I was just wondering if there was anyone that has had this done and what your experiences were like. Did you have a birth plan set? How long after the c-sec did you go home?

The reason i ask this is i have a few probs with the way that some things are handled and want to know if i can change them. I found out that bubs is generally not allowed in recovery with you after surgery (which i'm not happy about). I want to breastfeed ASAP, where it be in the theatre room or recovery and a midwife basically told me that it wasn't allowed in either room so i would have to wait over two hours before i could see my baby again after it's birth or even give it it's first feed. I also am adamant that no forceps be used, that i have a spinal - not an epidural, and i want to have my own room in the postnatal ward (if possible) .

Could anyone give me an insight, and do my requests seem too demanding or unaccommodating? I have months to go but have just recently started thinking about these things. I don't want the birth of this baby to be as traumatic as my first. I feel i want a lot more control over things this time around.

Thanks,
Narelle

hey Narelle,

how are you going. Sounds like you arent having the best time at the moment. Unfortunately or fortunately i havent had the experience of having a C/S but I dont think if you feel strongly about these things that it is too much to ask. My advise would be to stick to your guns and fight for what you want. it is your birth plan and they should at least try and come to some sort of arrangement with you



Unforunately one of the joys of being a public patient that having your own room really is a case of luck. I had my own room with Tillie but as I said it was just luck. The girl who was in there with me discharged herself and left her bub in the SCN which is probably lucky otherwise i may have discharged myself because she showed no interest in her bub who was sick...she just wanted to go home with her boyfriend and his mates

Good luck and start fighting now. You do have time on your side at the moment.

debbie

My first son was born by elective c-sect, though obviously not at RDH. The problem with wanting to have bubs in recovery with you is that a midwife is required to stay in recovery with the baby as well and unfortunately most hospitals do not have enough staff to guarantee/allow that.

Have you spoken to the staff about your other requests? I would suggest writing everything down and then going in and asking the midwives. If they don't agree with anything on there then ask them why they won't allow it.

I really hope you end up having your wishes fulfilled and an empowering birth experience.

I'm surprised you're not allowed to have the baby in recovery with you. Even though I had my c-section at DPH, I thought the practices between the private and public would be similar. As soon as Dylan was checked over by the attending paed, he was given straight to me, while I was still being stitched up. He stayed with me in recovery, and I breastfed him as soon as I was in my room, which wouldn't have been more than an hour after his birth. I honestly thought this was the norm.

As other PP have suggested, I think it would be a good idea to write a birth plan, and discuss it with your midwives. Find out what you can and can't do, and why.

The whole intention of this thread was to get some more info for myself in order to write a better birth plan. So i do indeed intend to write a detailed account of what my wishes are. Being only early days i am only after information, so decisions can't be set in stone just yet.

I definetly agree that i need to discuss things further with the midwives / docs to find out what they can be a bit flexible in regards to my wishes. I just wanted to see if anyone else had been through it all before.

Mel - I don't understand what part of my wishes sounds too demanding. They are just intentions and of course, after discussion with a midwife, i would compromise if they are against hospital protical. I myself do not have a problem with the public health system and am quite happy to go this way, so i will not be paying for a private ob. I have never gone and will continue not to, go in with guns blazing.

I didnt have a C/s but I did have a birth plan set out, and I was looking over it the other day and I pretty much followed it to the T. I wasnt brave enough to opt for a birth without drugs, I had the gas and pethadine.

Be clear on what you want, the midwives can be accomadating but I did find the odd one or two uptight and not really very helpful or understanding. If you want music, ask, if you want incense or oil, ask! More pillows, water, ask them as much as you can! They are there to help you.

I was also lucky when I went into the maternity ward, I shared the room with a lady for one night and then she was discharged (she was also kind enough to give me some nappies as I couldnt for the life of me get the clothe one on my little angel, IT WAS TOO BIG!) but I also get very lonely, and my darling Mother had a nice habit of stressing me out while I was in there as well. But as we know, motherz know best and we all like to let people know it.

I wish you luck and hope all goes well, fingers crossed you can have a natural birth and your fears about not seeing your newborn for two hours after a C/s arent realised.

Good luck!

Thankyou, thankyou Alicia, that is exactly the kind of info i was after. Now i understand that i can't have bubs in recovery i will change my wishes accordingly and make sure that bubs can at least have a feed while i am getting stitched up. I'm so sorry that you had a lot of probs with Daisy's birth and i'm sorry you couldn't get the VBAC you were after. Who was your ob when you had your C-sec both times? I hope it's ok, but can i PM you if i come up with anymore questions in the near future?

