by T. Lynn Amanti

Created on: August 01, 2008

Preparing Yourself for a C-Section Delivery
Includes Firsthand Experience with Information that is Seldom Told

You find out that you will, indeed, be having a birth via surgery. Your heart begins to race and panic ensues. Thoughts rush through your head including the concern for safety of yourself and your child, the pain and preparation for after the birth, and the thought that your child will be here in a matter of minutes. Your heart is overjoyed but you're scared. The beginning stages of a birth by Cesarean section may bring a feeling of uneasiness, anxiety, and a fear of the unknown. This is all normal and you will be experiencing something that others have experienced before and many will after. No matter how prepared I thought I was when I went into the hospital for my scheduled surgery I wasn't prepared with the first hand experience of knowing what would be happening. My purpose of writing this is to educate and perhaps help those who are to experience this to have a little more peace of mind and ease of the heart when it happens.

Medication, Preparation, and Drapery
Prior to even going into the room for surgery you will be medicated and prepped physically for the surgery. Your preferred person in the surgery room will also be putting on scrubs from head and mouth, to their toes. The surgery room must be kept completely sterile. You will be asked to remove any jewelery, and confirm any allergies to medications. Your doctor should brief you on the general aspects of the surgery and give an estimate of the time surgery will take. If you have any questions at all at this point please ask your doctor. This will ease your mind and no question is a stupid question. An anesthesiologist and other staff will also be accompanying you to the surgery. You will arrive in the room and you will see a huge light over the table. You will also see a drape that will be placed over your abdomen to block your view from the actual surgery. The anesthesiologist will most likely ask you if you're feeling anything in your legs if you have an epidural, and will ask you throughout the surgery if the level of pain is greater than it was. You will be administered more medication if the pain changes.

The First Steps of Surgery
The doctor will be cutting through multiple layers of your lower abdomen and uterus so this part will take approximately 5-20 minutes. The tools used will be sharp instruments and blunt dissection tools. You may also hear whirring noises from the tool used to cauterize

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>