c-sec

Bobbkat · Jul 16, 2010

I had one. I got to triage, baby was having lates, no interventions worked, I was in the OR delivering in less than 45 minutes, and the only reason it took that long was because it took FOREVER to get an IV in me.

My prep pretty much consisted of the residents flying into the room to tell me that the decels were not a good situation and that a c-sec was needed, running out of the room and returning about 20 seconds later with consents and an anestesiologist to explain and get consent for both the spinal and general to me. Meanwhile, the nurses (including my mother, who was present and worked in the unit next door) took turns jabbing me TRYING to get an IV in me. After that I was run to the OR.

What I appreciated the most was that one particular nurse, I don't even remember her name, just kept talking to me. No one was calm, the docs were literally RUNNING my stretcher down the hall to the OR, but she trotted beside me the whole time talking to me....I don't even remember about what. I remember her squeezing my hand as I was being prepped too. Afterwards she stopped by recovery to visit me. It's crazy, it went so fast that I can't remember much else. She stayed very positive the whole time too, which was very reassuring since everyone else, with the exception of the anesthesiologist (who was also very calm, kind, and reassuring) was very tense. I appreciated the anesthesiologist talking with me after my husband left to follow our daughter to the NICU.

Even in recovery, after the surgery my nurse was very good at keeping me informed about my child, whom I had only seen for about 30 seconds before she was taken to NICU. Again, she was very compassionate and kind. I was so in shock from the whole experience....I just needed people to talk to me and keep me involved and informed about what was going on. I went from expecting a normal vag delivery to an emer c-sec, resucitation of my child, and the NICU in less that an hour. I needed a lot of emotional support.

On the other hand, one of my nurses after the section was just evil. She barked things at me, she yelled at me when I left the unit to visit the NICU....ugh. She should perhaps rethink LD and focus on an area where the patient is unconscious. One of my friends happened to deliver on the same unit 3 days later and had the misfortune of having this nurse too.....we still talk about how evil she was to this day.

So be compassionate, keep the patient informed, and don't be evil. I guess that about sums it up.

rbytsdy · Jul 16, 2010

Emergency c-sections can be very scary for a mom! I'm not in L&D so I can't give you specifics but explanations of what's going on would be really helpful. Usually things turn into a blur so explaining to mom would make the experience a more positive one. I got some sort of medicine to settle my stomach and help keep me from vomiting. After that I remember them putting the side rails up on the bed and wheeling me down to the operating room.