@angryharpy, not just nurses have that ability. I've cared for many patients who were not in the healthcare field at all, nor their SO, and they still requested people because a) they do been cared for by them before, b) they were friends, or c) they had good recommendations from friends.
I'm trying to say that I AGREE with you, you should have been allowed to request someone. Maybe the anesthesiologist of your choice was unavailable that day, but I'm saying that typically, patients do have a choice in who takes care of them, and who doesnt.
ETA: But you're right, you don't just get to interview hospital staff ahead of time, like an OB or a pediatrician. What I am saying, is that you absolutely have have the right to say "no I do not want that person touching me."
Talk to friends who have delivered at the hospital. They may be able to tell you which nurses they liked.
You can tour the unit to see rooms, and say hi to nurses. That can help too.
I can share pics, if helpful. H took them from my POV. There’s a pic I love of us in recovery - it sums up how I felt about it being a redemptive experience for me.
Eta - Recovery was a million times better the 2nd time. I fully dilated and pushed for 4 hours with Ds1 and still had a CS, so I felt like crap after. After I went home from the hospital with Ds2 I was good with just ibuprofen.
Post by barefootcontessa on Aug 29, 2018 13:16:27 GMT -5
I had five sections and after my second, they did an ultrasound to see where the placenta was relative to my scar. They also scheduled my section right at 39 weeks to avoid me going into labor on my own. When the doctor does the surgery he can evaluate to get an idea of how things are holding up. My guy said I was okay for a sixth if I wanted.
gentle c section at my hospital means they use the clear drape so you can see baby lifted out and you get to do immediate skin to skin and try to BF while still in the OR.
Did you have a gentle c section? If so, did it actually go according to plan? Did you actually get to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Was recovery actually easier than unscheduled? If no to any of that, what didn’t go according to plan?
I did not have a gentle c-section with my second. My first c-section was after labor stalled (double nuchal cord that was short, so he was like a ping pong ball when I pushed). My second was scheduled for Friday, but I went into labor Sunday night. He did nurse ASAP and I got to "pet" him quickly. It was really late (around 1:30 am) so I really was like "go away baby, I'm tired." Recovery was easier the second time around but it didn't go as well. After my first, I took it easy and I recovered awesomely (I looked great). After my second, yeah--my stomach won't ever be the same and is lopsided. It looks like I wasn't stitched straight. My second did have significant health issues at 2 weeks of age that caused me to completely ignore my recovery while dealing with his. I did not take as good care of myself as I should have.
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR?
My husband wasn't there for the spinal and I had to wait for it. I ate a big meal that night (thanks Mom!) and I couldn't get the spinal until it had been a certain number of hours (but when I was checked and was at 7 cm after 1 hour of labor--they switched that to a certain amount of fluids). The nurse pushed in the fluids by hand as they wheeled me to the OR. I'm pretty sure that I didn't get the amount I needed. I was not cold with the spinal and it worked better than the first c-section. With my first, I was able to move myself to the OR table despite having had an epidural for hours and a spinal. With my second, I moved myself, they did it and I was limp. I did have bad nausea afterwards (I spend the next day throwing up almost constantly) but that was probably a function of my gallbladder not working. I had nausea the entire pregnancy and didn't take any Zofran after the c-section. Once they dosed me and let me sleep, I woke up better. I still needed Zofran until 4 mo pp when I had my gallbladder out.
Would you have done anything differently?
I would have asked to schedule earlier I know that elective c-sections can't be scheduled until 39 weeks unless medically necessary but I wasn't going to make it to 39 weeks. My first came before 38 weeks and I went from no labor to constant contractions within 2 hours. (Water broke at noon (just a leak), no contractions until 1, mild contractions at 2 pm so I walked from the parking lot to triage, constant contractions with no noticeable gap by 2:30). I was worried that I wouldn't get a c-section and it would be the same progression with the second. My water broke at 11:15, I was at the hospital by midnight, I had the baby at 1:30--and I was 4 cm by the time I got to the hospital and 7 cm by the time my OB arrived.
