Birth Plan for Cesarean Birth

It is important to have a birth plan for cesarean birth because every pregnant woman may have a chance of needing a cesarean. It’s one of the most important things I can suggest – to prepare for all things, including cesarean. Ignorance is bliss is plain stupid. Education is best, therefore educate yourself ahead of time and read and plan.

You should read everything you can about pregnancy and childbirth, both vaginal and cesarean. Attend childbirth education classes. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, they are well worth the time and effort. Talk with others who have been there. It’s not right to go blindly into the pregnancy and childbirth without preparing for what lies ahead. Know all your options and be prepared.

Learn from my mistakes. I went through my first 2 pregnancies ignorant. In my opinion cesareans weren’t even an option. No one in my family had ever had a cesarean so I didn’t see the need for a birth plan for cesarean birth. Just because no one else in your family ever had a cesarean doesn’t mean it can’t happen to you. Each pregnancy is different.

I had my first baby vaginally, which was a blessing. I saw how easy it was to recover. With my 2nd pregnancy I went so far as to take Bradley Method Childbirth classes. I had talked with the doctor and hospital and had it all planned out. No drugs, little intervention. That was my plan until my 30th week of pregnancy when I found out my baby daughter was a complete breech.

I then crammed all I could about cesareans and finally made my birth plan for cesarean birth. I had to throw out all my plans for a drug-free natural birth and allowed all the medical intervention I could.

Fact is every pregnancy may have a chance of needing a cesarean. Problems arise that sometimes necessitates the need for a cesarean and having a birth plan for a cesarean birth such as:

• Failure to progress in labor. When the cervix will not dilate completely or the labor stops. A cesarean will be considered if the bag of waters has broke or the mom is over 2 weeks past her due date.
   
• Fetal distress. The baby is not getting enough oxygen, either because the umbilical cord is being compressed or because the placenta is no longer functioning properly. Other possibilities of fetal distress are infections.
   
• Malposition of the baby. Breech position are the cause of 15% of cesareans. If the baby doesn’t turn on their own and if the baby is in a complete or footling breech and in some cases a frank breech, a cesarean is necessary for a safe delivery. Breech babies can be born vaginally, but it’s with a risk of soft neurological damage. Footling and transverse breech almost always have to be delivered cesarean.
   
• Maternal health conditions such as

  a. Genital herpes
  b. Gestational diabetes (If the condition caused the baby to gain excessive weight, known as macrosomia with the baby weighing 9 pounds 14 ounces or more)
  c. Heart or pulmonary disease
  d. High blood pressure
   

• Multiple births of twins or more. (some cases of twins can deliver vaginally too)
   
• Not enough room for the baby. Sometimes the baby won’t fit through the mother’s pelvis, because the mother is too small or the baby is too big or the baby is turned sunny side up (face facing forward).
   
• Obstetrical emergencies such as:

  a. Cord Prolapse
  b. Placental abruption
  c. Placenta previa
  d. Uterine rupture
   

• Repeat cesareans. 1/3 of all cesareans preformed are repeat. VBAC – vaginal birth after cesarean can be attempted by some women with success. Thus “Once a cesarean always a cesarean” isn’t always the case.

Knowing all this, you can certainly understand how any of the above can happen and make a cesarean necessary. It’s so important to prepare a birth plan for cesarean birth. Visit your hospital for a tour and find out the procedures that are used.

Normally you will have an IV inserted in your arm and a catheter inserted to catch your urine. You will be given a spinal, epidural or both. In extreme emergencies general anesthesia is used. Most of the time a person will be allowed to be with you the entire time. It takes up to an hour and you will feel little to no pain. You will spend another hour in recovery. Once you go back to your room, you’ll be on a liquid diet for a day or so, and slowly allowed to get up and to eat solids. It takes about 6 weeks to fully recover from a cesarean and several months for the muscles to gain back enough tone for you to be able to sit up without help.

Prepare a birth plan for cesarean birth just in case you may need it.  It's always best to be prepared even if you never need to use it.