Print this articleAfter a caesarean
Congratulations - you are a mummy! The midwife will label the baby as yours, dry and wrap them warmly before passing them to either the woman or her partner or support person to hold.
If the woman has had a general anaesthetic (meaning she is asleep for the operation) the baby will usually be taken out of the operating theatre (after being checked, wrapped and labelled), to show the waiting partner and / or support person.
If the baby is unwell at birth, the cord will be cut and clamped immediately after the birth and the baby will be passed straight over to the 'scrubbed' midwife. The midwife will take the baby directly to the resuscitation table for the Paediatrician to attend to. The resuscitation table is located usually to one side of the operating theatre.
Once the baby is stabilised, the midwife will wrap them warmly and then pass him or her to you so you can hold them.If the baby remains unwell, the Paediatrician will organise for the baby to be transported to the intensive care nursery, usually in an incubator. The partner or support person may be able to go with them to the nursery
Stitches
After the placenta is delivered, the surgeon closes the incision in layers. They first stitch up the woman's uterus with dissolving sutures (the uterus is often lifted out of the woman's abdomen to do this). Then the uterus is replaced and the abdominal muscles are allowed to move back in place, to cover the uterus. The fat layer of tissue over the muslces is then stitched with dissolving stitches, before the top skin layer is stitched.
The whole stitching process takes about 1/2 an hour or more.
Recovery
The recovery room (known as 'Recovery') is a room attached to the operating theatre where the woman is closely monitored for up to an hour or so after the operation has been completed. Once the surgeon has completed the stitching, the woman is lifted off the operating table and onto a trolley bed to be wheeled into the recovery room.
The woman will stay in recovery until all of her physical observations are stable (and when she is awake and alert if a General anaesthetic was used).