Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Katie's Crib.
Speaker 1: Except today it's a super special episode because we are
Speaker 1: not in my crib, you guys. We are actually in
Speaker 1: a soup's fancy recording booth um with a bunch of
Speaker 1: friends and we're gonna be talking about c sections today.
Speaker 1: And you guys were literally like in a recording studio
Speaker 1: that has like head cans on. These are called cans,
Speaker 1: right yep, yeah, cans. You see how professionally I am, guys,
Speaker 1: um So today in this episode, we wanted to uh
Speaker 1: do a round table discussion, which is new for us.
Speaker 1: It's we have three guests here today and in this
Speaker 1: episode we're talking about c sections, which is a very big, emotional,
Speaker 1: scary topic with a lot of different perspectives on it.
Speaker 1: And I bet you guys out there have a lot
Speaker 1: of questions. I know I definitely do. So, like I said,
Speaker 1: we're gonna do this in a round table discussion sort
Speaker 1: of way, and we have three guests. First, we have
Speaker 1: Dr Laney Kumetz. Yea, Dr Laney Kumetz, you guys is
Speaker 1: my ob. She has been for like a decade or more,
Speaker 1: I don't even know. And um it's really nice to
Speaker 1: see you up above my bottom half of my body.
Speaker 1: Doctors lovely, she delivered, Albi. Next, we have my dear
Speaker 1: dear friend Angelique Cabral Yeah. She um currently starts as
Speaker 1: Colleen on CBS's Life in Pieces and Angelique has personal
Speaker 1: experience with c sections. Will be getting to her. And last,
Speaker 1: and definitely not least, is my dear dear friend Emily
Speaker 1: Royfe and she is amazing and a wonderful stay at
Speaker 1: home mom with the cutest daughter ever. Actually, we need
Speaker 1: to get a play date together with Adelaide Tuesday and Albi.
Speaker 1: I mean you guys like them? I like them? Um, Okay,
Speaker 1: so we're going to jump into this because, like I said,
Speaker 1: it's a very big topic. Um. First things first, let's
Speaker 1: go over to Dr Kmetz and can you explain what
Speaker 1: is a C section? How is it done? And walk
Speaker 1: us through it briefly? Sure? So, a C section is
Speaker 1: a surgical way of delivering a baby. Um. It's performed
Speaker 1: in an operating room by an O, B, G. Y
Speaker 1: N A surgeon And uh, the most common way is
Speaker 1: cut in the lower part of the abdomen, just above
Speaker 1: the pubic bone um, separating the layers to get down
Speaker 1: to the uterus, making a cut in the uterus, and
Speaker 1: delivering the baby through mommy's tummy. Wow, guys, it's like
Speaker 1: an episode of Gray's Anatomy. It's unbelievable. Um, So, Angelique, Yeah,
Speaker 1: let's go to you and let's talk about your experience
Speaker 1: with um having a C section. Was this a decision
Speaker 1: you made? How far in advance did you know? This
Speaker 1: was a decision that I actually I did not have
Speaker 1: a choice, and I had placenta previa, and we found
Speaker 1: out about twenty eight weeks or five weeks, I can't
Speaker 1: remember now, but it was far enough long that we
Speaker 1: tried a couple for about a month to move my centa.
