Truth About Cesarean Delivery

Ok, so you have just found out you are pregnant. Your first thoughts are of happiness and excitement. A baby? I mean really, how much happiness does one girl deserve? There are stars in your eyes and a lightness to your step. And then the sickness starts. As you kneel on the side of the road - yet again today - you vaguely wonder if you should have listened to your dad when he told you "no sex until you are 50!". Whoever said being pregnant is a joy was obviously a man! They didn't take into consideration the back pain, midnight cravings, constipation, extreme moodiness- scares away most of your friends, the sudden onset of cankles - when you no longer have ankles, the unpredictable gas - can be embarrassing, and the frequent urination. Let's just face it, sometimes you just can't make it to the bathroom, especially when you sneeze and get more than you bargained for! My sister was the worst for wetting herself. She always said, "I am not going to waste my energy to almost make it. I'll just walk up and change my clothes." With there sudden mood changes, you are better off not messing with a pregnant woman. And there is sleep, or the lack of. You can not sleep on your stomach, doctor says not to sleep on your back,

You are so ready for someone to just reach in and pull this baby out. You are ready to have a normal body again and to meet your wonderful new baby. Yet there is also the fear of childbirth looming in your near future. You have heard enough stories, as soon as you mention you are pregnant all the mothers within earshot will tell you their child birthing stories, but you are uneasy about yours.

And then you hear the words no pregnant woman should ever have to hear. "There is something wrong with the baby. Looks like we are going to have to do a cesarean." You need to try to fight the urge to kick the smile off his face, but being pregnant, those negative thoughts are perfectly ok. "yeah, he's probably going on vacation and wants to deliver before that so he can still get paid." Although it sounds bad, and doctor's try to scare you with their big words, a cesarean is not all that scary. A couple weeks before the big day they will have you come in to watch an informative video on everything that could go wrong. Depending on the hospital, they take you into the materiality ward to let you see the delivery rooms and nursery. When you leave the hospital you can take a certain amount of comfort from the sounds coming from the other rooms. As you see a cup flying into the hallway and hear the raised voice explaining the difference between water and ice chips, you can smile to yourself and be glad you don't have to go through natural childbirth.

When the big day arrives will already be nervous and slightly scared. You may have a strong urge just to cancel the whole thing, to tell the doctors and you family that it is ok, you'll just stay pregnant. Just remember to stay calm and rest assured in the fact that the doctor knows what he is doing, in fact he has probably done this before. Besides, you do have the advantage of knowing what to expect. You practically have a timeline. A woman coming in for natural delivery can be in labor for three days. The longest part you have to worry about is prepping for the surgery.

There are basically - very basically - five parts in the typical cesarean delivery. The prep, the actual delivery, the sewing, in the recovery room, back in the hospital room. They ask you to come in a few hours before the surgery so you can be all ready when the doctor comes in. The prep includes, but is not limited to : a catheter, an IV, and a shave. The catheter only hurts when they put it in the wrong hole, an IV involves a needle which is never good, and the shave is so the tape won't hurt coming off. Yeah- you will thank them later! The actual delivery takes about fifteen minutes- if that. The anesthesiologist comes in first and gives you a shot in your back to make you numb. The worst part of this is working yourself up into thinking it will hurt. It really doesn't hurt - it just feels weird. After you get all numb they lay you back on the table and tape your belly up. They put paper around your belly to prevent infection- you are going to be cut open. They say there is no modesty during delivery, but it can be intimidating in that room. They lay you there naked and exposed to the whole surgery team plus the team for the baby plus all the extra people. By the time it is all said, you have 25 people in there and you are the only one naked. It can be quite humiliating, but if that is all you have to worry about while giving birth you are doing ok. After your baby is born they let you see your child for all of three seconds before taking them out of the room. Then they ask your partner to leave, and you are left alone with the doctor and a few nurses while they sew you back up. This is probably the longest part of the whole ordeal. In actuality it probably takes about twenty minutes but it seems like a lot longer. You really just want to see your baby. After you are whole again they put you in a recovery room to wait off the effects of being numb. Although hey can bring the baby back, it seems all you can do is sleep. Just go ahead and sleep! Before long you are in a hospital room with your family and new baby. And although you have only been in the hospital for three hours, you got a whole new person out of the deal. The next few months might be a little rough but in the end, believe it or not, you will be saying, "That wasn't so bad."