Emergency Situations, C-sections, and Our Rights - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[SlimP]

WriterMama, I think you're planning to go to a BirthCentre and they will surely have procedures in place given an emergency situation, including for cord prolapse. I think 36 weeks is too early to decide on an elective c/s when most babies assume a better position very late in the pregnancy. I agree its very unsettling to wait until labour starts, and I've been there with you as my baba was in a tranverse lie, and I think he's still unstable actually, he just happened to be vertex at my last appt. I don't think being worried will change it though, instead I'm hoping adopting a positive attitude will convince both of us he's in the right place.

The Spinning Baby exercises seemed very helpful, and I really got stuck into them for a couple of weeks, including inversions 3 times a day for 20 mins. I still practice pelvic tilts and spend my 'leisure time' in the evening on hands and knees or on a yoga ball. I don't allow myself to recline in a seat at all and try to make my tummy a hammock that baby will be most comfortable in. I even sleep a bit on my tummy/side allowing my belly to hang forward. I really feel it if I spend a lot of time in the car as that cause me to slouch. 

As Melany suggests, an ultrasound may show up a physical reason baby isn't turning, is your birthcentre providing that option before they consider and ECV or C/section?

[writermama12]

Melany and SlimP, Thanks so much for your responses! Yes I think having an ultrasound is reasonable and they will most likely do one. I know MW at least said that I'd have a scan for fluid level and probably an u/s to check position. 

SlimP, As time is passing, I am finding that I am too tired to keep up the level of worry I had at first. I wish it were because I had decided to think positive on my own first, like you, but really it is just an outcome of passing time. I feel like I have already thought enough about it all for now and I should wait until my appt. next week to make some of these choices. 

Melany, Yes, I still have about two weeks until I am "technically" unstable lie, but that is exactly when most women are beginning to take steps/interventions like ECV or checking into a hospital. 

Thanks again. 

[akind1]

So much with c-sections and protocols is variable depending on your hospital and provider. My first birth was a c-section . . . IDK if it would really be determined to be emergency (baby had heart decels but neither he nor I were in immediate danger - he just wasn't coming out.

Some hospitals/providers will allow for a  more "natural" c-section than others. Most will show you the baby over the the drape, wipe off, swaddle, and bring around for you to touch and hold before going to the nursery. While I'm fairly certain you can refuse the bath, you will want baby swaddled in the OR. it's COLD in there. And while the upper part of your body is normally free (you can request to not be strapped down - I was not, because I was shaking too much to move anyway) Due to cold and the drugs used to numb you, you may be shaking too much to actually hold baby. I know I was. I couldn't even move my arms enough to touch him - I shook that badly. Check with the hospital - my son was brought to me in recovery to initiate breastfeeding, and then wheeled along with me to the post partum suite.

That's another thing that depends on the facility - some have labor, delivery, and recovery rooms - you spend all your time in one room. My hospital had labor and delivery rooms, then you were transfered to the post partum wing. Your nurse and family will pack up your things and move them from one to the other, no matter how you birth. rooming in with baby should be permitted/encouraged in ALL hospitals. Some just are more mama/baby friendly than others.

Definitely have a second person waiting to stay with you if your husband will be traveling with the baby from the OR to the nursery. That time while they are stitching you up takes forever and is very lonely.

Regarding baby position. www.spinningbabies.com is a great resource. you may also want to try chiro and therapeutic massage, as  that might help align your spine/hips and relax your muscles so that baby can get in a better spot.

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by akind1 

Due to cold and the drugs used to numb you, you may be shaking too much to actually hold baby. I know I was. I couldn't even move my arms enough to touch him - I shook that badly. 

yep... this.  I was shaking so hard, that it felt like I was convulsing.  It was so unnerving!   I physically could not hold my son until he was almost 2 hours old.  :(      Because my c/s happened in the hospital I worked at, two of my friends from the nursery came down to be with me.  My husband was able to stay with the baby and they stayed with me.  It really did make me feel less lonely.  It can be a confusing time when you are on that OR table and in the immediate recovery period afterward.  

