Any Men Present for a C-Section?
 

Last week we found out our daughter-to-be is breech! Up until then, the doctors believed she was head-down but a final ultrasound proved otherwise. We tried manually turning her in a procedure called ECV - it looked painful and my wife will confirm this. Everything else with the baby is fine (weight, size, etc). Most hospitals don't mess with trying to deliver breech babies anymore, and our doc recommended a C-Section before labor sets in to avoid complications and general chaos. So, were headed in this Tuesday - about 10 days ahead of schedule. Baby will be about 7lbs.

Anyone else go through this? I'm not that squeamish, but it might be a bit much seeing my wife go through that. I know they are routine these days (up to 20% of all deliveries now), but two lives are still at risk. I know seeing my daughter in the end will more than make up for it, but it will be a nerve-racking experience. A friend at work went through this two months ago and his wife had major complications (however, she was diabetic). He also mentioned seeing "stuff" hanging out. I may have to take a few valiums left over from last year with me :eek2 ...

Yep, at the birth of my twins. Filmed it, and 30 minutes before had 2 sausage and egg mcmuffins with hasbrowns.

Man up and get it done. Your child's first breath is a wonderful thing to behold. :)

Ive seen a lot... (through work, not an overactive sex drive)

Your wife wont see or feel a thing... and you dont have to either

Most women who have had both will tell you its a lot better than an on the spot Epesiotimy with no anesthetic!!

c section is the way to go, simple, fast and painless, low stress on the baby and recovery time for her and the baby is much shorter as well

I was also present for my sons birth that was a C section, I remember her not being in any pain but I don't remember the procedure, I was concentrating way to much on the delivery of my boy!

The first cry from that childs mouth will be something that you will never forget! COngrats and I hope you have a healthy child ;)

Yep this guy was:

http://www.nikki-network.com/buck.jpg

my girl just had a c-section two months ago ( today the 12th exactly )
she was 100% out of it for 3 days in the hospital on some drugs to kill the pain
once she would walk she barely could do that for
it tooka bout two weeks before she could really walk well

tooka bout a month to heal all the way


it is really stressfull on the female as they can not do much for the baby and alot of women get really depressed about it

Shit!! If you ever think about going for a job in one of the caring proffesions..... Do the world a favour and dont do it!!

Good to hear some of your stories. We've been told the hospital stay is usually 4 days for a C-Section (3 if lucky), and most women are allowed to lift up their babies when they get home. I suppose everyone heals differently. I know some emergency C-Sections are also a lot harsher because they cut through muscle to get the baby out fast. That's what we're trying to avoid. The standard is to simply spread the muscles out (if they have the time). The Doc also says they force you up on your feet the second day and get you moving to prevent blood clots. Regardless, my wife is taking at least 2 months off work to recoup and care for the baby. I only get a week :(

Hmmm, shorter recovery time for the mother vs natural birth, nothing i've read confirms this.

hope everything turns out ok! congrats on the new babie :)

We are due in about 2 weeks. We are going tuesda to find out the baby's position.


I've had alot of friends that had C section. Its not something you want to see.

From what I understand, they basically take the intestines out. A least the emergency ones.

I am under teh assumption that if they do a c section, they will have a curtian above the waist or the husband won't be in the room.

Very likely I'm wrong, but I couldn't get straight answer anyway either.

C-Sections are used far to commonly in today's world. I'm surprised they've ordered it already if there is still 10 days until the due date, and the baby and mother are not in any risk. The baby still has lots of time to turn into position.
just my 2 cents

Good luck I do wish everything turns out great! The ultimate goal is to have the baby arrive safe and sound

I've had 2 c-sections, one emergency and one scheduled. There is a sheet put up from the top of the belly so that only the doctors see. My husband was with me for 2 of them, yes he was very nervous as to anything can happen. They tried to give me penicillin when I had a big red band stating I was allergic, but other then trying to dose off and nobody letting you it was fine! I was up and walking a few hours after it was done, home in 3 days. I would much rather c sections and I asked for the second on. I recovered great was nursing the baby the night I got home.

Good luck and congrats!

Smurfette

I've seen many c sections, they aren't that bad...no intestines taken out or anything like that. Its an elective c section not an emergency so much smaller risk of complications.

My Ex was at mine. He watched the whole thing up close and personal. He was thoughtfully (NOT!) giving me a play by play about what was going on. I finally told him to just shut up ;)

My wife had 2 c-sections ... she's only 5' ...a small girl and my first son was 9lb 10 oz ... so we had to have a c-section ..it wasn't bad ..they put up a sheet ..i didn't see much .... my second was 5 months ago ..he was 10lb 9 oz ...same thing to big to deliver ... that one they had me up and moving around the room ..i saw her cut open like a fish ...bit of a brain scare but with the new life in the room at the time you don't even notice ..i hate seeing that stuff but i was fine ... :thumbsup ....good luck and congrats ..

Epesiotimy is the whole reason I am not overly upset I am not going to have kids. I already had an epidural and it hurt really bad but I didn't feel the operation at all so it was worth the inital pain and the major bruising and back pain later.

