What is a cesarean birth (cesarean section)?
A cesarean section, or C-section, is the surgical delivery of the baby through an incision in the mother’s abdomen and uterus. The procedure is usually performed using spinal anesthesia (an anesthetic injection into the fluid that surrounds the spinal cord) so that the mother can be awake during the birth without feeling pain. If the woman already had an epidural placed earlier (e.g., during labor), the epidural can also be used during the delivery.
What are some common reasons that a woman may need to undergo a C-section?
A vaginal delivery is generally safer for both mother and baby. Depending on the mother’s prenatal history and the health of her baby, however, her provider …show more content…
Once cleared by the NICU team, the nursing staff will work to make sure that the infant can be placed on or near the mother.
Generally, cesarean deliveries can take 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the scenario. Once the surgery is completed, mothers are taken to the recovery room to be observed briefly before being transferred to the postpartum unit.
How is the incision made during a cesarean?
Generally, the skin incision for a cesarean delivery is a horizontal, “bikini line” incision made just above the pubic hairline. The incisions are low enough to be well hidden under a mother’s underwear or swimsuit.
Once the incision is made, the rectus muscles (often called the abdominal muscles) are separated in the middle to reveal the uterus. An incision is made in the uterus – also low and near the pubic bone – to elevate the baby and deliver it through the uterine and skin incisions. The placenta is also removed through these incisions.
Once the baby and placenta are delivered, the uterus and remainder of the tissues are closed. The skin is closed with either staples or dissolvable sutures placed beneath the