Cesarean Birth Plan

I created this when pregnant with my second child, B.  My birth with R was so chaotic and left such a bad taste in my mouth for birth that I felt like I should at least try to get what I wanted, even out of a routine surgical procedure.

Honestly, I can tell you that I've never actually given this to my doctor or hospital staff.  I really use this to confirm to myself what I want, and I let them know as needed during the birth and hospital stay.  It is helpful for me to have that written down and in my head when everything else is so crazy!

I was SO blessed with B and D to be able to go to a hospital where they respect birth (that's almost all they do!) and even in Cesareans, they are very pro- Mom and Baby.  Which is the main reason I never had to give this plan to the hospital.  My doctor and the staff were very conscientious of my and my baby's needs and did almost everything on this list without me even asking.  I had it printed out just in case, but never felt like I needed it.

But some might not be so fortunate to have a great hospital, so here is my Cesarean Birth Plan.  Please feel free to use and change for your own needs.  I borrowed this from another site and I think we C-Section Mamas have to stick together :)

Cesarean Birth Plan

      We realize that cesareans and other surgeries are a common event. However, we ask that the staff respect that this individual surgery is a unique event in the life of our family. For us, it is neither common nor routine, but rather is an event that will have effects lasting a lifetime. It is my goal that the entire process of the cesarean be treated as the joyful, celebratory, respectful event that birth was meant to be.  Therefore, I am making the following requests:

*I want to be modestly draped at all times.

*I do not consent to any students, interns, etc. watching the surgery.  Participation by students is fine as long as a licensed physician or nurse is close by monitoring at all times. 

*Conversation between staff kept to a minimum (no casual chatter unrelated to the surgery) with focus being on making my husband and I feel as at ease as possible and kept informed as to what is taking place.  Once the baby has been born and has been taken to the nursery, please feel free to include me in the casual conversations.  It helps keep my mind off of what I’m missing in the nursery.

*I do not want a play-by-play of the surgery.  General comments are fine, please do not give me detailed descriptions. 

*I prefer spinal anesthesia, an epidural is my second choice, and general anesthesia is my last choice.  I want the smallest dose possible to reduce recovery time after surgery.  

*I do not want any morphine derivatives in my spinal anesthesia.  I get too itchy after surgery, and the Benedryl makes me drowsy.  I do not want to miss my baby’s first day.

*I do not wish my husband to be separated from me at any time prior to the birth, except when I am being put on the table and he is getting dressed.

*I do not consent to my husband being separated from me even in the case of general anesthesia. It is important that the birth of our child be witnessed by a family member, even if I am not in need of support at that time. 

*The birth will also be attended by my step-mother.  She does not need to be present during the administration of anesthesia, but will be present during pre-op prep and surgery. She and my husband will be taking pictures and movies of Baby's birth.  

*I do not consent to tying my arms down unless I am unable to control them.  Even if I am unable to control them, I would like them untied while I am holding Baby, even if I need assistance.

*I do not consent to sedatives or tranquilizers being added to anesthesia without my, or (if I am incapacitated) my husband’s permission.

*Drape lowered at time of birth so I can see Baby coming out, but not so much that I see everything else.

*Husband will announce the sex of the baby and have the honor of announcing his/her name.

*Baby placed on my chest for skin-to-skin contact as soon as possible after birth with assistance in holding him/her if necessary. (I am SO lucky to be able to deliver at a hospital that allows this for c-sections now!  But this may not be allowed at your hospital, you will have to ask)

*After I hold Baby, the remaining cleaning, wrapping, and vital checks may be done.  I want my husband to participate as much as possible. 

*I want an extra set of foot prints taken for the baby book. 

*I want the umbilical cord left long so that my husband may cut it during the cleaning and wrapping. 

*Baby to be returned to my chest after wrapping for as long as I choose.  Assistance will be provided as necessary. 

*If a hysterectomy is needed following the birth, please inform my husband and myself so that we can prepare ourselves and our other children for the extra time needed to complete the surgery.  The same is true for any other complications that might arise during surgery.

*After I am finished with surgery, I want Baby to be brought to me immediately, even if it means delaying non-vital testing, medications, and bathing.  I choose to nurse as soon as surgery is over and I am feeling up to it.  I would like to be left alone while nursing, except for a lactation consultant, if needed.    

*If I am not able to nurse right away, I want my husband to have an opportunity to bond skin-to-skin with Baby even if this means delaying non-vital testing, medications and bathing.

*I want my entire family with me during recovery.  This includes my husband, my daughters, my son, and, at times, my parents. 

*I’d like to room-in with Baby as much as possible, but I may request to have him/her in the nursery at night so I can rest. 

*I want all vital checks for myself and Baby to be done as infrequently as possible, and done at the same time when they are necessary to minimize time away from Baby.  This is especially important during the night.

*If Baby is a boy, I would like my husband to be present for circumcision.  Please consult both my husband and I on the procedure beforehand.  I would like to schedule the circumcision to be right before a feeding. 

I understand that not all births go according to plan, but I hope that these requests provide a general framework for the birthing experience I hope to have.  If changes need to be made for any reason, I hope the staff takes the spirit of these requests and attempts to provide the same type of experience I want, even with unexpected changes. 

These are the people that will be involved with my birth and hospital stay:

Husband – name

Daughters  (ages 7 & 1) – names

Son (age 3) - name

Baby

Dad – name

Step-mom – name

You will notice that this is super detailed and some things may not be important to you.  I will mention again that my birth with R was on most of these points a train wreck (other than taking home a perfectly healthy baby girl!), so I did a lot of points just to counter the bad experience I had then.  They may seem like common sense, but believe me, they're not!  It's also written so that if you wanted to print it out and give it to your doctor or hospital staff, it's ready for that.

Someday, we will sit over a cup of chai tea and I'll tell you the almost-comical story of R's birth and how most of these points came about.  But for now, we'll just leave it at that.