C-section under General Anaesthetic - anyone had one?

[Mummy_]

ohhhh hun, i know this feeling well i actually have a thread here saying simular...i get to the point of tears sometimes thinking/talking about my labour. I was wondering if i go to the dr they can help with it, but i feel so silly because at least we're both here!!

Yes - logically I know I am blessed for us both to be here, healthy and happy. But child birth is such an emotional thing that logic seems to go out the window! I have intended in mentioning it to the HV or doctor, but I never do....I feel silly for some reason, similar to you. But I need to do something more as I am thinking about number 2 now, and need to get over this before we go for another baby.

 

[Mummy_]

I agree - I am going to look into counselling

- This was in response to sweatybetty post

 

[Mummy_]

Hi,

I have just got back from seeing the anesthetist for my C section and have just been told that it is most likely I will have to have it under a GA because I have a neurological issue which could be serious if they puncture the spinal cord (happens 1 in 100 times with an epidural and isnt too serious for normal healthy people but could be for me!).
I have to admit im feeling really guttted as I wont get to hear that 1st cry etc as as DH wont be allowed in the room although he will get to hold her very quickly afterwards. The consultant said i wont be out for v.long, maybe 45mins after the cut... but most of your stories indicate longer - do you think that was because it was an emergency one?

From what my husband told me, I think he got to be with the baby about 20 minutes after the operation started, and then he was in the recovery room with me after another 20 minutes, and then I came round shortly after, so it would have been around 45 mins in total. I woke up to see my hubbie sat next to my bed with his top off doing skin to skin with our little man, which was really sweet.

 

[CertainTurton]

Hi,

I have just got back from seeing the anesthetist for my C section and have just been told that it is most likely I will have to have it under a GA because I have a neurological issue which could be serious if they puncture the spinal cord (happens 1 in 100 times with an epidural and isnt too serious for normal healthy people but could be for me!).
I have to admit im feeling really guttted as I wont get to hear that 1st cry etc as as DH wont be allowed in the room although he will get to hold her very quickly afterwards. The consultant said i wont be out for v.long, maybe 45mins after the cut... but most of your stories indicate longer - do you think that was because it was an emergency one?

From what my husband told me, I think he got to be with the baby about 20 minutes after the operation started, and then he was in the recovery room with me after another 20 minutes, and then I came round shortly after, so it would have been around 45 mins in total. I woke up to see my hubbie sat next to my bed with his top off doing skin to skin with our little man, which was really sweet.

Thank you for replying. Thats what the obes said and Its good to hear it was actually the case I know DH is keen to get cuddles asap although he is starting to panic about holding a newborn..bless him

 

[Alias]

Hi,

I have just got back from seeing the anesthetist for my C section and have just been told that it is most likely I will have to have it under a GA because I have a neurological issue which could be serious if they puncture the spinal cord (happens 1 in 100 times with an epidural and isnt too serious for normal healthy people but could be for me!).
I have to admit im feeling really guttted as I wont get to hear that 1st cry etc as as DH wont be allowed in the room although he will get to hold her very quickly afterwards. The consultant said i wont be out for v.long, maybe 45mins after the cut... but most of your stories indicate longer - do you think that was because it was an emergency one?

I was out for about an hour, maybe slightly more, but that's probably above average, because I had an excessive amount of bleeding (lost about 3L of blood and had to be transfused).

 

[Starry Night]

I also was put under for my C-section but I'm one of those who doesn't feel bothered by it. I was just so desperate for my DS to come safely that they could have sawn me in half and I wouldn't have minded (it was a very long and stressful pregnancy and labour). Yeah, I would have loved to have been "present" for my son's arrival but I've coped by joking about it with DH. Sort of, when the nurses handed him to us saying, "here is your son" we had to be "we'll trust you on that one". Well, DH got to meet DS right away even before the surgery was done and he was the one to introduce him to me. I instantly fell in love.

I actually had a nightmare about the operation the other night though, only I was pregnant with number 2. I have no idea if I want to go through another C-section or V-BAC. Both terrify me!

 

[DollPosse]

I was given a spinal for my emergency section but the the spinal was screwed up so they had to put me under. I was not even informed that I was being put under either. I woke up in a room having had no idea what had happen and where I was. I had no idea what had happened to my baby and if she was fine. I had no idea even If I had even had a girl. I was pumped full of pain meds and moved into a room without being told anything for two days. That was awful. I mean we carry our babies and we form this very unique connection and then to have that connection suddenly broken is a huge shock. When I eventually saw my baby I felt like I had no idea who she was because it had been days since I had given birth.

