When I learned it would be a c-section I cried for 24 hours: I had been preparing for a natural birth and was looking forward to it. Anyway that was over and even an induction was impossible as I was only 33-week pregnant. I decided to document myself and I learned stuff that helped me greatly:

• I could wear my eye glasses in the operation theatre
• I could put music (the Rosie has Bluetooth speakers in the theatres)
• I could participate more: there is a thing called “active caesarean” or “gentle caesarean” where the team lower the screen and follow the pace of the baby to get him/her out. I did not find anything about that on the NHS/NICE websites but when I mentioned it to the team they were familiar with it and happy to discuss it

I watched some videos (but not any!) either animation or active caesarean, nothing else, to understand what will happen.
I also rang a friend who had a caesarean to ask her what I could do to be ready. Her answer was: “Getting ready for a c-section? This the great thing: you do nothing and you end up with a lovely baby!”. I asked the nurse if I could meet with an obstetrician to ask a few questions.

Once I had done all that I drafted a five-line birthplan for the team. At the end I did not give it because I wanted the team to focus on the baby and don’t bother about me (the caesarean was decided because the baby was unwell so it is specific to me). At first, when I mentioned the gentle caesarean, the medical team suggested they could play it be the ear but I thought I did not want to have any clue about what was going on. The only thing I did was keeping my eye glasses to see my baby. Even though this was not a natural birth breathing techniques proved very useful: they helped me to stay calm and… to breathe!
I was very impressed by the atmosphere in the operation theatre. They were lot of people in it (and more than usual in my case due to the baby’s risk) but they spoke very softly and the room being big it never felt crowded. It was very calm and I felt the team was in control which was so reassuring.

Going through the preparation of a birth plan helped me greatly. Planning for a gentle caesarean helped me moving away from the natural birth I was longing for; once that done I was able to get my priorities right, and the type of c-section I would have did not matter anymore.

The day after the birth I took a picture of my scar because I wanted to see it. When I did, I felt my baby had left a smile on my belly.
Today having had a caesarean is just part of the story.

I want to stress that the teams at the Rosie were wonderful before, during and after the birth. I cannot recommend them more. The only advice I can give is: feel free to ask anything, they will do their best to help you. They can provide basic stuff such as earplugs as well as find a consultant to discuss with.

Maud