All 3 of my children were born by c-section and you don't have to see a thing if you don't want to. They but up a big sheet and the daddy can sit right up by mom's head. They hold the baby up so you can see her when they take her out, just like a natural birth.

C-sections are really not as dramatic as some people make them out to be. After my first one, I elected to have the second and third. The birth is much more predictable, and less stressful on mom and baby. The scar heals up really nicely over time too.

My incredible son was born via C-Section and I was there. It was very awesome. She experienced no pain. For a month I did no work so that I could help out. I babied her. I didn't even let her change a diaper for the first 2 weeks. It was an amazing time of bonding between my son and I. She's not a night person so I'd rent movies during the day for viewing late that night. When he woke up, she'd nurse him and then I'd take him downstairs to rock him to sleep. I'd pop in a movie and enjoy the magic. You'll see what I mean by "magic" very soon. There is no other way to describe it.

But back to the C-Section: I was behind a sheet holding her hand when they cut her open, but when it was time to take him out I was allowed to watch. I could see right into her stomach. It was interesting. When they brought him out he started peeing, right into her stomach. They rinsed her out with a lot of water. In the meantime, they'd taken my son a few feet away to begin cleaning him. I was in scrubs the whole time, of course.

As soon as they could I was handed my son and allowed to carry him to the nursery. We passed my mom along the way and I turned him towards her. She later told me about the nice male nurse who gave her a look at her grandson. She almost didn't believe me when I told her it was me in those scrubs.

In the nursery they placed him under a heatlamp. I stood there holding his little hands and talking to him. He was comforted and quiet. He seemed to be staring at me. My family could look through the glass windows to watch.

My ex was recovering in another room for an hour. I got to spend that first hour with him, alone. It was great.

Oh, by the way: my son was breach too. So much so that he had callouses on his butt for a few weeks. He was lodged in there good. :)

Thanks, Sarah. We both had the same thoughts but were convinced otherwise by our doctor. It really is necessary in our case. There is a little more to the story in our decision to go with a slightly early delivery than I originally stated. When we we went in for the baby turning procedure (ECV) last week, we found that my wife's amniotic fluid was a little on the low side. This is probably the reason she didn't turn. Last Friday the fluid showed signs of decreasing more (but this could have been ultrasound error). This means there is little chance the baby could now turn. Low fluid + breech could lead to some nasty complications if you wait for labor - placental failure, uteran rupture, emergency c-sections. Since there's a very slim chance she will turn, it's too risky to wait and then probably end up with a c-section anyway if a complication sets in. Fortunately, the baby is already a great weight and fully developed - and that was also a factor in our decision. This way, we can safely plan the whole process.

I've talked with some RNs in other states, and they agree 100% with the doctor. Waiting full term under these circumstances is not the right thing to do. 10 days is no big deal if the baby is well developed. Everyone thought my wife would be early anyway because the baby developed a bit ahead of schedule (which could mean the due date was wrong all along).

Everyone,

Thanks for the great stories! Very encouraging stuff.

I was born breech normally and my mom didn't have a C-section at all. No complications. But every time is different, I guess. I wish you and yours all the best.

Yeah, hospitals used to deliver breech all the time. Often because they had no choice as it wasn't discovered until too late. Most turned out just fine. A few hospitals still do, but the bulk don't it anymore (if known in advance) because of the risk and liability exposure.

good luck with all this :)

We will be having a C-section on June 3rd. we also dont have a choice. My wife has a fibroma, and also Placenta previa. The fibroma is at the lowest point covering the birth canal, and then right above that is the placenta. So there is not way for our son to go through it. His schedualed birth date would have been the same as mine, but we asked the doctor to do it a few weeks early. He said that would be fine.

I have to admit, that since this is our first, I am scared shitless. About the entire thing in general.

No, but I've had three myself... It's definitely not fun, but it's not that terrible.. they do it all behind a curtain, you stay on the side with your wife, and they hand you the baby after :)

I was there when my daughter was born via c-section, she was breach and had hooked a foot it to the rib cage so there was no chioce.
I got to see the whole thing on the tv monitor. I kept peeking over the drape, I want to see it live.
I did come around and cut the cord, then took my daughter over to the warming bed and cleaned her off, the nurses let me do it all.
If you get the chance to do it, go for it, its was a great feeling.

If I ever have a c-section I definitely want it done UNDER general anaesthesia. I simply cannot understand why most women prefer just an epidural and to be awake, I read that this is standard now. I know most women want to see their baby and all and be awake when the baby comes out, but for me, I HAVE to be asleep. There is NO WAY I would EVER be awake for something as grueling as that. I saw a c-section on tv and it freaked me out. I don't think I will ever want to bear kids or have a c-section after that. I am turning 27 in 2 months and I still don't ever want to have kids knowing the incredible pain involved. It's just not for me.

I also read that it's a hot trend with celebs now to get elective cesareans, because they either don't want to push and rather have it all planned out.
It's called "too posh to push" after Posh Spice (victoria beckham) who's had 3 c-sections.

Nasty post.