Birth can be unpredictable and there are cases where medical staff and parents-to-be make a decision that a caesarean birth is the best way forward.
I have attended several caesarean births, planned, scheduled a short time before the birth and unplanned. As part of the birth planning process, I encourage parents to be to think about their wishes should this become part of their birth story.
As with any birth plan, the process of creating a plan, allows you to explore your thoughts about birth, discuss these with your partner, doula, midwife and gynaecologist or obstetrician. Each discussion serves a slightly different purpose and feeds into the communication process. In my experience, these discussions are very important and always result in a better outcome that would have been possible had these conversations not taken place. Helping parents to be to understand how to have these conversations is an important part of the birth preparation.
I have debriefed numerous births where women have discussed the circumstances around the arrival of their baby. When the people around them take time to explain what is going on and to listen, women feel more in control and more positive about their births. Starting these conversations early, asking questions, conducting a dialogue, all helps towards an empowered birth. The role of the birth partner is important in helping this to happen.
I have seen great changes in how these operations are conducted in the past four years in the Geneva / Lausanne region. This is great news for parents-to-be, for mothers and for babies. My clients have been told that ‘it’s not possible’, ‘it is protocol’ and yet, with gentle, respectful discussions, immediate skin to skin, initiating breastfeeding, delaying baby measurements, and keeping mother and baby together have all happened. This is great news.
I have linked below to an article about UK based caesarean birth processes which are increasingly being adopted here in Switzerland, a link to gentle caesarean approaches in Chablais and more recently adopted in Hôpital de la Tour in Meyrin.
Image by <a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/hand-drawn-cesarean-section-illustrated_21534661.htm#query=cesarean&position=20&from_view=search&track=sph">Freepik</a>