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy? No--but I know that they monitored me. My OB is very low key and doesn't get excited about anything. This is horrible when I worry, but great for calming me down. He is very matter of fact. He also let me decide if I wanted a second c-section or if I wanted to VBAC. He didn't pressure me either way and was willing to discuss the research with me. I went with a c-section because of the order of my first labor and I really didn't want the constant contractions again (which only got me to 4 cm the first time. The epidural coincided with going from 4 cm to 9 cm almost instantly). My second labor was much better. The contractions were bearable and I made progress. If I had said that I wanted a VBAC when I was in the triage room, he would have supported me.
pooh8402 , I only know one person who delivered at my OB's hospital. I don't know how I'd go about figuring out which nurses to request.
I’m sure you’ve checked this, but does your ob have privileges at another hospital?
Nope.
And even if she did, that wouldn't give me confidence. I mean, nurses are people. Some are assholes. I could switch hospitals and still wind up with assholes!
And I should say it's not that the nurses were assholes, per se (although the one in mom/baby was, fuck her forever), but that they didn't give me what I needed. I was told by the childbirth class that the nurses would do X, and the nurses didn't do X. They weren't necessarily mean. They were just kind of absent. I was very alone and not supported, and I am 100 percent convinced that my C-section was not inevitable and that a vaginal birth would've been possible with better support. If I'd known how useless they would've been, I would've hired a doula, but I had no idea it was necessary. (And I resent that because come on, it's ridiculous that you should have to pay extra to hire someone to advocate for and support you when you're already in a building full of medical professionals.)
So I don't know. I'm just thinking about the future and freaking about RCS and how much I don't want one but also how the GW calculator says I have a 28 percent chance at VBAC and I hate them all over again and thought maybe reading about RCS experiences would help me, but not really because with my luck everything will go wrong with one of those anyway.
And I'm really sad that nobody seems to get to have their H in for the spinal. I don't want to be alone for it. And yeah, sure, there will be nurses there. Nurses who I don't know or trust. GOOD TIMES FUCK EVERYTHING.
This is for my first which was a planned c section (prior vertical incision).
Did you have a gentle c section? If so, did it actually go according to plan? Did you actually get to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Was recovery actually easier than unscheduled? If no to any of that, what didn’t go according to plan? YES YES YES! mine was amazing. I watched the whole thing in the mirror. He had a less than a min NICU eval (policy) and was on my chest for the rest of surgery (45 min). We BF in recovery for over an hour before moving to our room. He was born at 4:15 pm, I was out of surgery at 5 pm, and got to our room at 8 pm. I was walking with assistance by 10 pm (catheter out at this point) and showered on my own at 6 am. Walking laps in the hospital that day and went for 20-30 min walks the day after I came home. My milk was in within 24 hours of delivery. Could not have gone better.
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR? They him stay with me the whole time (we asked for that, not normal). I told the anesthesiologist I was worried about nausea and he gave me my meds before surgery vs after and added a scopolamine patch. I had a little nausea during the procedure when I saw my insides but was eating crackers immediately after surgery and had five guys a few hours later.
Would you have done anything differently? I can’t really think of anything. For someone who planned for a med free delivery (hypnobabies) I really got everything I wanted. In some respects I think it was even better because I was so well rested heading into the immediate post partum time. My OB gave me ambien to take at home. I was worried about the 4 pm time, but they let me eat breakfast so we went out for a nice breakfast after sleeping in (which for us is like 7 am). Took the dog on a long walk, took a 2 hour bath, watched some TV. Headed to the hospital at 1:30 pm so I didn’t even realize I hadn’t ate since breakfast. I think it worked even better than waking up at 3:30 am for a 6 am surgery. Plus we didn’t get to our room until visiting hours were over so we used it as a reason our families couldn’t come until the next day.
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy?
