Spit-up On My Shoulder

Can a caesarean section feel as natural as a vaginal birth? Yes, according to Professor Nick Fisk , an obstetrician in London. Fisk is the pioneer of a movement to slow down the delivery of the baby during a c-section and allow the parents to participate more in the birth. Instead of being separated from the birth by a drape, a “gentle” caesarean allows the parents to view the birth and for the baby to be delivered to the mother’s chest for immediate skin-to-skin contact.

According to a December 2005 article in The Guardian, Dr. Fisk says, “What I realized was that caesareans were done a certain way because they’ve always been done a certain way, but in fact they can be done differently - and in a way that parents love.”

Other doctors are sometimes shocked when they hear what Fisk is doing. “They say, but surely you have to get the baby out fast so she can get oxygen straight away? And I say, when the baby is being born she’s still attached to the umbilical cord and is still getting oxygen from the placenta. Caesarean birth can be gentle, just as vaginal birth can be gentle. Obstetricians are too hung up on getting from the point of incision to the birth of the baby as quickly as possible: that’s been the benchmark of a skilled surgeon. But I’m challenging that because, from the baby’s and from the parents’ point of view, it’s not very helpful.”

Read the entire article, including a description of one family’s experience of a gentle caesarean, here.

Thank you to my doula friend, Consie, for tipping me off about this caesarean method. I’m surprised we haven’t heard more about it in the U.S. considering Dr. Fisk has been using the method for years. In a gentle caesarean, parents feel more involved, breastfeeding is easier because there is skin-to-skin contact right after birth instead of the baby being whisked away, and the babies are calmer because the birth occurs slowly.

If you’ve had a caesarean section, what do you think of the gentle caesarean philosophy? I highly encourage pregnant women to explore this method more so they can discuss it with their doctors. American doctors need to get on the bandwagon about it! Many new moms I’ve worked with found their caesareans to be a traumatic experience. Why not make this surgical procedure better for both babies and parents?