[SlimP]

Originally Posted by Chapsie 

yep... this.  I was shaking so hard, that it felt like I was convulsing.  It was so unnerving!   I physically could not hold my son until he was almost 2 hours old.        Because my c/s happened in the hospital I worked at, two of my friends from the nursery came down to be with me.  My husband was able to stay with the baby and they stayed with me.  It really did make me feel less lonely.  It can be a confusing time when you are on that OR table and in the immediate recovery period afterward.  

Yikes guys, I never even thought of some aspects of a c/section, no wonder it can be a traumatic experience in many ways.

WriterMama, Velveeta mentioned moxibustion, which allegedly is great for turning babies to a good position. The point to stimulate is the outside bottom corner of your little toenail. To apply constant pressure here is difficult, unless you've got a really helpful partner, so a great suggestion is to tape a mung bean in situ to do the job instead. Worth a try!

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by SlimP 


Yikes guys, I never even thought of some aspects of a c/section, no wonder it can be a traumatic experience in many ways.
 

Yeah... it was pretty awful.  I had PPD afterward, and in my reflections, I realized that the most traumatic part of my experience was feeling out of control over my decision making processes.  I was "forced" to get induced and have constant fetal monitoring.  The pitocin was so intense that I felt an epidural was necessary (I couldn't even breathe through contractions).  I was told that I had to push in a certain position, even though it was uncomfortable for me.  Any time I would try to object to something, I was denied/manipulated.  When, after three hours of pushing and being totally physically exhausted, I was told I needed a c/s, I just shut down and went numb.  I couldn't believe it.  I even (and this has caused a LOT of mommy-guilt postpartum!) blamed the baby for the c-section and mentally rejected him for the first hour of his life.  I didn't want anything to do with him.  I didn't even want to see his picture.  I was mad at him, and that breaks my heart!  That was one thing I was NOT expecting to experience!  Of course, I ADORE him, he is so affectionate and sweet... today, he spent the first half hour of my morning playing with my hair and telling me that he wanted to help me clean the whole house today.  Haha!  He's four, and he is AWESOME.  It blows my mind that we got off to such a negative start! 

Anyway... if you are in the position of needing a cesarean, it doesn't have to awful.  LOL.  If you surround yourself with people that love you and support you and can advocate for you (doula?) and you have a "birth plan" stating that you want immediate contact with your baby, a respectful atmosphere (no extraneous chit chat), breastfeeding as soon as possible, etc... I really think cesareans can be beautiful.  Google "gentle cesarean" or "natural cesarean."  The key is to be respected and have ownership in the process, instead of feeling like everything is happening "to" you instead of "for" and "with" you.  Does that make sense?  It's all in the presentation!  

As much as I disliked my cesarean, I know it could be totally different if I was in the position of needing another one.  I'm not afraid of it.  I know that I am allowed to say "no" and to voice my desires.

[writermama12]

Chapsie, thanks so much for sharing your story and this info. This is exactly what I needed to read today. I've been angry and weeping all day from exhaustion and looked up birthwithoutfearblog's gentle cesarean birth and I cried!! I never cry over stories like this unless I am really hormonal. But it was perfect. I am inspired to write a detailed birth plan and ask my midwife if she can help advocate for me in case I do have to birth in the hospital. I do not have a doula but I am trying to convince DH that spending money on one would be really useful. 

I am wondering if anyone would be willing to share an intervention based birth plan, even a plan B: if something goes wrong birth plan that includes things I or others who haven't BTDT wouldn't know to include in ours. I will make a separate thread for it just in case some of you are willing. I will also post mine after I write it.

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by writermama12 

Chapsie, thanks so much for sharing your story and this info. This is exactly what I needed to read today. I've been angry and weeping all day from exhaustion and looked up birthwithoutfearblog's gentle cesarean birth and I cried!! I never cry over stories like this unless I am really hormonal. But it was perfect. I am inspired to write a detailed birth plan and ask my midwife if she can help advocate for me in case I do have to birth in the hospital. I do not have a doula but I am trying to convince DH that spending money on one would be really useful. 

I am so glad that my story was helpful!  It is good to plan for and envision the best case scenario (what we think of most becomes our reality, so make it positive! (at least that's what hypnobabies says, haha)).  But, I think having a plan B is a sensible idea.  I was so surprised and caught off guard that I "needed" an induction and cesarean with my first birth because I had never thought it could even be a possibility.  It left me reeling.  

