HealthPartners - Preparing for childbirth

Preparing for Surgery If you need to have a cesarean birth, your health care team will explain why you need the procedure, what to expect, and what your anesthesia choices are. Having surgery can be scary. But your care team will keep you informed and provide enough medication before the surgery to keep you comfortable. During your cesarean birth, you can expect to feel pulling, tugging, and pressure sensations. There may also be other sights, sounds, and smells that are new to you. If you feel anxious, the anesthesiologist will be nearby to offer encouragement, support, and medications if you need them. You can also use the relaxation techniques that you practiced for labor during your cesarean birth. In an emergency cesarean birth, it may take only 2 minutes for your baby to be born. If it’s not an emergency, the birth may take up to 10 minutes. Your health care provider will gently lift out your placenta and examine it. Then it will take about 45-60 minutes to close the incisions in your uterus and belly. If your baby is doing well, the care team can place your newborn skin-to-skin on your chest right away.

Before and during surgery:

• You may receive an antacid to calm your stomach

• You’ll have a blood sample taken and an IV line started • Your belly will be prepared for the incision • You’ll have a catheter inserted into your bladder to keep it empty • You’ll be connected to heart and blood pressure monitors • Your labor partner will change into scrubs, wash their hands, and join you • A drape will be placed across your belly • Your provider will make incisions in your belly and uterus • Your baby will be lifted out of your uterus and born

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74 Your Guide to Labor and Birth