I had a gentle c/s and it was a great experience, and very similar to pinotgrig. Mine was a primary (scheduled) c/s though, not a repeat, due to my twins both being breach!
The hospital I delivered at was one of the pioneering hospitals for gentle c-sections and were very supportive. With the clear drape it was great to see both babies right away. They took both of them to be checked out by the awaiting pediatric team first then allowed me to do skin to skin while I was being stitched up.
Both the attending and resident anesthesiologists were great. I had the spinal placed while DH waited outside, then he came in once I was set up.
I’m sorry you had such terrible nurses. What were you told they would do for you? Why do you think a CS was avoidable if your GW is low? I know a GW is for a vbac but just curious if it’s the fact you had a CS with dd or something else. I spent most of my 2nd pregnancy fixated on vbac vs rcs so I get where you’re coming from.
What was most helpful for me was sitting down with a different ob in my practice while she read through my operating notes. As you know, a lot of times a CS is needed for a baby reason - distress or position, etc. In my case, it was a me reason - my pelvis is more oval shaped than round and not conducive to a baby coming out. Add to that Ds2 was expected to be bigger than Ds1 (and was, by 1.5 lbs) and it was unlikely I could successfully vbac. She was willing to let me try, but warned me I could likely end up with an eventual rcs on top of a long labor like I did the first time.
My thought on a different hospital was perhaps it would be one you could get more personal recs from. Are you comfortable with your ob? Are there any ob’s in your area who specialize in vbac that you may want to consider? Are you on any local mom FB groups? I often see posts on ours asking for recs on ob’s, what it’s like to deliver at a certain hospital, etc.
Post by formerlyak on Aug 29, 2018 14:37:29 GMT -5
Did you have a gentle c section? If so, did it actually go according to plan? Did you actually get to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Was recovery actually easier than unscheduled? If no to any of that, what didn’t go according to plan?
Mine did not go according to plan, only because my water broke at 36 weeks, so I had to go in and get it done early. But, we did immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding in the OR as I was being sewn up. I needed help holding him because I was shaky and scared, but the nurse and anesthesiologist helped with that.
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR?
I was in the OR without DH for the spinal. I don't remember it being cold. I remember it hurt more than the epidural I had with my older son (that c-section was unplanned and emergency). But I also remember with the epidural with older DS, I was crazy shaky and crazy itchy after and that wasn't the case after DS2 and the spinal. I honestly don't remember if I vomited. I think I did once when I was back in the recovery room, but not in the OR. I also remember getting nervous that they'd start the c-section before letting DH in the OR. So, the anesthesiologist put a stool by my head and said it was DH's stool and they wouldn't start the surgery until I saw DH sitting in the stool. Sounds dumb, but that made me feel a lot better.
Would you have done anything differently?
Not deliver at a Catholic hospital so I could have had my tubes tied. Other than that, not really.
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy?
My OB actually talked with me about considering being done at 2 because research shows that any more than 2 c-sections can be very risky. And I am not a candidate for VBAC, so a third baby for me would mean a third c-section.
I just have a compulsive need for more information.
pinotgrig, basically they just encouraged me to get the epidural kind of early (wasn't even technically in active labor) and left me there. They never suggested any positioning to help with pain. They didn't even offer me mesh undies and pads so I could stand up after my water broke (every movement brought a huge gush, so I thought I had to stay in bed). By the time they wanted me to roll over to help the epidural, I was exhausted and didn't want to exert the effort to move - nobody explained to me before I got it that you might need to change positions to make it work and by the time they were explaining it, I was delirious from exhaustion and pain and was adamant that moving wouldn't help. We were waiting for me to dilate that last 0.5 cm and for the baby to move down and they literally did nothing until 22 hours after my water broke, my OB told them to try the peanut ball. By that time, my contractions just weren't adequate and I think my body was just too exhausted from having slept about 3 hours in the last 2 days.
