More Moms Are Opting To Have 'Gentle' C-Sections – Here's Why

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As your delivery date inches closer, you begin to get anxious over what method of delivery you’d prefer – if the decision is up to you, that is. Sometimes, for your safety and that of the child, your doctor would decide on which method of delivery is best.

Typical, doctors recommend natural delivery. That is because, although C-sections are common and generally safe, they have more risks than natural childbirth. Babies delivered naturally are considered healthier than babies delivered through cesarean section.

However, natural childbirth has its downside. Asides from the possibility of a dragged-out labor period that could last well over 24-hours, you can have tears that could take months to heal. It’s for this reason and more that many women dread giving birth naturally.

Fortunately, there’s an emergence of a new method of delivery called gentle C-sections that many women now use.

In This Article

What Is A Gentle C-section?

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It has been somewhat of a tradition among women who give birth through C-sections to develop the feeling of being a failure because they didn’t go through the natural process of childbearing. It’s for this reason that physicians have created an altered and controlled mode of delivery. This new process – called the gentle C-section – is like the middle ground between natural childbearing and a cesarean section.

To be clear, a gentle C-section is every bit the same as the traditional C-section. Physicians aren’t “gentle,” and the process uses all the same safety precautions as in conventional C-sections. The difference between the two is that a gentle C-section allows for certain modifications in the operation. These alterations, which are absent from a regular C-section, makes you more of a participant than a patient during delivery. Perhaps the most significant advantage of all is that you get to make immediate contact with your child upon emergence.

Here are some of the things you can do during a gentle C-section:

  • Although you’d be unable to see the surgical incision, you can ask that you’re positioned at an angle so you can see the birth through a plastic drape. You can request for the drape to be lowered farther to enhance your view of the birthing process.
  • In a gentle C-section, physicians can deliver your baby slower than usual to allow time for your baby’s chest to squeeze so the lungs can eject fluid as it happens during natural delivery.
  • In every C-section, babies are usually taken away after delivery, whether or not they are stable. And it can take mothers hours before they see their child. A gentle C-section eliminates this. The whole process was even designed to enhance immediate mother and child skin-to-skin contact. Your child can even stay with you throughout the rest of the surgery.
  • Instead of having the EKG leads on your belly, they place it on your back, so there’s no obstruction. Your IV line is also placed in your non-dominant hand so you can use your dominant hand to hold your baby.
  • You can decide to use less sedation after the surgery if you want to stay alert and care for your baby.
  • You can choose to play your favorite soundtrack during the process and dim the lights to create a more serene environment during delivery.

Benefits Of A Gentle C-section

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One of the primary reasons why doctors created gentle C-section experience is because C-sections make women feel disconnected from the childbirth experience. This situation can be bad for you and your child.

Many studies have reported on the essence of establishing skin-to-skin contact between mother and child immediately after delivery. One such research published in the National Library of Medicine (1) states that this connection between mother and child must happen within the first hour after birth as this is the most sensitive period after delivery for child and mother.

Aside from facilitating bonding between you and your baby and enhancing successful breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact can regulate your child’s body temperature and heartbeat.

As stated earlier, a gentle C-section is still a C-section—the difference being that you can see everything as it happens, and you can control certain aspects of the process. While giving birth naturally remains the most preferred option, a gentle C-section plan will serve you almost as equally.

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