I do understand where the original poster is coming from. I am going to be a mum again very soon and I am reeling from my first child's birth. It is very important to me this time to not loose that connection. I knew Midwife who said she didn't understand why women felt the way I did because it's only one day out of your life. To me though it is one very important and special day.

 

[Starry Night]

That sounds like an absolutely horrible experience. Even if the situation was dire certainly there would have been time to say "we need to put you under now". What a shock.

I hope your next birth goes smoother.

 

[callyd]

I had a csection under GA as well, last May. It still makes me upset to think about. It was my second pregnancy - my first was a completely natural, vaginal delivery and I assumed I would be able to do the same with #2. Unfortunately my daughter's head was tilted funny and pressing on the cord with my contractions and her heart rate dropped dramatically and would not recover so I was out within minutes and did not 'come to' until 2.5 hours later.

I was traumatized by the fact that I missed her birth, that the last thing I remember thinking before I fell asleep was that I didn't know if she'd be alive when i woke up, and that I felt incredibly helpless. You do all you can in the 9 months of pregnancy to nurture and protect that precious life and to have every thing go wrong in the delivery is just so scary.

Also, I think I am upset because although my first labor was natural, my son was born with complications upon delivery and spent 2 weeks in the NICU. I never got the skin to skin with him in the first moments of life, and I didn't get to even go see him in the NICU for 6 hours. I felt so disconnected from his birth experience and had so wished that with my second pregnancy things would be different.

Of course having healthy children is more than enough of a reminder that it is well worth it all, but I do mourn the fact that I missed out on my daughter's birth.

 

[Gabrysia]

Hi, I had a CS under GA, 15 months ago and just about starting to feel a tiny bit better about it. I had my labour induced, it all lasted over 2days when they finally decided to go instrumental/cs. Had to be put under ga as spinal was not working properly. I was convinced that I will not see my DD after i wake up. I did... few hours later, my partner was looking after her. She did not breath for 11 long minutes. We had to stay in the hospital for 3 days but reading previous comments- I was lucky really- to get my baby straight after I woke up. The fact that she was not breathing and had her head all cut (midwives "breaking waters"-which were long gone abt 3 times, then placing the monitor on her head whilst she was still inside, then using the suction cap...) was traumatising i felt guilty of not pushing enough and for letting them to try and break my waters so many times. I find the medical staff incompetent, with the only exception of the person who did not stop resuscitating my girl until she finally took her first breath. My partner is a very loving father but i find it very hard trying to explain how badly traumatised it left me. I am just very grateful to have my healthy little girl-i dont think I will be having any more children. Glad to see that it's not only me being "soft" or feeling negative abt the experience.

 

[bethanchloe]

Same as many of the rest of you I had my daughter under GA after things went funny and I'm allergic to local anaesthetics so wasn't allowed an epidural or even the injections they give for an episiotomy.
I still don't like thinking about it and it really upsets me thinking it was a few hours before I met my daughter and before that she was with her dad and my mum which is better than nobody but still.
It wasn't until we were home (3 days in hosp) til things felt a little better.
I'm pregnant again now and am terrified trying to decide what to do. The idea of being knocked out without expecting it again really terrifies me so am considering a planned section but I'm really undecided and not in a good place about it. It's hard eh x

 

[Banshee]

I was really interested to read this thread coz I had a GA for my c section and have never come across anyone else who had one. I was traumatised by the whole situation and can relate to the poster who said about waking up and not knowing if LO was alive as that was my first thought when I came to after the GA due to the suddeness of having to be put to sleep.
I also really feel like both myself and my husband really missed out on something not actually getting to see my son be born. I used to cry about it all the time but gradually I have come to terms with what happened and I understand that it was the best thing for the wellbeing of my son but I still feel robbed of the experience of bringing your child into the world.

 

[Starry Night]

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just a cold person that I seem to be so unaffected by my experience. I mean, there are times I find it weird that my DS is the same baby who was inside me for nearly 9 months but I know he's mine and I love him extremely. But while I was out I dreamed about my angel babies playing together in heaven and the dream was so blissful that maybe that helped me cope. I don't know.

But yeah, my first though upon waking was, "oh, he didn't make it" but before I could get sad the doctors told me he was fine (the doctor and a nurse were standing over my bed as I awoke)

 

[saoirsecian]

i had a c section 2 weeks ago on the 14th of march 2012... they delivered my son with the epidural but as i was feeling severe pain on one side as they were doing tubel ligation they had to put me to sleep to finish it... i got to see my baby before they putme to sleepo which was great and im happy i chose to have a c section...

 

[Mummy_]

Just bumping this to share the feedback on this thread as I found it really valuable - and also if any new ladies have any experiences to add. x