Cesarean Birth Support Thread 6 (February 2004) - Page 4

[its_our_family]

How did it happen??

I'm still al ittle confused about that too. I had her examine me BEFORE the c/b because I thought he had flipped breech. Well, if he had he had flipped back, which wouldn't surprise me at all. Anyhow, she said that she could feel a ton of fluid so he was definetely not engaged. His head was still really high.

She said it would take about 15 minutes to have him out once they started. Well, 30 minutes later they are still making their way through my scar tissue. She was taking her time and being very careful. A friend of mine's daughter had her bladder cut in half a couple months ago during her c/b and I asked my ob to not do it to me! I guess she took me seriously cause she took her time.

They told me later that there was no fluid around his head and even though she was going slow and being careful she still cut him. It is pretty superficial and will probably scar some but it isn't that big of a deal. I'm just glad it wasn't worse!

[Megs Mom]

Originally posted by Monkey
how long is your inscion? mine is 5 inch's is yours that long???

That's about how long mine is as well.

As far as how quickly I was up, I think it was between 12 and 24 hours. As soon as they took the cath out. I was very eager to recover quickly and everything I had read said that walking early and often was key, so I did. And I recovered very quickly! I also did a bunch (early and often, starting in recovery) of the c-recovery exercises Elizabeth Noble suggests in Having Twins.

[Megs Mom]

Originally posted by KKmama
Susu, I think the advantage of getting up more quickly is that you recover more quickly (one thing it helps is to get your digestion moving, too, and we all remember that all-important BM that you have to produce before leaving the hospital).

My main motive, other than wanting a quick recovery, was FOOD! I was on clear liquids until I passed gas, and then on a bland diet until I had a BM, then on a general diet. And I was there on CHRISTMAS! I do think the moving around helped everything move along in that direction so I could EAT sooner!

[Megs Mom]

Originally posted by OnTheFence
This way no drugs went to my head.

Another really important point, I think, which I learned from Kim! I said repeatedly that I wouldn't take anything which would make me tired or loopy and I think it really helped me focus on my physical recovery efforts.

[Megs Mom]

Originally posted by kimberlylibby
Hi! I'm Kimberly

Welcome!

[gossamer]

Well, I had a classical incision so my incision scar is 10.5 inches long. Compared to y'all, that sounds horrible. I was not up and walking around until the third day when they moved me to recovery, mostly because of my HELLP syndrome. When i came out of surgery, they were still not sure I would survive the next 24 hours.
Gossamer

[its_our_family]

In regards to loopy drugs....

I described how I felt to the anesthesiologist after my c/b with ds and he made sure that I got just the basic "stuff" in my epi and after. I had no itching this time or drowsiness. My recovery was so much better this time and largely due to that!

A funny story...... Sunday night my dh said he had a headache but we were out of advil. I had my "big" ibuprofen from the surgery that I wasn't taking anymore and told dh where they were at. Well, I met up with him about 3 hours later at church for youth group. Anyway, he said, "Man, those are strong pills!" I just looked at him...he had just taken a big dose of advil why was it so weird for him? He had taken the PERCOCET!! Hehehe... that';l teach him to read and ask questions!

[hasnoptnce]

I was wondering how difficult it will be to breastfeed after a spinal? My first C-section was with general anesthesia, (it was an emergency) This one is planned for March 8th. I met with an anesthesiologist today who said I would be numb from the chest down with the spinal. I metabolize things very slowly-even novacaine takes forever to wear off with me, so I am wondering how I am going to hold and nurse her if I am still numb? How long does it usually take for the spinal to wear off?

[OnTheFence]

Originally posted by hasnoptnce
I was wondering how difficult it will be to breastfeed after a spinal? My first C-section was with general anesthesia, (it was an emergency) This one is planned for March 8th. I met with an anesthesiologist today who said I would be numb from the chest down with the spinal. I metabolize things very slowly-even novacaine takes forever to wear off with me, so I am wondering how I am going to hold and nurse her if I am still numb? How long does it usually take for the spinal to wear off?