Obviously we'll never know, but I think that getting up, moving around, and changing positions in early labor would have helped things along so that my body wouldn't have been so exhausted by the time I got toward the end.
My VBAC chance is low because of a combo of age, weight, no prior vaginal delivery, and reason for C-section being an arrest of labor. So maybe my chance of VBAC is higher if we do things different. I also suspect there might be a difference in induction vs. spontaneous labor because my body was just not fucking ready to be in labor. I'm not sure I will ever agree that induction was the right decision (even though pretty much every OB on the planet would have recommended it). Basically all the objective stuff says I'm a bad VBAC candidate, but maybe if we do things differently I could be part of that 28 percent but who the fuck knows.
Also, can I say how frustrating it is that there is basically a consensus that the c-section rate is too high and that 1/3 of all babies do not need to be born by C-section? But basically no doctor will ever point to one of their own C-sections and say, "Yep, that could've been avoided." And when you're feeling shitty about your C-section, people like to assure you that it was necessary. But like, SOME of these C-sections had to be unnecessary. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with the C-section rate even though our maternal mortality rate is not on the decline. And what if mine was one of the ones that could've been avoided with a little bit of a different approach? SOMEONE has to be the one with the unnecessary C-section!
Did you have a gentle c section? If so, did it actually go according to plan? Did you actually get to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Was recovery actually easier than unscheduled? If no to any of that, what didn’t go according to plan?
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR?
Would you have done anything differently?
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy?
I just have a compulsive need for more information.
Yes I had a gentle that went pretty according to plan. My doc had asked for a specific nurse to be on call and when I went into labor early (again) she wasn't there so she made some calls. All the nurses at my hospital were not comfortable with the gentle c-section. She knew who was and was not.
No- I was alone for the spinal, but I did not ask for him to be there either. It was cold. Anesthesia did not bother me until after. I threw up once I made it to my final room ( both times). I did not ask but I think I was, if I cleared it with the doc and hospital before time. I asked about a photog.
No. It was perfect. I am so very thankful for my doctor.
No- we did talk about my uterus and future pregnancies being ideal or not.
Did you have a gentle c section? If so, did it actually go according to plan? Did you actually get to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Was recovery actually easier than unscheduled? If no to any of that, what didn’t go according to plan?
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR?
Would you have done anything differently?
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy?
I just have a compulsive need for more information.
I did not have an official “gentle” c-section, but I have been very pleased with all four of mine. I’m sorry that you had such a bad experience.
I didn’t do skin to skin and breastfeed right after, but I also didn’t ask to. My H and our baby were in recovery with me every time. I was able to breastfeed and do skin to skin then, about 30 minutes after the birth (getting me stitched up, then taking me to recovery). My H did skin to skin until I was able.
Recovery was easy, but I never labored with any of mine. And each c-section recovery was easier than the one before it. This last one was kind of amazing, to be honest. I think maybe because I just felt more certain of what was happening and what worked the times before?
My H got to be in the room when I got the spinal this last time (and my sister the time before, because H couldn’t make it in time). My H actually had to turn around and not watch because otherwise he was going to be sick or pass out, he said. Lol.
It was cold when I got the spinal, but that’s because they keep the OR cold. After the spinal was placed they immediately laid me down and got me covered up.
The anesthesia has made me shake as well as vomit before, yes. But now that I know that, I tell the anesthesiologist and they take care of me. They now give me a patch behind my ear that really helps (idk the name, but it has to stay on for 48 hours before taking it off and you can’t touch it with your bare skin). The anesthesiologist also watches my blood pressure and as soon as they see it dip they hit me with anti-nausea meds, as they told me that’s what typically causes people to vomit. Additionally, I tell them as soon as I feel the tiniest twinge of shakiness or nausea and they push something through and it’s like magic.
Only one support person allowed. I wouldn’t have done anything different and would have even more! I’m sorry you had such shit people. My anesthesiologist for all 4 have been absolutely amazing, and I’ve had relatively good nurse experiences also. I had one shitty nurse when I was in the hospital last fall for pancreatitis and finally complained enough that she was not allowed back in my room. Good thing, because I was PISSED.
