"You can't leave him there": Mothers about a caesarean section

After the birth of the child, the woman has a lot of new requirements - There is fierce controversy about how the "right" mother should behave. Is breastfeeding? How to quickly go to work? What toys to buy? But it still begins with childbirth: for some reason, natural, without anesthesia, are still considered the “ideal” variant.

One thing - fantasy and belief, and quite another - reality. Many women have to resort to cesarean section, an operation in which the fetus is removed through an incision in the uterus. WHO recommends doing it only according to indications, when natural childbirth is more dangerous for mother and child. Nevertheless, on the forums, and sometimes in a private conversation, women who have undergone a Cesarean section are often asked: "Why didn't you try to give birth to yourself?" We talked with several mothers about why they had the surgery and how they felt afterwards - physically and psychologically.

It seems to me that giving birth is a natural process; This is a mystery that I wanted to survive. My intention to give birth to myself was so strong that I was not even theoretically ready for a cesarean section. I think that this is my omission - the operation for me, one might say, was a blow.

In the second half of pregnancy I had a severe form of gestosis. (now this complication of pregnancy is called preeclampsia. - Approx. Ed.): For the last two or three weeks, the pressure leaped violently, and in the thirty-eighth week I went to the antenatal department. There, on the first day, I was given a drip, and I had such a severe headache, which had never happened before. By morning, I was simply none - and against this background, the pressure jumped again. The manager came: "Emergency Caesar". I called a close friend, she said: "Ira, do not worry, everything will be fine. Just the time has come." After that, I agreed - I already knew that the child was ready to go, the process went.

I was "prescribed" at 11:35, and I began to recover from general anesthesia only at six o'clock in the evening. I was able to get up only on the fourth day - I was lying on a drip. Psychologically it was hard: it seemed to have given birth, there was no belly, and the child was not shown (the daughter was born with a weight of 2350 grams, she was brought only on the fourth day). It is a pain - when you are “nedomama”, when in a maternity hospital without a child, when you have no strength, plus hormones ... I had a slight feeling of guilt that I could not give birth as I wanted, but my friends supported me, saying that it was not necessary reproach yourself It was not at all difficult to carry the child after the operation, I didn’t even think about it. The belly was nagging for a long time and was insensitive.

I am a believer and I know that God protects me and offers the best of everything. Now I calmly say that I had a cesarean - but a year ago this question was painful for me. Now I argue this way: if you manage to give birth to the second time itself — well, well, no — that's fine too.

Operation I was afraid, as, indeed, and natural childbirth. But after watching the lectures on proper breathing, I tuned in to natural childbirth and did not rule out epidural anesthesia. In Cesarean, it scared me that you hear the clicking of tools, you feel something and you understand with your mind - they cut you. But I realized that, whatever your attitudes may be, everything can go completely wrong - we do not control our body.

Natural childbirth began at forty-one week and three days. By this time I was already lying in the prenatal unit, I was in suspense and at the same time felt disappointed: nothing again - weak contractions started every evening and went away. In the evening of birth, they became much more painful, they transferred me to the maternity ward, a doctor came, with whom I had a contract. I looked and said that I was still at the very beginning of the process. I have a pierced bladder(This procedure is called amniotomy; it is done strictly according to the indications, usually to stimulate or accelerate labor. - Approx. Ed.), contractions of the uterus intensified.

The most difficult thing was to lie with the CTG monitor: I got up and sat in the breaks - it was easier to endure the pain. All this lasted about six hours, then I was examined again and said that the disclosure was not progressing - and they were offered a cesarean. There were several factors at once: a large fetus, a narrow pelvis, entanglement by the umbilical cord and, most importantly, weak labor activity. Caesarean reduced the risks to the child in the first place. At that time, I was already terribly moaning, writhing and squirming at every fight: I was conscious, but clouded. So the suggestion that I will be given anesthesia now and in half an hour a healthy child will be born to me, I took it as a gift from above. Although two days ago, in response to the words of the doctor that there is a high probability of cesarean, I shed a tear. How stupid it was!

I had a cesarean under spinal anesthesia(local anesthesia, in which anesthesia occurs in the lower half of the body. - Comm. Ed.), Twenty minutes later, the child was pulled out - I felt as if a heavy load had been taken from my stomach. They showed the son right away, gave him a kiss, and then took her husband and mother, who were waiting in the ward. They sewed me up while I lay haggard and happy. The operation took place around eight in the morning, and already at three o'clock in the afternoon they helped me to get on my feet, they brought a child. Further - as at independently given mothers.

