THE STORY OF MY SECOND C-SECTION
If you come here from reading my blog post on my first cesarean delivery, welcome!
I now want to share with you guys a redemptive c-section experience where I felt respected, advocated for, and involved. Yes, you can feel all of those things even with a scheduled c-section.
Background of Me and Hayes
Quick background again, I have a bicornuate uterus that increases my risk for having breeched babies. My babies don’t have a lot of room to move around, so once they find a position they like, they generally stay there.
Hayes was breeched at our 24-week appointment, and I was adamant that I would get him to flip so I could have a VBAC and redeem my first not-so-great delivery experience. I did EVERYTHING. I did spinning babies, chiropractor visits, dry-needling at the sketchiest acupuncturist ever, and curbed walking like my life depended on it.
But Hayes never turned! He was a stubborn one and still is a stubborn one. While I had a small flicker of hope that maybe I would go in for my scheduled c-section and he would have flipped, I still wanted to be better prepared for a c-section and ensure my healthcare team knew my wishes.
Preparing for Repeat C-Section
I created a birth plan and shared my wishes with my MD at every single OBGYN visit. I had read up on all the literature surrounding best practices for c-section deliveries that included skin-to-skin, no separation of mom and baby, rooming-in, etc. I made multiple copies of my birth requests, had them laminated, and brought them with me into the hospital. I made sure they were provided to the RN’s and visible in the labor & delivery room.
If I couldn’t have the VBAC that I wanted, I would at least make the c-section experience the best it could be. I do have to say that I did have one thing in my favor that I know truly redeemed this experience for me, and it was that my husband was a manager of one of the units at the hospital I was delivering at. Because of this, he was able to have a meeting with the Director of Women’s Services to understand normal c-section protocols at the hospital and explain my concerns with my previous delivery at the hospital (read that blog post here if you haven’t already!).
Through these conversations, we were able to advocate for another RN to be designated to me during the c-section to allow Hayes to remain with me at all times, even when I was being stitched up in the operating suite. If Chris hadn’t had these connections, I am not sure if we would have been able to obtain this, but I pray that we would have and that other moms would be able to receive this treatment if their MDs are on their side and respect their wishes.
From my understanding, the policies at the hospital where I delivered were that there needed to be one RN designated to the mother and one RN designated to the baby at all times during the delivery process. Due to limited RN’s, the usual procedure was for the RN to take the baby into the hospital nursery so they could be watched with all the other newborns while the mother was in the recovery room. Remember that the hospital I delivered at was not a Baby-Friendly Initiative Hospital, and I would recommend choosing one that is, if possible. I go in depth into the Baby-Friendly classification in my previous c-section post here.
C-Section #2
I tried everything I could to go into labor all on my own, but Hayes had other plans and wanted to come exactly as scheduled.
We went into the hospital a lot calmer the second time around due to me not leaving a trail of water behind me as I walked. My water did not break on its own before this delivery. As soon as we got to the pre-op room, we had the nurses who were assigned to take care of Hayes and I after birth introduce themselves and go over birth wishes. The nurses were attentive and knew exactly what I had asked for, which was more than reassuring.
I, of course, was still a little anxious just because I was about to undergo a major surgery, but I made sure the Anesthesiologist knew that I wanted minimal anxiety medications so I could be as alert as possible and remember every detail of the c-section. They did monitor me for contractions prior to the c-section, and I was happy to see that even though I didn’t feel anything or have any idea, I was already having contractions. This made me excited to know that my body was showing signs that it was time for Hayes to come out.
Welcoming Baby Hayes
Everything went just as planned during the surgery, and sweet baby Hayes arrived healthy and BIG. I actually questioned if they had weighed him correctly when they said he was 8lbs 1 ounce. My first was only 6 lbs 13 ounces, so I was just surprised they were so different!
