04/21/2026
April is Cesarean Awareness Month, here’s a little about ours.
I’m a home birth midwife, a cesarean was furthest from our plan. But I also accept that we can’t control every aspect of birth, and that’s part of the beauty in it. When our plan needed us to evolve with it, I discussed in thorough detail the importance to me of a gentle cesarean with our doctor. Albeit new to him, he welcomed almost every request I had. If you’re unfamiliar with a gentle cesarean, the intention is to protect the birth space, and psychological aspects as close to a vaginal birth as possible. I requested:
👉🏻A clear drape-I wanted to be involved in every second & whichever way my son was born, I wanted to see him Earthside.
👉🏻Optimal cord clamping-not delayed, optimal. Meaning until the cord stopped pulsing completely.
👉🏻Immediate skin to skin-no weighing, no measurements, no newborn exam, no drying & stimulating. That he be born through my incision and come directly to my chest.
👉🏻Vaginal seeding-inserting swabs vaginally prior to the C/S, for me to swab him following the birth, exposing him to Lactobacillus, which he would have been exposed through vaginal birth.
👉🏻My birth photographer to be present. We were honored to have on our team.
With a C/S, everything below the drape is the OB’s responsibility & everything above is the anesthesiologist’s-including skin to skin & having your arms free. I called head of anesthesia, he approved my requests, and stat ordered me a clear drape. I felt so much relief knowing I was being supported during this pivot.
I had started having contractions during the day spontaneously amidst all this. We arrived to the hospital & were met with a large team of intense energy. They escalated my requests all the way up-from nurse manager, to risk management, to the legal team. They became even more restrictive of my simple requests. Their biggest issue-my photographer🤨
Continued in comments. Part 2 tomorrow!
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