Speaker 1: It basically means that the placenta is attached at the
Speaker 1: cervix or near the cervics, so that the baby's head
Speaker 1: cannot come out during labor, and if you try to labor,
Speaker 1: the placenta basically comes out first and will bleed and
Speaker 1: like you die, like the old das would die. Like
Speaker 1: my doctor was like you would be dead, and like
Speaker 1: that's what happened a lot. Like they didn't know that
Speaker 1: the placenta was attached. You would try to labor and
Speaker 1: then the placenta's out first and you bleed out. So
Speaker 1: it's a very from what I understand, it's a very
Speaker 1: like serious thing. And I did not have like a
Speaker 1: super bad case of it, but it was enough of
Speaker 1: an issue that they were like no. Like across the bard,
Speaker 1: I went to four different doctors and they were all
Speaker 1: like no. Because I really wanted to labor. I'm like
Speaker 1: the opposite of you. I wanted to be in my
Speaker 1: element and like be a woman, and I you are
Speaker 1: a woman. I are a woman, a great mom. Thank
Speaker 1: you very much. But I was devastated. And just to say,
Speaker 1: remember we have another person in common, this chiropractory named
Speaker 1: dtor Berlin, who works on pregnant women, and I remember
Speaker 1: him saying something to you on the leak during your
Speaker 1: process of changing your mental the way you phrased to
Speaker 1: yourself that you were delivering your baby in it really
Speaker 1: helped me. He really helped me with that. He he said,
Speaker 1: you need to stop thinking of it as a problem
Speaker 1: and think of it as a beautiful basically, to talk
Speaker 1: to the baby and say, I'm going to be delivering
Speaker 1: you through my tummy like I'm birthing. I'm birthing you,
Speaker 1: but instead of through my vagina, I'm birthing you through
Speaker 1: my tummy. And to come at it um. It made
Speaker 1: me weep at the time because I was so emotional
Speaker 1: and so vulnerable, and I was trying so hard to
Speaker 1: move my placenta, which is an impossibility. It's not something
Speaker 1: we have control over. Placenta previa is very dangerous, both
Speaker 1: for mommies and for babies. And when once I heard that,
Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, then it doesn't matter. So do
Speaker 1: you find the same thing? Dr commits that if you've
Speaker 1: had patients that have placenta previa and they may have
Speaker 1: a sort of really emotional reaction to it, um, do
Speaker 1: you find using the same sort of language is what
Speaker 1: helps them get to an excited point that they're going
Speaker 1: to be there. But baby is a little bit differ
Speaker 1: when they're told that they're going to need a C
Speaker 1: section for medical reasons UM, and that can happen well
Speaker 1: in advance of pregnancy. It can happen in the early
Speaker 1: parts of pregnancy. You may not find out until you're
Speaker 1: in labor that you actually need to have a C section.
Speaker 1: UM plus in a previow is something that is often
Speaker 1: diagnosed well in advance, and um, so there's more time
Speaker 1: to process and everybody's experience with processing that information is different.
Speaker 1: And UM, I really think it does take a little
Speaker 1: bit of soul searching. It is a disappointment. There's often
Speaker 1: some grieving involved. Um, but getting to the point where
Speaker 1: understanding that, um, you know, kids really don't care about
Speaker 1: your plans. They unius and babies they just don't read
Speaker 1: the birth plan. And um, this was the first of
Speaker 1: I'm sure, what's going to be many many, many times
Speaker 1: this kid just does not do what you want to do.
Speaker 1: And it actually ended up being quite a blessing with
Speaker 1: my I'm shooting I was shooting a TV show and
Speaker 1: it was a blessing to know the exact time and
Speaker 1: day because they could write up for me in that
Speaker 1: very moment. And then my obi Dr Susan Morrison, said, well,
Speaker 1: this is Adelaide taking care of you, and I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: like for the first like, she's actually like the cryer people,
Speaker 1: a big crier, which is onny of the things I
Speaker 1: love about her. So that you anxious sweet about having
Speaker 1: like a major surgery or did you feel completely like well,
Speaker 1: we'll get to that, but I've never had surgery. I've
Speaker 1: never been in a hospital, so I was like, I
Speaker 1: got this. This is so easy. And the fucking C
Speaker 1: section and the recovery was a nightmare, Like it was
Speaker 1: the worst thing that's ever Like I've never felt pain
Speaker 1: like that. I did not know how serious. When you're
Speaker 1: talking about like how they cut through your tummy and
Speaker 1: then they cut through uterus, I didn't. I literally thought
Speaker 1: I'd be fine because I'm hardcore and I like work
Speaker 1: out so hard to like meditate really hard, like nothing else.
Speaker 1: Prayers you had playing while Adelaide was taken out of you.