I certainly will not get my hopes up with a single room, but a girl can only hope, and it certainly can't hurt to ask.

Thanks for all the replies and ideas everyone.

Narelle

Thanks so much for that Alicia. I have Dr Cho as my OB at the moment but am thinking of trying to get Dr Gad as i am more likely to get a C-sec with him.

Congrats on your pregnancy & I understand the desire to organise your options early.

I am not sure if you are hoping to avoid a c/section or to have a c/section, nor if you have previously had a c/section so I hope none of my answers come across the wrong way.

I have had 1 c/section and a VB prior and a VBAC and I am 3 weeks out from having a c/section at RDH, so far I have not discussed anything past medical options with the Doctors managing my c/section - but I am undergoing quite a risky c/section so I don't think anyone would take any notice of a birthplan in my case. That is not to discourage you from having a birthplan but I would recommend perhaps discussing in greater detail with the midwives what you can expect.

Private hospitals & public hospital vary greatly in the comfort levels they can offer patients and you may find that a private hospital would be more accommodating to meeting some of your expectations. Public hospitals really do deal with all the extreme medical cases and most of the rules & protocols are based on this. Therefor when you think about the kind of surgeries that would be occurring on a daily basis and just how sick some of the other people in recovery are it makes sense that babies aren't allowed into recovery, tbh I would not want my newborn in the recovery area of any major public hospital. Added to that the whole reason you are in recovery is because you have just undergone a major surgery that has possible complications and it is the job of staff on duty to assess your health following this operation, once you are deemed to not be suffering any of the possible complications they will reunite with your bubs ASAP, they do not have the staffing resources to help you care for a newborn while recovering immediately after a c/section.I think the only exceptions you would find to this rule is in some womens hospitals & some private hospitals, it is just the way public hospitals are. You may find that bubs is not as keen to feed straight away, a c/section is very different on the bubs vs a vb delivery, there is also no guarantee that bubs will not need special care due to this so you need to be prepared for that.

As you will not be a private patient you can't choose your anesthetist and it will up to the anesthetist on duty on the day of your procedure to decide which would be the most suitable method - or you may find that different hospitals have different preferences the midwives may be able to give you an indication of what the "norm" is but ultimately it's up to whomever is on duty on the day, if you have a medical reason for your preference you may find that they are more accommodating.

While at RDH I will be a private patient and I do not expect that I will be in a private room, my insurance entittles me to a private room at any hospital (in the sense that my cover allows for it), a private room isn't even guaranteed at the Private hospital (I have had to share at the Private due to it being busy - but have gotten a single room at the public due to medical reasons) so you may be disappointed on that one, single rooms are available at RDH but they are used for people who need them generally on a health basis, in most likelyhood they will try & room you in with another person whom has a had a c/section but it all comes down to what is going on that week on the maternity ward, if you are lucky you may be in a shared room on your own at some stage.

Generally all the staff are very nice & they will endeavor to make your experience as comfortable as possible but tbh the main concern of staff is health related and it can be a little bit of a "no frills experience" - I am not wanting to be mean I am just being honest. My DH is hoping that bubs is complication free & is able to brought out of theatre straight to him & he will make the most of having 2 hours alone with her (I have to have a GA due to medical complications so DH is banned from the theatre), and I am hoping that all goes well enough that I only have to be separated for 2 hours, so for me 2 hrs seems like such a positive option.

Unfortunately due to all the medical intervention a c/section can be less bonding and having it as a public patient at a public hospital does give you less say and control of your options but that isn't to say that you can't have a positive experience as long as you are aware of the limitations, if you focus on the end result it makes it all worth it.
I think a "more frills experience" at the Private without insurance would put you out of pocket upwards of $7000 (private room @ approx $700 per day x 5 days, theatre fee's would be atleast $1000, then you would have OB fee's, anas fee's, Paed fee's and all medicine/drug fee's) and that is if nothing went wrong and if things went badly wrong you would end up at RDH anyway.

Best of luck finding a birthplan & birth that you are happy with and I hope that none of my answers have come across the wrong way, it is not intended that way. Spend a bit of time with a midwive to find out what you can realistically aim for if all goes well, good luck.

Lotsa - I am intending on having an elective C-sec this time around after a traumatic birth with my DS. The infomation you have given me is fantastic. You sure are a wealth of knowledge. I understand that a public hospital is a 'no frills' approach and that the staff's main concern is the health of the patient. I am definetly aware that their resources are stretched to the limit at the best of times. I really do need to rethink my requests and at least discuss them with my OB when the time comes. Thankyou again, much appreciated.