Caesarean section experiences

Greenqueen_2

My experience was a long time ago now. Arrive at hospital on Sunday afternoon to "relax" and sort paperwork, meet nursing team etc. (op scheduled for Monday morning).
Surgeon comes round to chat and casually says "we`ll take you down to theatre in 10 minutes -I`ve a round of golf booked for tomorrow"!
All hell breaks lose, hubby panicks and runs out to phone parents. Heavy handed nurse comes in to shave me and put in catheter. Go down to theatre where anaesthetist is waiting. "There is no time to do spinal so you must have general".
Wake up an agony and no sign of any family or baby. Eventually nurse comes round and gives me an injection of pethidine and says baby is in special care unit. Does not know why or even the gender but will find out for me. {If she ever did then she forgot to come tell me}
About an hour later hubby appears and says we have a daughter, mutters something about breathing problems. No medical staff tell me anything about baby. Nobody can help me out of bed or bring baby to me so I don`t see her for 4 days. After a week I am discharged from hospital- daughter stayed in incubator for a bit longer. Failed to breast feed since she got used to bottles and bonding took a while. Post natal depression was almost inevitable.

Next pregnancy I was told that since I`d already had a section there was no option of having a Vag Del. Plus there was a policy of only doing a maximum of 2 sections, so in other words "don`t get pregnant again-it`s too dangerous"

skintchick

OP how many weeks are you? My DD was breech till 37 weeks then she turned head down. I did use some techniques from this website http://www.spinningbabies.com/ to help her, but my main point is that babies do turn around late in the day sometimes so you might not have a breech baby when it is time to deliver!

This is also interesting, related to birth method, saw it today on Facebook http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/02/11/babies-gut-bacteria-birth.html although not especially relevant to your question, it just sprang to mind cos I saw it today.

anmarj

I had my first baby six weeks ago and had a planned c section, due to possible blood condition it was not sure if it would go ahead until the blood came back but it did, I had a spinal. It was the best thing for me as we discovered during op that my plancenta had wrapped it self around my womb and the consultant had a problem removing it. That was the only real problem. Our hospital policy is 2 nights for a c section, the first night they took care of my child, but it was great (new year's eve!) my husband had the first skin to skin contact and then I got it in the recovery it has not affected me or my child, in fact when it comes to it, he will happliy sleep on me (even spent one night like it). I had to wear the stockings for 10 days and got the injections for the blood thinning (bit if a laugh as I am suppose to have a problem with blood clotting;) and I get blood thining injections!) They gave help regarding breast feeding but they cannot give you the one to one that may really help. They also gave baby first bath (but they do that for all) Would I do it again - yes

fluffnutter

I would have really struggled to go to a wedding when my baby was just two weeks old. But not because I'd had a section; rather because I was so absolutely knackered I could literally fall asleep standing up

pigpen

fluffnutter wrote: »

I would have really struggled to go to a wedding when my baby was just two weeks old. But not because I'd had a section; rather because I was so absolutely knackered I could literally fall asleep standing up

Someone who went to OH's sisters wedding had a baby the Tuesday and went to the wedding on the Saturday!!

fluffnutter

pigpen wrote: »

Someone who went to OH's sisters wedding had a baby the Tuesday and went to the wedding on the Saturday!!

Christ, I was just starting the baby blues so couldn't stop crying, had tits like rocks and hadn't slept for a week at that point

helen4891

Hi,
I've been reading this daily and also have to chose if I'm having a c section or natural birth, as son had severe shoulder dysteria, has ne one else been through this and which way did you give birth next time?

skintchick

helen4891 wrote: »

Hi,
I've been reading this daily and also have to chose if I'm having a c section or natural birth, as son had severe shoulder dysteria, has ne one else been through this and which way did you give birth next time?

Google Gaskin manoeuvre (or maneuver, American spelling) that's a way to help birth naturally with shoulder dystocia. HTH

Melon78

I had my 3rd child by elective c section 5 years ago. The first 2 had been problem free (very quick with the 2nd!) vaginal deliveries. I had to have a section with the 3rd as she was measuring big for dates and I was a week overdue (they refused induction as she was big - despite me delivering my 2nd son with no pain relief - 1 hour 40 mins from start to finish and he was 10lb 3oz!) as it was she was 10lb 6oz (with a large head that was well and truly wedged - she's still got a slightly squashed ear now )

I won't lie, I did find it much harder than the other 2. Spinal was fine, during the op I didn't feel too great but as soon as I told the anaesthetist he adjusted something which helped. I had her lunchtime on the Friday and went home Sunday morning (I had to fight for this as they were concerned I wouldn't get much rest with 3 little ones DS1 was 4years 9 months and DS2 was 3 weeks short of 3).

