Are C-Sections Harder Than Natural Births?
There’s a common misconception that c-sections are the easy way out of childbirth. It’s a misconception that I, myself, believed until I became a labor and delivery nurse.
Well, today my patient underwent a c-section and I’d like to tell you about it.
I arrived this morning and immediately started an IV and got a type and screen in case she needed a life-saving blood transfusion during surgery. When I asked her if she was excited to meet her baby, she grimaced. Upon reading her chart, I learned that she’d had a traumatic c-section only two years prior.
I led her into the operating room, and the doctor immediately sat her on the side of the bed for a spinal block. A spinal block is a way to numb only part of the body so that the patient can stay awake during surgery. She squeezed my hands, digging her long nails into my palms while the doctor inserted a 9 centimeter long needle into her spine. I felt something wet on my hand, and looked up to find that tears were streaming down her face and dripping onto my hands.
Once the spinal block was complete, we strapped her onto the bed and placed a drape above her abdomen so that she wouldn’t have to see what was about to happen. The surgeon started by making a long, smooth cut along her lower abdomen. Once the first layer of tissue was open, the surgeon set her tools down and instead placed her hands on the patient’s abdominal muscles. On three, she and her assistant pulled in opposite directions with all their strength, tearing the abdominal muscles apart in an attempt to reach the uterus lying beneath (A rip heals better than a cut, so tearing the abdomen apart by hand is preferred to using a scalpel). The sound of tissue being torn apart made me dizzy, and when I looked at the patient I could see that she was shaking and staring at the ceiling, eyes as wide as saucers. The surgeon then sliced open the uterus and reached in. With one large swooping motion, she removed the baby from the uterus. The patient watched fearfully as we whisked her baby away to the warmer for resuscitation. Often, c-section babies require extra stimulation to clear their lungs, so they can’t be taken directly to their parents after birth.
Once the patient’s abdomen had been sewn back together, I wheeled her back to the recovery room for intensive monitoring. There is a high risk of hemorrhage after surgery, so it’s imperative that the nurses check vital signs and blood loss every 15 minutes for the first hour after surgery.
I placed her baby on her chest and watched. Her eyes looked dark. Her face tired. She still couldn’t move the lower half of her body. And in that moment, I felt profound shame. Shame for ever believing that a c-section was “an easy way out”. Shame for ever invalidating the emotional and physical trauma of being ripped open while lying awake with open eyes and a clear mind. Shame for not understanding.
I must do better. We all must do better.
**Photo by @Myriams-Fotos on Pixabay
