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Cesarean Description

 Back to Cesarean Section

Please be advised these are pictures of an actual surgery therefore they are slightly graphic.

This is the operating room as the patient is being prepared for surgery.  Her hands are strapped down so she can not move her arms to get in the way of the doctors performing the surgery.  A drape will also be placed at the mother's chest so she can not see the surgery.  There are many doctors and nurses in the room.  It is the decision of the Anesthesiologist as to how many visitors can be in the room during the surgery.  Many Anesthesiologist allow one person in the room who is not on the medical staff, such as a partner or doula although if it is an emergency cesarean, no visitor may be allowed.

The mother is placed under anesthesia, either general anesthesia (typically used for emergencies) or an epidural is placed if not already in place.  General anesthesia will render a mother unconscious whereas with an epidural, a mother is awake and may still feel tugging and pulling sensations while the doctors perform the surgery.  Once the drape is in place it is a good idea for the visitor to help keep the mother calm and relaxed, perhaps explaining what the doctors are doing.

After the mother is fully anesthetized, the surgeons make an incision (either horizontal or lateral).  They must cut through the skin, muscle, fat, abdominal wall, uterus and the placenta to reach the baby.  Any bleeding vessels are cauterized (sealed with heat), and the smell is one of the most common complaints from mothers.  The incision is typically about 6 inches long.

After reaching the placenta the baby is delivered from the mother's stomach.  Since the doctors want to keep the uterine incision as small as possible, mothers will feel some pulling and tugging while the doctors are delivering the baby and the placenta.  Once the baby has been given to another member of the staff, the placenta is removed.

The baby is handed to a nurse and is taken to the warmer to be cleaned up, evaluated and wrapped up.  Since some babies born by Cesarean section have trouble breathing, there may be a Respiratory Therapist helping the nurses.

The doctors start to stitch up the mother, first they must stitch up her uterus and then her abdominal wall.  The internal stitches will dissolve with time and the external staples will be removed before the mother leaves the hospital. These stitches and staples usually remain in place for 2 weeks after the surgery.

Mom gets to see her baby while the surgeons are inserting the sutures.  She will have to wait until she gets back to the recovery room to hold her newborn.  Once in recovery moms will be given pain medication to relieve some post surgery pain.  Their vitals are monitored closely for 24 hours.