Post by hopecounts on Aug 29, 2018 16:39:26 GMT -5
Scheduled CS due to breech. And yes had a gentle CS. Skin to skin in OR, BFing in recovery, no separation, Apgar and weigh and measure done in my sight in OR then she was put on my chest.
DH was not allowed in while spinal was placed, he was gowning up the nurse who helped was awesome though.
With my second, I wanted to VBAC. But ultimately if my body didn't go into labor on its own, I wasn't allowed to go overdue more than a few days because of my previous section. So at 40w2d I had a scheduled csection again. There were many similarities but the biggest difference is that the second time I was offered a gentle csection. I accepted.
I just looked at some notes and here are some of the highlights. I was wheeled into the operating room at 10:00 exactly, right on time. The anesthesiologist was awesome and kept telling me to let her know right away if I felt dizzy or nauseous and she would fix it immediately. Everyone knew I wanted to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeed and were supportive. I do remember being cold while getting the spinal but they had a warmed blanket to wrap around my front. My H wasn't allowed in for the spinal, but it didn't really bother me so I didn't think to ask. The anesthesiologist kept complimenting my makeup and we all ended up talking about makeup while waiting for the OB. It put me at ease and made the time fly by.
At 10:36, my husband entered the room and the surgery began. At 10:44 they confirmed I wanted to watch my son being born and they opened a little window in the drape. The anesthesiologist helped position my head so I could watch him being pulled out. It surprisingly wasn't too gory and I'm so glad I got to see his first breath. My husband was too afraid to watch so I asked him just to close his eyes. After being quickly assessed, the nurse laid my son on my chest, covered us with a blanket, and closed the window of the drape. I tried to lift my head to kiss him but immediately got nauseous. I told anesthesiologist, my husband took my son, and I tried to breathe. I felt better in a few minutes and they laid my son back on my chest but I instantly felt nauseous again. I was disappointed and crying and the anesthesiologist was trying to make me comfortable. My husband took my son back again and they finished my surgery. I did elect to have my tube removed (I only had one after an ectopic) so that added a few minutes to my surgery.
Once in recovery, I felt perfectly fine sitting up in bed and I nursed my son right away. My husband took a picture and I noticed later that he had latched on right at one hour old.
My recovery was perfect. I felt great and only needed pain meds for a few days. So good that we begged to be released after two nights instead of the typical three for csection patients. At five days post surgery I pushed my son in a stroller at the local park while my daughter played.
ETA: At two weeks post partum, I attended my BIL's wedding. I danced on the dance floor with my three year old and felt perfectly fine outside of being exhausted. I remember being a little surprised that I felt well enough to do all that.
A small part of me is a little sad I didn't get to experience the excitement of labor and the satisfaction of actually pushing a human out, but overall I was very happy with my c sections.
Did you have a gentle c section? If so, did it actually go according to plan? Did you actually get to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Was recovery actually easier than unscheduled? If no to any of that, what didn’t go according to plan?
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR?
Would you have done anything differently?
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy?
I just have a compulsive need for more information.
I see there are already a lot of replies but I’ll add my recent experience 5 weeks ago. I gave birth at a “baby friendly” hospital.
The c section went according to plan. I remember so much more of it and after than my emergency c/s. I was able to do skin to skin and breastfeed as soon as we were in post op.
My husband wasn’t in the room for the spinal but came in a few minutes after.
Recovery was much easier than the first, but I didn’t struggle much with he first anyway. I guess it was easier because I knew what to expect and was prepared for the pain. I was up moving around pretty well the next day. I did have a rough day the day of the surgery, but I’m not sure why. It Involved bad hot flashes and vomiting when I sat up. Could have been hormones, my BP going up, reaction to the spinal. I felt better by 12 hours post op after being put on BP medicine and getting a shot for the nausea.
