My C section birth plan

I wrote a C section birth plan since I'm having a scheduled C section. Let me know if you think it's too long or if I'm missing anything. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

C-Section Birth Plan for Tami **** – June 17, 2010

Patient of Jodell Boyle

 

****ALLERGIES: Penicillin type drugs – Unasyn (Ampicillin and Sulbactam) & Amoxicillin       

 

Pre-Op & C-Section:

§  Please have a specialist come and put the IV in. I am extremely difficult to have IV’s done and you will more than likely end up having to call a specialist anyway, this will save me from many pokes.

§  Please place the urinary catheter in after anesthesia is in place.

§  Please use the smallest needle possible for administering the anesthesia to help prevent a spinal headache.

§  Please allow my husband, David ****, to be at my head during the procedure and to take pictures if so desired.

§  Please allow my mother, Sharon *****, to be present in the operating room as well.

§  I would prefer antibiotics at the time of the c-section to ward off possible infection as I had a horrendous infection after my last C section.

§  I would prefer my incision to be in the same spot as my previous C section if possible, however, I may have a lot of scar tissue from a previous C section infection and realize this may not be the best option.

§  I would prefer double suturing of the uterus with dissolvable stitches, and steri-strips to be used in place of the staples.

§  I would like the drape to be lowered as the baby is being born so I may witness her birth.

§  If possible I would like the baby to be evaluated and bathed in my presence.

§  If the baby must go to the NICU or nursery, David **** or Sharon ***** will accompany the baby until I am able to be there.

 

Recovery/Postpartum & Newborn Care:

§  I would like to breastfeed while in recovery as soon as possible, and have any assistance needed in doing so. The baby will be solely breastfed on demand, please do not give pacifiers, glucose water, or formula supplementation (unless medically necessary).

§  Any oral medication will need to be liquid or chewable form as I have the lap band and cannot swallow pills bigger than an M&M.

§  I would like to be able to eat real food as soon as possible after delivery so that I have the strength to nurse & care for my new baby throughout the evening.

§  I want the catheter & IV removed as soon as possible so I may get out of bed & start moving around.

§  I would like the baby to room in with me 24-7 and prefer for all evaluations to be done in my presence.

I just wanted to make sure you know that most hospitals will only allow one person to be in the operating room for a c-section. I work in a women's hospital and we only allow one person. Other hospitals I have worked at, it is the same way. I just wanted you to know in advance in case your hospital will not comply with your wishes. It is strict policy in all the hospitals I have worked at, if your hospital is different well then it won't be an issue :)

Traci

I've know. I am hoping they will make an exception (but I doubt it). My mom's a nurse and I like to have her by me when I'm undergoing anything so she can make sure they're doing things right. I'm a little paranoid that way, but you'd be surprised how many things she's caught before. But of course, my husband wants to be there and so he'll be the first priority,

I would call the hospital and find out if hey have OR's where someone can observe. Many do (especially if they are teaching hospital). It may not be the same as her being in the room, but being able to watch the birth through a window would still be a magical experience!

 I have had 3 c/s myself. Remember once the catheter comes upget up and walk as much as you can to start you bowels again. This on my 3rd birth had me eating solids real quick. I put him in the bassinette and just pushed him all over the maternity ward :-)

Good Luck!

Oh and I am a hard stick- my dr put in the orders that they were to have the IV team do my IV. Ask your OB to put this part in your information they send to the hospital They had this wicked cool thing they put over m hand and it showed all my veins though my skin and what they were doing. Of course they numbed my arm first but they got me right away.

Another trick I learned from the nurse at the cancer center were I get my iron transfusion, they put a heat pack on me first where they were going to place the IV, it helped the vein plump and rise and they got me first time all 6 times I have been there!

Thanks for the info! I know that the hospital is not a teaching hospital, it's a smaller hospital, so I doubt they have an area where she can observe, but it's worth a call to find out for sure.

Every time I've had an IV they put the warm blankets or hot packs on my arms and still have to poke me several times, it's not fun. They end up having to call the anesthsiolgist to come and put an IV in and still they have trouble. Something about my veins being wiggly and not straight, they turn in weird directions.

My veins do the same thing! The light thing that shows the veins is awesome! Ask about that.

I will ask about that, thanks!!

In all honesty most of this stuff you can talk with your ob about and get squared away before you even head in for the section.    I had a c-section and just about everything you have listed there was already put in my chart and done.  If it wasn't in the chart I just made sure to tell the nurse or whoever was there and it was done.  At my hospital they only allow 1 person in the operating room at a time also.