It was necessary to raise the child from day one: I was alone in the ward, time for visiting relatives was limited, the nurses came in only a couple of times a day to check if everything was in order. It was difficult to lift: the son weighed four kilograms, it was sick at the site of the seam and, most importantly, scary and unusual. But the pain was muffled because I took pain medication (for about ten days), as doctors told me. The seam is now made cosmetic, it does not need to be removed. Just on the first day you walk with a sticker, the next day you peel it off, and that’s all - you can, for example, wash yourself in the shower. But, probably, I must say, the fact that everything went smoothly for me is a surgeon’s merit. The seam looks like a thin line and will not be visible, even if I wear a bikini. My doctor said that it is better to plan the next birth no earlier than in two years and immediately focus on cesarean - despite the opinion that it is worth trying to give birth on its own even after the first operation. So I think that if we decide on the second child, I will plan a cesarean.

I used to hear the stories of women for whom the need for an emergency cesarean was a blow and caused postpartum depression. I had nothing like that. I'm afraid to imagine what would happen if I had to twist for twelve hours more in fights, and I don’t want to think about the risks for the child. The opinion of people who consider, for example, that children born by caesarean are worse than those born during natural childbirth, I don’t give a damn.

With the first child, nothing foreshadowed Caesarean, and it was not discussed - I am for natural childbirth. It was a decade ago. Then, for a period of seven and a half months in the clinic, they let me go free swimming, and for almost two months I just waited for the day of the birth. I had them paid, about a week before them the doctor asked me to come for a checkup. On the ultrasound, a very unpleasant picture emerged - my placenta has "sharply aged"(This refers to a condition in which the placenta prematurely “exhausted” its resource and does not deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. - Ed.). The doctor said: "Lera, you have two days. You come either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Wait until you give birth yourself, we can not." And I came. I had a bubble opened to try to give birth - and I went into a rapid birth: in forty minutes there was a cervical dilatation six centimeters. But the doctor suddenly stopped hearing the child's heartbeat: they took one device, the second one - at first they thought it wasn’t working. As a result, the whole department ran.

It turned out that my placenta had moved away. My doctor was sitting facing me, a large mirror was hanging opposite, and another doctor was standing behind me. I saw him show with his hand: "Caesarim?" She: "Yes." And to me: "Lera, we have a maximum of five minutes. You just have to sign the documents." While I was being taken to the operating room, I used to scribble some sticks with my right hand.

I had general anesthesia (Now, at caesarean section, general anesthesia is used less frequently, mainly in emergency situations or if another type of anesthesia does not work. - Ed.). At first I was given an epidural, but, as I was later explained, since the placental abruption had gone and the fetus had acute hypoxia, I was put in anesthesia for fifteen minutes so that the child would receive oxygen. The first thing I asked when I woke up: "What about the child?" I replied: "Do not worry, he was born bad, 5/7 by Apgar, but very quickly comes to his senses." He was brought only in the morning. Of course, everything turned upside down: I did not see the moment of birth, there were no touches, no sensations - everything passed by. But I did not feel any injection due to the fact that I did not give birth myself. The scar was under my stomach — then it was stitched with thread; after I went to the procedures on which the seam was dried - it’s my mock (this is possible if the suture does not heal fast enough or there is an inflammatory process and additional care is required. - Ed.). It was really hard to get up, it was impossible to laugh. The stitches were removed on the seventh day.

When I got pregnant the second time, I thought that I would give birth with a caesarean - because of the difficulties in the first birth. During pregnancy I was given gestational diabetes (as a result, the diagnosis was not confirmed) and sent to one of the best Moscow perinatal centers, where I fell into the hands of remarkable specialists. But for some reason they decided that I would give birth myself. And the most interesting thing was that I agreed.

I have a Foley catheter. (used to stimulate labor. - Approx. Ed.), I had contractions throughout the night, but the cervix did not open. In the morning, I was still taken to the patrimonial department, but the neck was so tight that the doctors could not imagine how I would manage on my own. They sent me back to the pathology department and said that if I didn’t give birth to a specific number, they would do a cesarean. So it happened.

The second time the operation was different. I was in a great mood, I watched and saw everything, because I had an epidural anesthesia. The child got, laid on his chest - despite the fact that he had a double entanglement with umbilical cord. Six hours later, I was already sitting, and the child was brought to the ward at eleven o'clock in the evening (I bore him at two in the afternoon). The seams were processed twice - they did not need to be removed, they resolved themselves.

I did not worry that I did not give birth myself. I felt motherhood in full - I had a baby, they put it on my chest. Heard once: "Why are you kesarilas?" This did not concern me personally, they just talked with friends in common, and I felt a negative attitude. And if the operation is carried out according to indications and the health of the mother and child depends on it? Naturally, I will go to Cesarean and I will not even think about it. When there is evidence, it is better to be safe. By the way, I often hear that there is no milk after Cesarean. So: I fed the first son for six months, the second for more than two years.

