When a Cesarean Goes Well!
Many of my blogs have focused on births that didn’t go as hoped and situations where there may have been opportunities to allow labor and birth to unfold more naturally. Today, though, I want to highlight a cesarean birth that went really well.
We recently had a client whose baby was breech. Despite trying everything we could to encourage the baby to turn, that little one had other plans! Our client ultimately had a scheduled C-section.
The whole experience was what we would hope a gentle, family-centered cesarean could be. There was good communication and wonderful bedside manner from the attending physician. The anesthesiologist was thorough in her explanations and attentive to our client's questions and needs. The nursing team was attentive and performed regular fundal assessments and care to monitor for postpartum bleeding.
During the surgery, the beauty and significance of the birth were preserved for the parents. There was immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth. Delayed cord clamping was able to be accommodated, and the newborn exam was delayed until more than an hour after birth. Breastfeeding was also established during recovery.
The hospital was accommodating in allowing me, her birth doula, to remain with her right up until surgery and then join her again immediately afterward in recovery.
Sadly, our doula team has attended other cesarean births where many of these things were not routinely offered or allowed. These Gentle Cesarean practices may seem like they should be standard, but they aren't offered in every situation.
If a cesarean becomes necessary for your birth, talk with your doula ahead of time about what to ask your provider. Ask about immediate skin-to-skin, delayed cord clamping, keeping baby with you when medically appropriate, delaying routine newborn procedures when possible, and having your doula present.
A cesarean birth can still be a beautiful, bonding, and deeply meaningful birth experience. The goal isn't simply a healthy baby; it is also to care for the mother and preserve the beauty of birth whenever it is safely possible.
-Joy Elliott