I was thinking that most of it seems to be pretty standard stuff that most women I believe would want. When we took a tour of the maternity floor at the hospital, the guide said to have a birth plan even if we were having a scheduled C section which I wasn't going to do until she said that. So I guess I'll have it if they want it and if not, I'll just tell them.

You were very thorough in your birth plan. I congratulate you for making one for a c-section. I never did. I just talked to the Dr. and he explained to me what points I could have and couldn't have and after we got all those things weeded out and he explained the reasoning behind some things, I pretty much got everything else (except I wanted my hubby to be able to cut at least a small piece of the umbilical cord after they moved the baby to the bed but that didn't happen with our 2nd and 3rd (our 1st isn't his) so I reminded the Dr. during the birth of our 4th to leave a piece of the umbilical cord for my hubby to cut). It was important to him to do, so I made sure it happened the last time.

I don't know if you got the hospital to comply with your 1st child with these things that you are requesting, but I will tell you from experience that unless you have this stuff cleared with your Dr. first, I can tell you that a lot of it isn't going to be complied with and I'll tell you why: (Just want to prepare you so you're not blindsided)

*They won't let more than 1 person be in the operating room. That's usually standard everywhere unless you have some EXTREMELY rare cir****tance.

*"I would prefer antibiotics at the time of the c-section to ward off possible infection as I had a horrendous infection after my last C section."  This probably will not happen due to the fact that just because you had an infection with one c-section, doesn't mean you'll have an infection this time and they won't treat something that doesn't exist. I've had 4 c-sections and only 1 infection.

*"I would prefer my incision to be in the same spot as my previous C section if possible, however, I may have a lot of scar tissue from a previous C section infection and realize this may not be the best option." They will give you an incision in the exact same spot and they just go through the scar tissue. It takes a little longer, but that's how they do it. 4 c-sections here and they've always gone through the same incision. They don't want to create more scar tissue by cutting you somewhere else.

*"Any oral medication will need to be liquid or chewable form as I have the lap band and cannot swallow pills bigger than an M&M." Don't forget to add IV form to this as they can give lots of meds in IV form. And if you're nauseated after your c-section, the IV forms are lifesavers.

*"I would like to be able to eat real food as soon as possible after delivery so that I have the strength to nurse & care for my new baby throughout the evening." This won't happen for at least 24 hours. Your bowels will not work correctly until the anesthesia is out of your system and then even for days later. You need to be able to pass gas first before you can eat solids. You'll do clear liquids pretty much immediately. That's usually for 24 hours, then the next 24 hours is full liquids, then you'll be able to have solids if you can pass gas. That's how it's been for everyone one of my c-sections....no deviations at all as much as I wanted food. I even had a nurse tell me (when I tried to use your excuse about wanting to be able to nourish the baby and needing food) that women successfully breastfeed in 3rd world countries and they do it with very little food or near starving. (Yeah, I got A LOT of sympathy didn't I??) And really, as long as you are hydrated, you'll be ok for 2 days without solid food. Your milk won't come in for several days anyway and your baby has no appetite initially anyway.....they just want to suck and need to to pull that milk down.

*"I want the catheter & IV removed as soon as possible so I may get out of bed & start moving around." They won't remove your catheter until you get the feeling back in your legs and you can bear weight (if I'm remembering right, it was after 12-24 hours with each of mine) and the IV stays in for at least 24 hours. You can get out of bed with the IV even though I understand that both are major pains in the butt, but they keep the IV in for a reason, especially until they know that you are ok, not nauseated, fully hydrated......etc. Plus I had pain pumps each time and that really helped for the first 24 hours.

*"I would like the baby to room in with me 24-7 and prefer for all evaluations to be done in my presence." With all 4 of my kids, they've NEVER done ANY evaluations in my room. None of my babies ever had their first bath in my room either. Everything was ALWAYS done in the nursery and I believe that is pretty standard anywhere. But if the Daddy is there, they can usually go to the nursery each time.

I'm not trying to be a downer Gus, I just wanted to tell you what my experiences were and maybe prepare you for some things that won't be accomodated. I wanted a lot of these things too.....several times for several of my babies in fact, but it didn't happen. Each hospital has their own policies and procedures and they follow them, sometimes despite what you want. I just didn't want you to get your hopes up with all this stuff. I know I did!  But you never know. You could get really lucky and get them to comply with EVERYTHING.....but then again, we could all win the lottery tomorrow too....lol Just wanted you to be prepared. Good luck though! Be sure to talk to your Dr. beforehand and give him a copy of this well in advance and talk to him/her about each point. That way there's no confusion and there will be no surprises on delivery day.