My OB didn’t talk to me about any particular risks but did answer any questions I had, including about delayed cord clamping.
pinotgrig, basically they just encouraged me to get the epidural kind of early (wasn't even technically in active labor) and left me there. They never suggested any positioning to help with pain. They didn't even offer me mesh undies and pads so I could stand up after my water broke (every movement brought a huge gush, so I thought I had to stay in bed). By the time they wanted me to roll over to help the epidural, I was exhausted and didn't want to exert the effort to move - nobody explained to me before I got it that you might need to change positions to make it work and by the time they were explaining it, I was delirious from exhaustion and pain and was adamant that moving wouldn't help. We were waiting for me to dilate that last 0.5 cm and for the baby to move down and they literally did nothing until 22 hours after my water broke, my OB told them to try the peanut ball. By that time, my contractions just weren't adequate and I think my body was just too exhausted from having slept about 3 hours in the last 2 days.
Obviously we'll never know, but I think that getting up, moving around, and changing positions in early labor would have helped things along so that my body wouldn't have been so exhausted by the time I got toward the end.
My VBAC chance is low because of a combo of age, weight, no prior vaginal delivery, and reason for C-section being an arrest of labor. So maybe my chance of VBAC is higher if we do things different. I also suspect there might be a difference in induction vs. spontaneous labor because my body was just not fucking ready to be in labor. I'm not sure I will ever agree that induction was the right decision (even though pretty much every OB on the planet would have recommended it). Basically all the objective stuff says I'm a bad VBAC candidate, but maybe if we do things differently I could be part of that 28 percent but who the fuck knows.
If it makes you feel better the science shows induction has no significant impact on CS vs Vaginal delivery if done at or before EDD. Basically either baby is able to be delivered vaginally or not. There is a difference later but it’s hard to parse out whether the reason for the induction is the cause or the induction. For example as the placenta ages it’s less able to hyper oxygenate baby so they can tolerate labor which can cause distress and with it a CS.
pinotgrig, basically they just encouraged me to get the epidural kind of early (wasn't even technically in active labor) and left me there. They never suggested any positioning to help with pain. They didn't even offer me mesh undies and pads so I could stand up after my water broke (every movement brought a huge gush, so I thought I had to stay in bed). By the time they wanted me to roll over to help the epidural, I was exhausted and didn't want to exert the effort to move - nobody explained to me before I got it that you might need to change positions to make it work and by the time they were explaining it, I was delirious from exhaustion and pain and was adamant that moving wouldn't help. We were waiting for me to dilate that last 0.5 cm and for the baby to move down and they literally did nothing until 22 hours after my water broke, my OB told them to try the peanut ball. By that time, my contractions just weren't adequate and I think my body was just too exhausted from having slept about 3 hours in the last 2 days.
Obviously we'll never know, but I think that getting up, moving around, and changing positions in early labor would have helped things along so that my body wouldn't have been so exhausted by the time I got toward the end.
My VBAC chance is low because of a combo of age, weight, no prior vaginal delivery, and reason for C-section being an arrest of labor. So maybe my chance of VBAC is higher if we do things different. I also suspect there might be a difference in induction vs. spontaneous labor because my body was just not fucking ready to be in labor. I'm not sure I will ever agree that induction was the right decision (even though pretty much every OB on the planet would have recommended it). Basically all the objective stuff says I'm a bad VBAC candidate, but maybe if we do things differently I could be part of that 28 percent but who the fuck knows.
If it makes you feel better the science shows induction has no significant impact on CS vs Vaginal delivery if done at or before EDD. Basically either baby is able to be delivered vaginally or not. There is a difference later but it’s hard to parse out whether the reason for the induction is the cause or the induction. For example as the placenta it’s less able to hyper oxygenate baby so they can tolerate labor.
I had two scheduled, one for breech and one as a repeat C, in 2012 and 2015.