You can breastfeed immediately after a spinal. I did and I didnt even know it with my first baby. In fact my husband held my baby and the lactation consultant held my breast. I dont even remember it.
Spinals wear off faster than epidurals. With my epidural, I actually was sitting up in the bed with my baby 15 minutes after the surgery. Have you consider an epidural vs the spinal?

[Peppermint]

I had spinals all 3 times, and I thought that the after meds had something to do with the rough start Bfing my first 2 (not the spinal, but the pain meds I took when it wore off), this time, all the same meds, but a super-strong sucker baby, who was determined, brought my milk in in under 48 hours , and we haven't had any problems nursing this time

So, in answer to your question, I don't feel the spinal interferred with BFing at all. I agree with OTF- really research the spinal vs. epidural- spinals worked great for me- but OTF and others have had very bad experiences with them.

[Henry's_Mamma]

Busy board these last couple of days!!!

Welcome to all new people!

Just some comments on my epi. and recovery ...

I have to say, my epi. was great, and if I have to have a c/b again, I will have another one. I got mine while in labor, and since I was so miserable (back labor, vomiting, etc.), I could've kissed the anesthesiologist. The whole idea of one scared the heck out of me, but it was really a blessing when I got one. They added some more drugs to the epi. before the surgery, and then again after the surgery (duramorph? -- made my nose itchy). Then they removed the epi. cath. I could move my legs the whole time I had the epi., but just didn't feel pain (lots of pressure, though, but during the surgery, it was no worse than the pressure I felt while pushing). I had no mind-altering drugs given to me orally or via IV.

I had ds at 8:08pm, and was out of bed around 10:00am the next morning (after BEGGING for breakfast -- due to a long labor before the c/b, I hadn't eaten in about 40 hours). I second the recommendaetion for having a student nurse around. She rocked!!! It was like having my own private nurse for a day!

I was initially a little wobbly, but that got better each time I got up. They offered me Percocet, but I only took the heavy duty ibuprofen and that was enough for my pain (I'm either insane or have a high threshold for pain). I think that moving around really helped me heal faster and get out of pain faster. My hosp. roommate rarely got out of bed, and she was still pretty miserable when she left the hosp. I stopped taking pain meds. regularly within a few days of being home from the hosp.

Sometimes when I think about my c/b and recovery and realize how relatively uncomplicated they were, I wonder why I wouldn't do it again. The known devil vs. the unknown devil, I guess. But a bigger part of me really wants to know what its like to give birth the "usual" way, kwim? I just hope there are still providers in my area offering VBAC as a birthing option when I'm ready for my next child. There are fewer and fewer such providers around here due to rising med. mal. ins. premiums, so I may not have a birthing choice in a few years.

[nathansmom]

Hi everyone. Just thought I'd share my story with you all.

I had a cs on 2/06/03. It was an emergency cs as I was crashing and they had no heartbeat on my baby. I had an epidural so I was awake. Nathan was born less then 5 minutes after entering the or. I felt no pain during the cs. Nathan was rushed to NICU and I was sent to my room. About 2 hours after he was born they brought him to me to see but they took him back to NICU after 5 minutes. My cs was at 7:50 am and by 11:30 am I was out of the bed (with help). I finally was able to go to the NICU later that night. I went home on the 9th and Nathan came home on the 11th.

I feel that my recovery was easy but I wonder if it was because I had to walk to the NICU to see my baby. The nurses couldn't keep me in my bed. My doctor allowed me to eat just hours after my cs, in fact he went and got me my favorite meal. I guess you can say I have no hard feelings about my cs.

We are looking towards defrosting our frozen embryos in the next month or two. I've talked it over with the doctor and we both feel that a repeat cs is in order for me.

Going into labor my biggest fear was a cs and it turned out not to be as bad as I thought.

