As someone who had two, I am a pretty staunch defender of C-sections if that's the best thing for the mother and the baby (and for the record, I feel the same way about homebirth and whatever other options are out there to give mothers and babies the birth experience they wish for). But I'll acknowledge one criticism of them as valid – they don’t give the mother and baby very much of a chance to bond immediately after birth.
Salon's Broadsheet wrote last week about the idea of "natural" C-sections, which is gaining ground among some doctors. In short, if a c-section is non-emergency, they let the birth partner watch, uterine contractions (versus lots of pulling OUCH) can help deliver the baby, and babies are placed on the mother immediately for skin to skin contact.
I love this idea, although I wouldn’t want things to go so far as an unmedicated c-section (OMG). With my first baby, she was born by emergency c-section after a pretty terrifying labor experience (anyone who would like to trash me for having a c-section doesn’t get to judge unless they got to hear their baby's heartbeat slow almost to a stop while they lay petrified and helpless to save her). I couldn’t touch her right away, or even for a few hours, and really the whole thing left me kind of shocked and numb.
With my little guy, it was planned and the whole thing was different emotionally – not least because our hospital had, in the three-plus years between kids, instituted a "bonding nurse" program after surgical births. Also, the nurse anesthetist that was by my head during the procedure put up a mirror so I could see my son emerge and she helped my husband put the baby's head on my shoulder right away, so I could kiss him and snuggle him.
That in and of itself was so much more wonderful than my daughter's birth, but the other thing that was great was that my husband got to leave the room with him and carry him off to the nursery, and bring him to me in recovery when I arrived. The bonding nurse stripped him down and let me encourage him nto urse right away and just let me hold him for as long as I liked, which I think had everything to do with how great I felt right after his birth.
Circumstances surrounding my two birth experiences were so different I can’t say that my son's was so much better just because of the attention paid to bonding with him, and I am pretty strongly bonded to my girl as well. But I know I am awfully glad I had the chance, and I wish everybody did. Let's hope this catches on.
