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Immediately after birth....

Hiya, I'm 32 weeks pregnant and have been thinking a fair bit about d-day....can anyone share what happens immediately after you give birth in hospital? I know I'm overanalysing everything, but in antenatal classes we talked about skin to skin contact etc - does this happen while you're getting stitched? And do you get help cleaning up after? And is this before or after going to the ward?

Replies

  • I'm sure it differs from hospital to hospital,but it also differs depending what pain relief you've had and how many stitches etc.

    This is my second pregnancy and with my first I ended up with an epidural and vacuum delivery which required an episiotomy and stitches.I did have some skin to skin directly after delivery but they gave our little girl to my husband while i was stitched and they waited in the recovery room until i was brought out of theatre.

    As for the cleaning up,I was thinking about this recently and when I packed my bag before I had my daughter I had assumed I would be the one getting things out of it but in actual fact the midwife was asking me where things were to get me cleaned up-hubby was holding baby- and I couldn't think so we couldn't find half of it.So this time I have gone a bit ocd and have packed everything very carefully in a bag with compartments labour stuff in one and immediately after labour in another and labelled it all so whoever is looking in it should be able to find what I need.

    I was cleaned up in recovery and then after that on to my room(I was in a single room but this would've been the same if I'd been going to the ward.)

    Exact process does probably depend on type of anaesthetic etc,they prob would have let me have more skin to skin after if I hadn't been so shaky after the birth that I was worried I'd drop her.Ask the midwives at your hospital though they should be able to give you an idea of what their standard process is.

    Hope that is of some help! Good luck with it all!

  • Generally you will deliver baby (either through vagina or c-sec) & baby will be handed to you 'skin-to-skin' whilst you then deliver the placenta (how long this lasts will depend the individual delivery).  Once you have delivered both baby and placenta they will then normally hand baby over to your birthing partner whilst they tend to you (sorting any stitches you may need, allowing you to have some refreshment, allowing you to shower) all of which tends to happen in the delivery suite.  Once you've had time to refresh they should then help you with feeding baby for the first time before they eventually discharge you.

  • i had to have an emergency c after being in labour 27 hours and going from 6cm to 3cm. i had morphean (cant spell!) and gas and air.  After the section i was given my baby to carry while they wheel you back to your room. as you're numb from your tummy down you cant do anything and your also on a cathater.

    it wasnt till quite a few hours later i had skin to skin but i dont think it did any harm.

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