Its good to think ahead and plan... and then ultimately just hope for the best!  Think positively and dwell on that amazingly yummy and incredible experience of holding your newborn for the first time!!!

Enjoy this last bit of your pregnancy!  Think ahead... but don't worry or stress about it.  :)    Much love to you!!!

[cabbitdancer]

My baby is still breech, for the second u/s in two weeks, and I had a complete messy meltdown on my husband after the appointment. Everything else is PERFECT. My numbers are great. Her numbers are great. But, for some reason, she has decided that she now wants to be breech. I was so angry with her on the drive home. I've held up my end of the bargain, why can't she, dammit? I have to strive very hard not to shut down, which is what I really want to do in situations where it seems the odds are going to be against me. I'm so tired of struggling for perfection, as a diabetic, as a VBAC candidate. It doesn't help that I still feel awful today. I don't want to plan for a c-section. I don't want to go through surgery again. But I suddenly don't want to plan for a VBAC anymore, because I feel like I'm just setting myself up for disappointment again.

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by cabbitdancer 

My baby is still breech, for the second u/s in two weeks, and I had a complete messy meltdown on my husband after the appointment. Everything else is PERFECT. My numbers are great. Her numbers are great. But, for some reason, she has decided that she now wants to be breech. I was so angry with her on the drive home. I've held up my end of the bargain, why can't she, dammit? I have to strive very hard not to shut down, which is what I really want to do in situations where it seems the odds are going to be against me. I'm so tired of struggling for perfection, as a diabetic, as a VBAC candidate. It doesn't help that I still feel awful today. I don't want to plan for a c-section. I don't want to go through surgery again. But I suddenly don't want to plan for a VBAC anymore, because I feel like I'm just setting myself up for disappointment again.

::BIG HUG!::

Oh mama, I so know what this is like!!!  Journey to VBAC is such an uphill battle!  My VBAC baby was breech til 36 weeks and I remember crying my eyeballs out in the car after the MFM told me very flippantly: "looks like another c-section to me!"   No one understood how important it was to me... I felt so alone.  

You are not alone!!!  

The day I went in to labor with my VBAC baby I was told she was measuring 10 lb 5 oz and my midwife freaked out.  She scheduled me for a c/s for that monday morning (this was saturday morning) and I was so upset.  I mean... after all I had been through!  After all my planning!  I prayed and prayed and prayed that I would just go into labor on my own... and I did!  My baby was born the day before the scheduled c/s.  It was amazing.  I am so glad I tried.  

Don't give up hope just yet.  Think positively.  Know that if your baby is persistently breech, there may be a good reason for it.  She is a smart little baby.  She may be telling you something.  Be in tune with her and your body and do something extra special for yourself today.  Deep breaths... relax your forehead... your eyelids... your mouth, your tongue... relax every muscle in your body and just feel the tension melting away... imagine holding your new baby in your arms... in a beautiful and safe place and feeling so loved and so happy.  

You can DO this!  

[akind1]

Being a VBAC, I do have a plan B birth plan -

It's very short, since I know the hospital and its protocols (no sense asking for things you aren't likely to get, or ask for things that they do anyway)

If a C-Section Is Warranted

• I do not consent to a cesarean section unless the life or me or my baby is in jeopardy.  If there is a true emergency, I will not hesitate to be the first to agree to a cesarean, but for non-emergent reasons, I plan to avoid another cesarean.
• I would like my arms to remain free so that I can touch my baby.  I would also love some sort of skin to skin contact while in the OR – even if just a shoulder or upper chest area.
• I would like my husband to be able to do a “ceremonial cutting of the cord” – a length left by the OB so that my husband can still cut the cord.
• I would like photographs to be allowed to be taken.
• My husband will stay with the baby, please allow my mother or doula (whomever is present) to join me in the OR upon his departure.
• Please allow my baby in recovery immediately if all is well with us both so that I can begin bonding and immediate breastfeeding.

[cabbitdancer]

*hugs* Thank you for that, Chapsie.

If I do have to have another c-section, one thing I'm going to insist on is having someone stay with me. If I'm only allowed to have one person in the OR with me, then my husband and my baby are staying until they're done. I'm not going to be left alone to be ignored by the doctors and their staff again. That was the most painful part of my c-section, and is still the hardest to get over. They told me to *try to sleep.* Who can sleep when they just had a baby???