Medicalized births: what consequences for my baby?

Births by cesarean section, with forceps, suction cups, or epidurals, or delivery surgical instrument set scheduled deliveries or post-term births are among the medicalized births that require special attention from the medical team.

Birth by forceps, spatulas or suction cups

The use of forceps, spatulas or suction cups is necessary when the delivery needs to be accelerated, the exit of your child, engaged in the cervix, being done on average in half an hour. You have been having contractions for a long time, your baby’s head does not come down, and you gradually get tired. These instruments are there to help you give birth more smoothly and faster.

Forceps are used to guide your baby and accompany him when he is not engaged. This instrument comes in the form of two spoons, affixed to your child’s temples. Without pain for your baby, the forceps can sometimes cause small bruises or redness on your newborn baby’s cheek or temple. They will wear off quickly and leave no damage.

Spatulas are made, like forceps, of two plastic or metal spoons, but not linked together. They allow the doctor who performs your delivery to orient your baby’s head until it is released. They present the same risks of redness or small bruises.

The suction cup helps support the mother’s expulsion movements. By gently adhering to the scalp, the suction cup allows the doctor to exert extra traction during mum’s contractions, and to maintain tension when mum is at rest, to prevent the baby from rising. It can also help orient the baby’s head better to facilitate childbirth. The suction cup can create a painless sero-blood lump on your baby’s skull, a sort of little bun that will disappear in a few days. A cephal-hematoma can also form which will disappear in a few weeks.

Suction cups, forceps or spatulas are rarely a source of pain for your child, in which case the medical team may give them pain relievers, but they may be necessary to prevent possible suffering for your baby during a prolonged delivery.

Spatulas are made, like forceps, of two plastic or metal spoons, but not linked together. They allow the doctor who performs your delivery to orient your baby’s head until it is released. They present the same risks of redness or small bruises.

The suction cup helps support the mother’s expulsion movements. By gently adhering to the scalp, the suction cup allows the doctor to exert extra traction during mum’s contractions, and to maintain tension when mum is at rest, to prevent the baby from rising. It can also help orient the baby’s head better to facilitate childbirth. The suction cup can create a painless sero-blood lump on your baby’s skull, a sort of little bun that will disappear in a few days. A cephal-hematoma can also form which will disappear in a few weeks.

Suction cups, forceps or spatulas are rarely a source of pain for your child, in which case the medical team may give them pain relievers, but they may be necessary to prevent possible suffering for your baby during a prolonged delivery.

Cesarean birth

It is important to differentiate between scheduled cesarean sections and emergency ones:

For example, a cesarean section can be scheduled if your baby is in breech, that is, when your baby presents through the buttocks. This helps to minimize the risks of childbirth.

Caesarean section can also be done during labor, if the healthcare team considers it best for the health of the mother and / or baby. A stagnant labor, a baby showing signs of suffering are indications for cesarean section during labor.

Finally, some cesarean sections are decided on an emergency basis, when the delivery endangers the life of the mother and the child. A significant hemorrhage, a prolapse of the cord are indications of caesarean section in urgency.

Decided before childbirth, or performed during contractions, a cesarean section is a necessary decision of the medical team to ensure that the birth goes smoothly. However, some consequences are possible for the baby. In fact, during a cesarean section, maternal hormonal secretions helping the newborn to adapt to ectopic life are interrupted. Your child does not have as much time, during a cesarean section, to adjust his metabolism, especially his respiratory or digestive system. He may therefore experience some fragility at birth.

When a caesarean section is decided on urgently, the mother produces stress hormones which are passed on to her child. Once the birth is finished, the relaxation hormones produced by the mother will not be passed on to her child born by cesarean section. The medical team will therefore take special care to monitor how well your baby is adapting at birth if you are having a caesarean section.

Finally, unlike vaginal delivery, where the lungs empty in part thanks to the compression of the chest when passing through the vagina, in the event of a cesarean section, the child may be hampered in breathing due to difficulties in absorbing. fluid in his lungs for 9 months. Specific care is then delivered to your newborn, as soon as it leaves the maternal womb.

For more details, please visit: jimymedical.co.uk