Giving birth to a child is one of the most magical and memorable days of a woman’s life; childbirth tops the list of life’s greatest moments. I have spent my entire career doing everything I can to make their experience everything they have always dreamed of. For a vast majority of women, a successful (medicated or un-medicated) vaginal delivery is their ideal way to bring their beautiful baby(s) into the world. I have mastered the process of successful vaginal births including having an unmatched VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean section) rate. I have spent countless hours with Midwifes learning their methods and understanding their thoughts. Although my cesarean section rate is far below the national average, I also understand that a vaginal birth is not possible in all births and sometimes not the desired method to bring ones child into the world. Some women choose to have a cesarean birth for both personal preference as well as medical necessity. In the thousands of births that I have been fortunate enough to be part of, I found that many of these women undergoing cesarean births are not represented well in having their ideal birthing experience. This lack of creating the ideal cesarean delivery has led to a great deal of undue fear and a less than satisfactory child birth experience when compared to vaginal delivery. This often times leads to increased risk of post partum depression, bonding difficulties, and arduous breastfeeding routine in those who undergo a traditional / classic cesarean section.
While many couples write birth plans to explain their hopes for childbirth during a normal vaginal delivery, those wishes are often times ignored if conditions warrant a cesarean section. Its time that women undergoing cesarean births are given the option to create a birth plan and have it fullfilled. Many of the activities that are withheld from these new moms can easily be provided to the patients with minimal alterations in the “normal process”. I have worked with many ob/gyn’s (many of which are world renown) so I can learn from both their masterful skills as well as avoid their mistakes. I have now created a birthing experience for both elective cesarean sections as well as medically necessary cesarean sections that I feel will revolutionize the future of the cesarean birth and will increase the satisfaction of all women undergoing births by cesarean section. Women undergoing cesarean sections should receive the same compassionate care that is offered to those during a vaginal birth experience. Below is a small list of activities that make the cesarean births that I perform a happy and memorable experience for families as they welcome the new member of their family into the world.
- Immediate skin to skin bonding in the operating room (if mom and baby are stable)
- Ability to begin breastfeeding in the operating room if the baby begins rooting
- Baby remains with mom or dad in the operating room if everyone is stable.
- Option of using see through surgical sheets or lowering the surgical sheet so that the mom can watch her baby being born, see her babies first breath, experience her baby’s first cry and appreciate her baby’s first facial expression. This allows the mother and family to be an active participant in the birth of their child.
- Choice of music in the operating room
- Option of having 2 family members, friends, or midwife/doula accompany the expecting mother in the operating room.
- Options of asking questions to the surgeon and / or medical staff during the procedure
- Option of eating or drinking immediately following cesarean delivery if stable
- Mom’s arms not being strapped down to the arm boards
- Focus on minimal post op pain with an easy recovery
- Not pulling any organs out of the body
- Hosptial stay rarely over 2 days post op.
- We place monitoring wires where they wont impede on the mothers ability to hold and bond with her baby.