Did you have a gentle c section? Eh...not sure...they don't call it that, but I do think they try to be "gentle." I thought it all went pretty well. I was not able to hold the baby right away in the OR but was very quickly back in the recovery room and could breastfeed right away both times. I had two vaginal deliveries prior to my c-sections, and honestly, I didn't feel they were all that different in terms of when I was able to hold the baby. They took the baby right away each time for weighing, cleaning up; my first needed some oxygen (she's fine). It probably took a little longer with the c-section, but it was okay. I had DH do some skin-to-skin with our last baby until they got me to the room.
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR? Had to do the spinal alone both times but nurses were awesome. Yes, it's cold in the OR; the injection didn't feel cold inside me that I remember, if that's what you mean. Anesthesia didn't have any bad effects while I was in the OR. With my first C-section, I was very nauseous the next 12 hours or so in recovery, but I vomited during labor with my others so I figured that was par for the course. With the last, I told them about that and they changed some things with meds and I didn't have nausea.
My husband was with me the whole time in the OR once they had me positioned on the table.
Would you have done anything differently? No. Having done vaginal and c-sections, I think they have pros and cons, and anything can happen with either one!! You can have a really shitty vaginal delivery, awesome c-section, or the opposite. It's hard, but having a baby is always just a big giant unknown. I really kind of liked my c-sections, overall.
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy? No.
I just have a compulsive need for more information.
Post by starburst604 on Aug 29, 2018 21:56:15 GMT -5
So, not a RCS, but I had an emergent gentle c section. I had never heard of it before, but like you I dilated almost fully then stalled, after 27 hours of laboring and very little sleep. Baby’s HR started showing distress so off we went. I was disappointed to be so close and then need to have a CS. They offered the gentle one with a clear drape and it brought me a bit of comfort. I was able to see her little feet sticking up first, then they lifted her out and I gave her a kiss through the plastic. They took her to the other side of the room to examine her and my H went along. She was fine so they brought her back to me pretty quickly, but I was too out of it to hold her safely, so H held her while they stitched me up. I suspect this part would be different with a RCS. I was so pumped up with drugs and exhausted by that point from my labor and no sleep. Once I was wheeled to recovery we could do whatever we wanted - skin to skin, nursing etc.
As far as a spinal, I already had an epi so they just did what they needed to do through that line, but I know my H wasn’t present during the prep. He came in as they were making the incision, he remembers vividly trying NOT to look at the blood coming out as he walked by.
I too had a bad anesthesiologist experience, but not during labor/delivery. It was when I had my first u/s at 6 weeks, was found to have an ectopic as well as normal uterine pregnancy and was rushed into surgery to remove a tube. Apparently as I was giving consent for this and that, NO ONE knew I had a viable pregnancy until the surgeon came down to get started. The anesthesiologist came back to tell me there was a mistake, they couldn’t give me anything to relax me before they wheeled me in because it could harm my pregnancy. I said that was fine and I could do without.
As they wheeled me down the hall to the OR, the anesthesiologist bent down and said “I have to tell you that having anesthesia in your first trimester carries a HIGH risk of miscarriage”. Ok asshole, well I have no choice but to have this surgery so I don’t bleed out and die. Not like I’m having a boob job. But thanks for saying that to the lady who had fertility treatment just to get here. I started bawling my eyes out and cried until I was finally knocked out.
Did you have a gentle c section? If so, did it actually go according to plan? Did you actually get to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Was recovery actually easier than unscheduled? If no to any of that, what didn’t go according to plan?
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR?
Would you have done anything differently?
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy?
I just have a compulsive need for more information.
Not a repeat but I had a scheduled c section
I did do skin to skin right away. Nursed within a couple minutes
I was a little shaky but not nauseous. It was cold but not bad.
H was not with me for the spinal, came in with a nurse few mins later once I was prepped. The nurses were great, made me very comfortable
Recovery was not bad at all. I do think scheduled vs emergency makes a big difference
If I had it to do over again I'd do the exact same plan (just a different H!)
