Susanne Remic is a primary school teacher, freelance writer and parenting blogger. She writes at Ghostwritermummy and Maternity Matters and in between all of that she regularly wins mummy of the year awards for running around after her two children, aged six and 19 months. This is her pregnancy blog: an online diary of her third pregnancy as she strives to overcome two difficult births, one angel child and one awkward toddler. Join Susanne as she shares every step of her journey from bump to baby!
A natural caesarean?
By Susanne Remic on 24 Nov 2011
In my last post, I opened with the sentence: there isn’t much natural about a c-section. This worry has been on my mind a lot lately and is one I shared with the lovely ladies over on the Birth Trauma Association’s Facebook page. As ever, the support I was shown has boosted me a lot and I now have a plan formulating in my mind...
A natural c-section need not be an oxymoron. There are many surgeons who believe that women who give birth via c-section are as entitled to feel contractions and to experience skin to skin contact as a woman who has a vaginal birth. These women have a birth plan which has been fully discussed with their consultant and these women are able to feel empowered in their decisions.
I was sent the link to a video clip of a woman who was due to give birth via planned c-section. She had agreed with her consultant that she would not be taken in for surgery one week before her due date. She would wait for the natural on-set of labour and once she was definite that her body was contracting, she would contact the hospital and go in for her surgery.
This enabled her to feel confident that her body was not being tricked into giving birth too early and also left her feeling empowered, less at the surgeon’s mercy if you like. This woman was delighted to give birth via a ‘natural caesarean’.
This idea appealed to me instantly. Unfortunately, it has also sent me into a panic for most of the weekend. I realised that I needed my own birth plan, not another woman’s. I needed to feel secure in my decisions and I also needed my husband to be happy too. It has to be a joint decision, since birth trauma affects dads so much more than people realise. I knew my husband would not go for the unpredictability of waiting for natural labour.
My plan is a compromise, the closest I can come to achieving the kind of birth I really want, without giving in to the fear which still consumes me daily. Last time I was pregnant, I refused to make a birth plan. This time, I think it may just save my sanity.
So here it is. My birth plan. I shall push for my elective section. I meet with my consultant at 28 weeks and during this meeting I will make it clear my reasons why I should have surgery. My midwife does not anticipate any objections. I will also let my consultant know what I require to happen, should I go into labour before the agreed date.
This is the deal breaker for me. This is the part I should’ve considered last time. This is where it all went wrong for my son. If I go into labour before 39 weeks, I want to be admitted straight away for my section. I don’t want it to feel like an emergency and I don’t want to be pressured into a trial of labour.
In both cases, I want to request the possibility that my baby is delivered directly onto a special trolley which has been developed at other hospitals in the UK. These trolleys ensure that mothers are able to see their babies at the bedside immediately while doctors work on them. They also allow for delayed cord clamping, which means that I can have skin to skin contact like other mothers.
I would not know of these possibilities if it was not for the Birth Trauma Association. I would not have even considered a natural caesarean, or the importance of having a birth plan this time. I would not have realised that it is possible for me to have a positive, empowering birth experience, finally. I just hope I get what I want.
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