[UD_CHICK]

Last night I was about to post that I was headed to L&D after 4 hours of 5-7 minute contractions. But, alas, after a bath and laying down for a couple of hours they petered out.

I guess I'm not too disappointed, I have some days to get into the right mindset for VBAC/CB (whatever the fates may bring).

I'm down to one pair of maternity pants and one pair of DH's sweat pants that fit. I can't go much longer (scheduled CB in 8 days) or I'll have to walk around naked! LOL!

Hope everyone is doing well.

[witchbaby]

hullo! i've only been posting sporadically lately because of a baby WHO WILL NOT TAKE NAPS!!! but that's not the point...
on december 20, 2003, i had an unplanned emergency c-section. i'd been induced that morning with cytotec after weeks of prodromal labor and several instances of a non-reactive nst. i started having contractions within a couple hours and they intensified as the day wore on. when we were checked 4 hours after the first cytotec application, i had not dilated at all and the baby's heartrate was non-reactive. after a long time on efm trying to get the baby's heartrate to accelerate, i was given another dose and instructed to walk and walk and walk. at 7:30, i'd only dilated another half cm to 3cm. the contractions were getting harder and closer together, some of them not even receeding before the next began. i was hooked up to the efm again to track my contractions and the baby's heartrate. at one point, the monitor lost her heartbeat then picked up at 90, then 80. i adjusted the sensor (i'd gotten to be rather expert at the whole thing with preterm labor and then numerous false alarms over the last couple months). moments later, my nurse came in to check the monitor and we told her it had lost the baby's heartbeat for a second. she told us those low numbers WERE the heartbeat. we were terrified because we KNEW that was way too low.
a doctor we'd never seen entered the room a couple minutes later; we'd been waiting for our midwife for about a half-hour. he told us he'd been looking at the strip from the nurses' station and was worried because, after contractions, instead of bouncing above her regular heartrate for 15 seconds, then evening out again, it was dipping and then, usually, recovering. but her heartrate was getting dangerously low. she wasn't recovering well from the contractions and, now, they were getting so close, she didn't have time to recover at all. if i had been 7 or 8 cm, they would let me go a liitle longer, but, since i was only 3 cm, it was too dangerous. he said she could only withstand an hour or 2 more. he had met w/my midwife in the hall and they'd decided on a c-section.
i had a spinal of duromorph and felt nothing but a little tugging and pressure. the baby was out in about 7 minutes. it took about another half-hour to repair me.
i was up the next morning and released from the hospital the following afternoon. i felt fine in a couple days. the doc and midwife were very impressed with my recovery and my midwife swaid i'm an excellant canidate for a vbac.
i know i read it somewhere, but does anyone know how long you should wait after a c-section to get pregnant again? we're talking about "not preventing but not trying" after dd is a year old. is that safe?

[robugmum]

I've heard something about trying to ensure that your body has at least 1 full year between delivering and conceiving (regardless of whether you have a vaginal or a ceasarean birth), but I can't quote a source or anything. I got pg with dd when ds was around 17 months. I was able to have a VBAC with no problems with my scar. BTW I took lots of vitamin E while I was pg and I swear it helped to strengthen my incision site both inside and out. My scar went from being quite ropy and raised to almost invisible over the course of my pregnancy. I still got stretch marks though! LOL

[UD_CHICK]

Witchbaby-

I conceived this time around when dd was 11 months - we had an unplanned CB with her.

This pregnancy has been completely different, no PTL, no problems. I've already made it 2 weeks past when I had my daughter (35.5 wks). In many respects, this is now like a first pregnancy for me - I've never been here before!

Consult with your midwife/doctor about when they think it's safe to conceive again. I remember my last OB told me the incidence of PTL and early delivery increased significantly if the woman conceived w/n 6 months of giving birth.


Good Luck!

[KKmama]

Robugsmom... there have been several studies which indicate that if you have at least 24 months from *birth* to *birth* (so that can include 9 months of pg), you're in better shape for a VBAC (or rather, your scars are ).