The nurse assigned to Hayes had him wrapped up, and she was holding him next to me right after delivery. Unfortunately, due to the c-section set-up, there was truly no way for him to be able to lie on my chest and do any skin-to-skin or rooting. I think in most baby-friendly hospitals, the set-up for c-sections is more conducive to skin-to-skin in the recovery room, but the hospital we delivered at once again was not a baby-friendly certified hospital.
Due to logistically me not being able to hold him, I decided that Chris should take Hayes to the recovery room and do skin-to-skin with him there. The nurses took pictures of Chris and Hayes doing skin-to-skin, and I was only apart from Hayes for 15 minutes until we were reunited in the recovery room. Just a reminder that if mom and baby aren’t able to have skin-to-skin, there are still many benefits of baby having skin-to-skin with dad!
One of my biggest wishes was that Hayes was never separated from us, and the hospital did a great job of making sure that we were together at all times. As soon as I got to the recovery room, he was placed on me and frantically began to nurse. Chris said he had tried to latch onto him as soon as they did skin-to-skin, and he was very angry that Chris didn’t have any milk for him. Isn’t it crazy how they are born instinctively knowing what to do?! Hayes latched well and nursed for almost 60 minutes immediately after the c-section. Of course, there was lots of dozing on-and-off during the nursing session, but it was exactly what I had wanted – uninterrupted bonding and skin-to-skin time after delivery.
They waited around 4-5 hours before asking to bathe him, so I got as much time with him as possible during that critical “golden hour” as I wanted. I truly felt so respected during this hospital stay. They asked before doing things and made sure that I knew I had a say in what was done with my child. Things went so smoothly that we were able to be discharged with only a one-night stay. Hayes did come out a little fussier than Sullivan, so we did have our fair share of concern that something wasn’t right, but little did we know, we just birthed a super temperamental child.
We did not end up having to supplement with formula for Hayes at all, but we did bring colostrum with us just in case. Due to him fussing occasionally after feeds, and me not wanting to go through any issues with low blood sugar like we had with Sullivan, we would offer a few mLs of colostrum after each nursing session. We had brought the colostrum with us in a cooler with ice packs, so we knew we needed to use it before it would go to waste. We provided the colostrum via a spoon and syringe so we wouldn’t have any issues with nipple or flow preferences while we were establishing an appropriate latch. I have a full reel on how I collected colostrum here. His weight was great and he had plenty of dirty and wet diapers. I did see an IBCLC a few days after delivery due to some concerns, and I will talk more about this in a separate blog post.
Takeaway
While I would have loved to have a natural delivery with minimal interventions, that probably won’t ever be the case for me, and I am okay with that because I have two healthy children. No matter how you deliver, remember that your mode of delivery does not change your value as a mother. Both types of delivery come with their pros and cons. Both are painful in their own ways, and mothers deserve recognition and praise no matter how their precious children are delivered. I hope this blog post helps you feel a tad bit less nervous if you have a scheduled c-section and gives you tips on how to be more prepared and empowered!
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Cinthia Scott is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) with over 7 years experience in the field of dietetics. Cinthia focuses on ensuring optimal nutrition in the first 1000 days of life to ensure optimal growth and development as well as set the stage for long-term health. Cindy is an author, starting solids expert, and advocate for caregivers receiving evidence based education and support surrounding breastfeeding and starting solids.
Cinthia is co-author of the 101beforeone Starting Solids Book, “101beforeone -baby-led feeding cookbook,” and is the founder and owner of The Baby Dietitian LLC which is her private practice built to provide virtual 1:1 services for caregivers surrounding infant nutrition, toddler nutrition, and breastfeeding support. Cinthia is also the creator of the Starting Solids 101 Program which provides caregivers 1:1 support from a Pediatric Dietitian on how to provide optimal nutrition from the start and create healthy eating habits that will last their whole lifetime. To work with Cinthia, you can access her services here.
Cinthia provides tons of free information for parents on her social media accounts as well.
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