 of my sections, until I realised how much I have already written, so what I will do is write about how a caesarean is done, and the methods of pain relief and stitching I have had.

As I have said already, for my first I had an epidural. This goes through a catheter into a small space in the back, and offers no pain, but you also lose the sensation (explaning the numbness you feel)
With my second and third, I had a spinal block. This is different because there is no catheter, the injection goes straight into your spinal fluid. It works quicker, but it doesnt last as long, which ultimately is a bonous as you are not bed ridden for as long as with an epidural.

A caesarean section is done, by an incision being made, just above the pubic bone. This incision goes through your lower abdomen and uterus,allowing baby to be delivered. Once baby and the placenta are safely delivered, everything is then stitched back up.

When it comes to stitching up, I have had three different methods. The first is as above. The dissolvable stitches. These were comfortable, didnt make movement too restricting, and after a few weeks, dissolved themselves. The only propblem I had, is a knot at the end didnt dissolve, but I actually managed to pull that out myself quite easily.
The second was staples. Now, these were the worst I have had. They made movement uncomfortable, everything felt too tight and they were uncomfortable. And yes, they did indeed look exactly like giant staples. For these to be removed, the midwife came to my house a few weeks after, with a petri dish and some metal contraption that bent the staples and allowed her to pull them out. Before my last section, I did enquire about them as I really didnt want them again, and was happy to be informed the hospital no longer used them.
My third, was a running stitch. This was literally just a long stitch through my scar, secured on the end by a bead. This for me was almost as comfortable as the dissolvables, apart from the fact that the removal was a little less uncomfortable. The midwife just snipped the end with the bead off and pulled it out. Mine needed a short tug as it got caught near the middle, which is what made it uncomfortable to be removed.

All in all, my caesarean section experiances have been as good as having surgey can be. All the worry I caused myself was for nothing. In fact, so much so, we may one day in the future consider going through it all again! Knowing after my second section that natural childbirth would be just about impossible also helped us perpare for more in the future, so we always know roughly what to expect. Just maybe if there ever is another baby, we could try for a calmer elective section rather than the hustle of another emergancy, although that depends on this baby being unlike my youngest who decided she was coming 12 days early - 8 days before my scheduled elective!!

Summary: Its may not be natural, but if it gets baby out safely....