I've been reading a bunch of research abstracts at http://www.worldserver.com/turk/birthing/rrvbac.html... I know there are at least 3 studies cited there.

UD_CHICK... good luck on the waiting game. I know how *that* goes. I can't wait to get out of maternity clothes, myself (although getting out of them by outgrowing them is not my first choice! ).

[UD_CHICK]

Just got back from the OB - almost 50% effaced, no dilation. She could barely feel the baby's head - though as of last monday he was head-down. CB planned for next thrusday at 8:00am.

I just don't know what to do. Give the baby until next Thursday to go into labor- until next Thurs and then go through with the CB? (OB said she'd be sure the check me for dilation before we went into surgery)- or cancel the CB and wait to see what happens (EDD 3-6)?

The cool thing is that she actually said YIPEE! when I told her we weren't going to circ. That was cool!

I just don't have answers. I have concerns, fears, suspicions. ARGH! I WANT ANSWERS!

Well, I'll keep reading about VBAC, etc. And wait to see what this little guy wants to do.

Pretty much everyone in my family wants me to have the repeat CB. Even DH. Fortunately my SIl will be in town by Saturday. She'll go into the birth room with us if we VBAC, and I think she'll be a great support. I love DH immensely, but I don't think he's prepared (or is really motivated to get prepared) for a VBAC. I really feel like I'm making this decision alone - and that I'm going to have to do it alone. Oh, he'll be there, but I remember with my daughter's birth experience, he was so excited and nervous, he had difficulty focusing on me. I sure wish I had a 'tribe' of women to rely on during birth!

I asked OB about double versus single sutures - because of the rupture discussion earlier this week - and she said she only uses single layer sutures. She said she's done it for 10 years and never had a problem. That makes me a bit nervous. I told her we're planning to have more kids, so we want to set ourselves up as best we can to keep my uterus healthy and happy.

That was another thing I was thinking about - if we CB again - she can take a look and see if everything looks ok (re:scar-tissue, etc.) Does that make any sense? Or is that a crazy reason to think about repeat CB? (As I've said in previous posts my primary reason for entertaining the repeat CB is urinary incontinence.)

Sorry gals, I'm in a bit of a mess today. I was hoping that I would have made a bit more progress - but I guess I need to keep in mind that I'm really about 2 weeks before my EDD - so maybe I'm progressing on track. I didn't make it this far in my previous pregnancy, so this is all totally new to me.

If any of you know where I can get the ANSWERS, please let me know!!

Thanks for letting me vent and express my frustration and anxiety!

(And let me apologize - my previous post was directed toward robugmom not witchbaby - sorry!)

[UD_CHICK]

I'm such an idiot - it was witchbaby that asked the question I was responding to! I'll stop posting now, I'm goig to logjam this board today! Please forgive my muddled brain!

[KKmama]

Hey, I had an ob appt today, too. It was with the most conservative of the 3 who might be on call when it's "my time."

UD_CHICK, I understand where you're coming from... I may well be in your shoes in 10-12 wks. (although I believe that if everything is okay, I'll be allowed to go to 42 wks before I automatically get a repeat C). The "waiting game" at the end of pg is no fun.

Funny, I feel about the same way about *my* dh. I'm glad we've hired a doula. My best friend is also going to be in town the week of my edd. I hope, hope, hope that I will just go into labor and that she can be there (she was there for ds' birth). My dh is a sweet man, but I feel like part of my preparation for this birth is again preparing to do what I need for myself...

I'm kind of wondering where I'm going to be at at the end, too... I never went into labor, never even dilated or effaced at all (my cervix was high, posterior, firm, you name it, baby not engaged, etc).

Y'know, I don't know whether checking out the scar in a repeat C is a crazy thing, but I see that and avoiding incontinence, tearing, etc. as the silver lining in a C (you have to look for the good, because the recovery sure isn't fun!).