Post by sapphireblue on Aug 30, 2018 6:52:07 GMT -5
Did you have a gentle c section? If so, did it actually go according to plan? Did you actually get to do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding? Was recovery actually easier than unscheduled? If no to any of that, what didn’t go according to plan?
I don't know what a gentle one is, but mine did go according to plan. I did do immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding in the recovery area. My first one was also scheduled (I had a placenta abnormality so they wanted to make sure I didn't go into labor). Recovery was easy. Hardest part was having a 20 month old at home too! I mean, I did develop postpartum pre-e so that made recovery harder but I don't know that that had anything to do with the c section.
Did your H get to be with you for the spinal or did they make you do it alone? Was it cold when you got the spinal? Did the anesthesia make you shake or vomit? Were you allowed to have a doula or other additional support person in the OR?
I was alone for the spinal but it was brief. It was not cold. With my first c section I did shake a bit. With my second, not at all. I probably would have been allowed a doula but I didn't ask. My anesthesiologist was amazing. She covered me with extra blankets to make sure I wasn't cold, and she talked to me about how the baby was in those moments before she was placed on me. I was crying (tears of happiness) and she wiped my tears away. Really nice.
Would you have done anything differently?
I don't think so. The postpartum pre-e sucked but maybe that would have happened if I'd done a vaginal birth?
Did your OB talk to you about risks of placenta abnormalities for a future pregnancy?
No! I had no idea about that. Funny bc I had c-section with my first pregnancy because I DID have a placental abnormality. But I didn't have any issues with my second.
I used a drape with the clear panel and loved (x a million) it. Being able to see him lifted out of me made it feel like a birth, not a surgical procedure where I laid down pregnant and got up with a baby. I felt very connected to what was happening which was completely opposite my first, very unplanned CS.
I am so envious of this. I asked for a clear drape and they said they don't do it at my hospital. My OB said it was better that way but I still wish I could have seen it, although of course it was really only a moment in both cases until I could see.
As they wheeled me down the hall to the OR, the anesthesiologist bent down and said “I have to tell you that having anesthesia in your first trimester carries a HIGH risk of miscarriage”. Ok asshole, well I have no choice but to have this surgery so I don’t bleed out and die. Not like I’m having a boob job. But thanks for saying that to the lady who had fertility treatment just to get here. I started bawling my eyes out and cried until I was finally knocked out.
This is like a HUGE issue for me. I HATE that you can't pick your anesthesiologist. I had a really good one for my first hand surgery in December, so I requested her for my second one in March. Except I didn't get her. Well that one gave me a slightly different drug cocktail (I have looked at the records and can tell there were differences but can't tell exactly what they were because anesthesiologist notes are ridiculous and pretty much impossible for a non-doctor to read), and that drug cocktail made me sick. I don't understand why he didn't just give me the exact same thing the first one gave me since that didn't make me sick. It didn't occur to me to ask exactly what the cocktail would be, and nobody tells you.
I wish you could choose your L&D nurses and your anesthesiologist. If one of the nurses I had with babyharpy so much as comes within 50 feet of me, I will scream bloody murder. Not a fucking one of them will be allowed near me.
So then they laid me down and the doctor is testing to make sure I'm numb and for each spot she touches I didn't feel it. Then she touched something else and I was like "hold up--I do feel that" and the anesthesiologist was like "you're fine". Thank god my OB was not a dick and responded with "no--we're not going to continue" and they tweaked a few things and it was fine. Meanwhile, the anesthesiologist was playing on his phone and making personal phone calls throughout the surgery. They pulled DS out and my shoulder started really throbbing so I let the anesthesiologist know and he responded with "oh--we have a complainer on our hands. it's probably just because your arms are out to your side." and just ignored me. DS came. We rejoiced. I ignored my shoulder pain making mental notes that he was a dick.
Oh my God I am outraged for you! How dare he? I really hope that your complaints during the survey had some consequence.