The time in hospital was horrible, I couldn't do anything (which was a real shock ino comparison to having the other two). The morphine made me very very sick (not nice when you can't move to grab a bowl and you end up covered head to toe in leek & potato soup. I was forced to have a shower Saturday morning despite feeling very lightheaded (hadn't eten much and what I had eaten i'd thrown up) so unsurprisingly I collapsed in the shower.

It was very frustrating having to rely on people so much the first couple of weeks, but on the plus side it did give me the perfect excuse to sit on the sofa cuddling my baby all day also DH got up to see to her every night initially as I took too long getting up!

Good luck!

DevilsAdvocate1

I had my third baby by elective CS as he was breech. My first two were natural deliveries.

For some reason, I became very, very cold when entering the theatre and started shaking. Everyone assumed I was nervous and would not listen to me telling them that I was cold. Then a midwife arrived who had looked after me postnatally with my first two children. She had recognised my name and had requested to be my midwife in the operation. She listened to me and put the warm towel that had been on the radiator for the baby, around my shoulders. I quickly warmed up and stopped shaking.

It took them ages to get the spinal block in. After half an hour I was told that they would try once more and if they could not get it in I would have to have a general. Apparently my spinal gap is much smaller than normal. My husband doesn't like needles and fainted, so he had to be taken out. Luckily, he came back in for the birth.

During the operation I got the most wonderful, floaty feeling. It was really the best feeling that I've ever had. I felt that I was floating out of my body. My husband realised that something was wrong and got the attention of the aneathetist who altered something and I came back to my body.

After the birth my son was delivered onto me. However, he rolled over onto my face and I had trouble breathing. No one noticed. Not sure why, but I felt that I couldn't talk - perhaps because of the way he was over my mouth. After a couple of minutes he was lifted off me and taken away to be checked.

As I got to recovery, I started shaking again and felt very, very cold. My temperature was taken and it was very low. A pink blanket was placed over me and this was filled up with warm air. Because I was shaking, I did not get to hold my son.

Three hours later, and I finally held my son properly. Unfortunately, this was just at the time when I was due to go onto the ward, so he was taken from me again and placed into a cot. My husband was encouraged to leave as it was nearly midnight.

Despite ringing the midwives and repeatedly asking for them to pass my son to me, no one would. They kept telling me to leave him alone as he was sleeping. When I finally got to hold him the next day, a good 18 hours after his birth, he did not feel like mine. I felt like I was holding someone else's baby. This feeling lasted for several months - he is 8 and feels like mine now!

He was very, very sleepy. Once I finally got to hold him, I did skin to skin, but it still took around another 24 hours for him to have his first breastfeed, so he was nearly 2 days old. His mouth was starting to look dry and the midwives were starting to suggest formula.

I had been up all night with my son and had had little sleep for 48 hours. I finally fell asleep at round 6am. An auxillary came in at 7am and told me off for being lazy. She rearranged all my stuff, putting my pads on the bottom shelf when I could not bend down. I had everything placed at the right height so I could pick things up without having to bend or stretch.

DS3 was born on Friday teatime and it was Sunday afternoon when I went home. I had my older children in bed with me from the time they came home. However, when I fed DS3 lying down in bed, he rolled under my armpit and it was sheer willpower that I managed to roll away from him, or he would have suffocated. I did not lie next to him for several months.

The worst bit about the section was sitting up and climbing stairs. Each day got better, but it was a slow process. I still have a numb patch and DS3 will be 8 soon. I also have a large overhang (term used by the midwife). Basically, I still look around 6 months pregnant.

But the best thing about the section was that I have my gorgeous son. Unfortunatley, we both caught an infection in hospital and he was on antibiotics for the first 4 weeks of his life. His teeth came through looking brown and rotten. The dentist said it was a result of the antibiotics. He has some second teeth now that they are all fine.

Good luck and congratulations.