I had to give birth to the first son myself, but by the end of the term he rolled over and "sat" on the ass, so because of the pelvic presentation I was prescribed an operation. I gave birth fee. I remember, I go to the operating room, the doctor says: "Undress." I took off my robe. The doctor asked: "Why didn't you take off your glasses?" I said: "I can not remove them, I do not see anything." Made the staff laugh. Anesthesia was common: they pricked me, I began to count to ten, but I did not remember the last numbers. It was only imprinted that when she moved away from anesthesia, she recited poems: "Frost and sun, it's a wonderful day!" I also remembered how the anesthesiologist said to me: "Mom, can you hear me?" - "Yes". - "Your son was born. Do you understand?" - "Not". And this dialogue was repeated several times. The son was born at three o'clock in the afternoon, and brought it to me at six in the morning the next day. I gradually recovered: there was time for rest, because the child was not brought immediately. I didn’t feel any uncanny pain after the operation, the scar healed quickly.

I gave birth to my younger son, too, with the help of Cesarean - I had an operation before that, which left a big stitch on my stomach, so there were no options. At the second birth, I did not have general anesthesia, but epidural anesthesia, and it seemed to me that this option was better: my son was immediately applied to the chest. The only thing that seems to me is that from the epidural, my body was then itching, I think, it was something allergic. The contractions began prematurely (I was then in the antenatal department), and the doctor persuaded me to do an epidural anesthesia. I came across a young team, they did everything with jokes, laughed: "Today is the day of our anesthesiologist, so you should call your son Roman." Have made an injection. I say: "It hurts me, don't do anything." Although they did not do anything - this pain just seemed to me, I was afraid that they would cut it “alive”. After some time, the doctor asked: "Well?" "It still hurts," - I answer. "I already get the child". By the way, I didn't hear the sounds of the scalpel and syringes. After the second birth, it departed in about the same way as after the first: the child tried not to wear it, the seam was aching, but tolerable.

I have a friend who was worried about Caesarean: she wanted to give birth to herself, but she got some water, she gave birth for eight hours, and then she had an operation. I never had a feeling of guilt: the child must be born, he cannot be left there. So what's the difference how it happened?

Somewhere a couple of months before the birth, it turned out that I had oligohydramnios, double entanglement of the umbilical cord around the neck of the fetus and pelvic presentation. The doctor said that in these conditions, the child would no longer turn upside down and would definitely have to do a cesarean. The operation was planned - as I recall, a week or two before the date of delivery. Of course, I was very worried: I’m afraid even to donate blood and get vaccinations, and even more so. But I had a very good doctor, the head of the department: we talked with her on the phone, I could ask any question - and she calmed me.

The operation went well. I was given spinal anesthesia - the doctor said it was better than epidural. Honestly, I did not quite understand why, but it seems that it is considered to be a more modern method. I am pleased with how everything went - thanks largely to the doctor: it was clean, the seam was neat. The anesthesiologist is also great - it didn’t hurt, as they sometimes say; The only thing, I was very sick during the operation. There was a feeling that I was only half conscious: it seemed to be here and seemingly not here. It was so bad that the anesthesiologist ten minutes after the start of the surgery suggested that I sleep. I agreed - I saw the child, they took it away, and then I slept. I woke up already in intensive care.

The operation began at one o'clock in the afternoon, and I was in the ward at eleven in the evening. The most difficult period is the first few hours in resuscitation, when you begin to recover after and feel pain where there was a cut. I was also very much beaten up: as I later learned, this is such an otkhodnyak after spinal anesthesia.

The next morning, of course, was very hard. I remember that the nurse did not speak very politely to me - I called her on a personal matter, and she considered him unimportant, just turned around and left. Then, on the second night, the doctor advised me to sleep on my stomach. I did it and immediately felt like a man, it became much easier. Every hour I was getting better, and a day later I had so much energy that I didn’t know where to put it, and walked along the corridors. I was kept in the hospital for a week, although I believe that three days would be quite enough.

Further recovery went smoothly. I was well sewn incision - the doctor was a professional; the seam was not very sick, raising the child was not a problem. The operation only affected feeding, since the child was not immediately attached to the breast; y "Caesar", as a rule, in principle, problems with this. I had to give him a mixture almost immediately - my breast didn’t work.

Regarding further birth, the doctor said: "Maybe you will try to give birth yourself." I suspect that if I later want another child and can contact her, I may be able to do it naturally. All the other doctors in polyclinics and in the maternity hospital like to repeat that after a cesarean it is obligatory to have a cesarean - and not earlier than in three years. I am basically ready to give birth a second time and through surgery.

I have come across stereotypes and prejudices about cesarean section. It was said that children born this way are more likely to have health problems. But this is about the same stereotype as about breastfeeding and artificial formula. I just gave up on it - I don't want to think that your child is worse than others. Moreover, now he is much less likely to be ill than many other children of his age. With immunity he is all right.

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