What to expect during a caesarean section

Caesarean sections are carried out in hospital. You may be asked to come in for an appointment a few days beforehand, and you might need to stay in hospital for a few days afterwards.

This page covers:

Preoperative appointment

The procedure

Afterwards

Preoperative appointment

If there's time to plan your caesarean, you'll be given an approximate date for it to be carried out.

You'll also be asked to attend an appointmentat thehospitalin the week before the procedure is due to be performed.

During this appointment:

  • you can ask any questions you have about the procedure
  • a Blood tests will be carried outto check for a lack of red blood cells (anaemia)
  • you'llbe given some medication to take before the procedure this may include antibiotics , anti-sickness medication (anti-emetics) and medication to reduce the acidity of your stomach acid (antacids)
  • you'll be asked to sign a consent form

You'll need to stop eating and drinking a few hours before the procedure your doctor or midwife will tell you when.

The procedure

Preparation

You'll be asked to change into a hospital gown when you arriveat thehospitalon the day ofthe procedure.

A thin, flexible tube called a catheter will be inserted into your bladder to empty it while you're under the anaesthetic, andasmall area of pubic hair will betrimmed if necessary.

You'll be given the anaesthetic in the operating room. This will usually be a spinal or epidural anaesthetic , which numbs the lower part of your body while you remain awake.

 

This means you'll beawake during the delivery and can see and hold your baby straight away.

It also means your birth partner can be with you.

General anaesthetic where you're asleepis used in some cases if you can't have a spinal or epidural anaesthetic.

What happens

During the procedure:

  • you lie down on an operating table, which may be slightly tilted to begin with
  • ascreen is placed across your tummy so you can't see the operation being done
  • a 10-20cm cut is made in your tummy and womb this will usually be a horizontal cut just below your bikini line, although sometimes a vertical cutbelow your bellybutton may be made
  • your baby is delivered through the opening this usually takes 5-10 minutes and you may feel some tugging at this point
  • your baby will be lifted up for you to seeas soon asthey've been delivered, and they'll be brought over to you
  • you're given an injection of the hormone oxytocin once your baby is born to encourage your womb to contract and reduce blood loss
  • your womb is closed with dissolvable stitches, and the cut in your tummy is closed either with dissolvable stitches, or stitches or staples that need to be removed after a few days

The whole procedureusually takesaround 40-50 minutes.

Afterwards

You'll usually be moved from the operating room to a recovery room straight after the procedure.

Once you've started to recover from the anaesthetic, the medical staff will make sure you're well andcontinue to observe you every few hours.

You'll be offered:

  • painkillers to relieve any discomfort
  • treatment to reduce the risk of blood clots this may include compression stockings or injections of blood-thinning medication, or both
  • food and water as soon you as you feel hungry or thirsty
  • help with breastfeeding your baby if you want it read more about the first few days of breastfeeding

The catheter will usually be removed from your bladder around 12-18 hours after the procedure, once you're able towalk around.

EpiduralAn epidural is an anaesthetic injection given into the epidural space that surrounds the spinal cord, especially during labour, to numb the lower half of the body. Local anaestheticA local anaesthetic is a drug that is injected by needle or applied as a cream. It causes a loss of feeling in a specific area of the body.SpineThe spine supports the skeleton and surrounds and protects the delicate spinal cord and nerves. It is made up of 33 bones called the vertebrae.

Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 19 Jul 2016