Speaker 1: Mantras did not help her healing process. Um, it was
Speaker 1: common and we don't really think about it, but it's
Speaker 1: ajor abdominal surgery. And it's not just major abdominal surgery.
Speaker 1: It's major obdominal surgery and then taking care of a
Speaker 1: newborn and trying to breastfeed and breastfeeding and the emotions
Speaker 1: that are going through with that and hormonal drop off
Speaker 1: and like that. My I was taking a shower this
Speaker 1: morning and I still have that like I'm not a
Speaker 1: skinny person anyway, and I was looking down like I
Speaker 1: still have like that weird line where it like goes
Speaker 1: in and like my vagina is still swollen six months later.
Speaker 1: So it's like pretty gnarly. I know, I get it.
Speaker 1: I get it. You guys, this will We'll get that.
Speaker 1: So Emily, my dear, please explain that you electively chose
Speaker 1: to have a C section, and what brought you to
Speaker 1: that decision and and were you afraid was it an
Speaker 1: easy choice for you? All of these I never went
Speaker 1: when I found out I was pregnant. I never thought
Speaker 1: I would have a vaginal birth. I just for some
Speaker 1: I had a friend that had a pretty pretty traumatic
Speaker 1: um delivery and she was laboring for two days and
Speaker 1: then she had a C section and then was operated
Speaker 1: ing from like a place of just complete, like ruined,
Speaker 1: and I, you know, it's just exhausted, and and it
Speaker 1: just always stuck out in my head and I'm a
Speaker 1: very anxious person. You said that you were really scared
Speaker 1: of vaginal birth too, and I just wanted to be
Speaker 1: able to know know like what was going to happen,
Speaker 1: how it was going to happen, and be able to
Speaker 1: prepare myself for probably the last time I could ever
Speaker 1: control something um. And so you know, my husband was
Speaker 1: super supportive my OBI didn't question it and it so
Speaker 1: you can. So when you went into your OBI like
Speaker 1: very early on and you just said I'm having a
Speaker 1: C section and that's that, and did she have any
Speaker 1: sort of We talked about it for a second, but
Speaker 1: she was just like, if that's your decision and you know,
Speaker 1: that's what your family's choices and let's let's do it. Wow. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's very impressive. UM. So, Dr Kumetz, Um, what are
Speaker 1: some of the things and expecting mom should do to
Speaker 1: prepare or for a C section in the days leading
Speaker 1: up to the procedure if they've if they know that
Speaker 1: they're going to have that. I know sometimes there are
Speaker 1: very last minute calls that are made, UM, but is
Speaker 1: there anything you do to prepare yourself? Like, well, you
Speaker 1: know there's going to be the emotional preparation. UM. I
Speaker 1: think it's really important to talk with your doctor about
Speaker 1: what is going to happen. UM. Really spend the time
Speaker 1: so that you understand the process from the beginning of
Speaker 1: what time you're supposed to arrive at the hospital, what's
Speaker 1: the last time you should have anything to eat or
Speaker 1: drink so that you have an empty stomach. That's why
Speaker 1: I had it first thing in the morning, because I
Speaker 1: do not do well without food. Ideally, if you if
Speaker 1: you if you know you're having a C section, if
Speaker 1: you can get it scheduled first thing in the morning,
Speaker 1: that is the best case scenario. Not that you're really
Speaker 1: gonna get any sleep the night before because of the nerves,
Speaker 1: but it's still a little easier. UM. But knowing what
Speaker 1: is going to happen, having a plan, UM, you know,
Speaker 1: having your doctor talk you through what the recovery is
Speaker 1: going to be. Like, how long you should anticipate staying
Speaker 1: in the hospital, UM, talk to you about it. Probably
Speaker 1: like three nights in the hospital for a C section.
Speaker 1: Most insurance plans will cover three to four nights, and
Speaker 1: that's pretty average for how long people stay. Guys, personal tip,
Speaker 1: take those days because you get free nerds, you've got
Speaker 1: you've got babysitters all up in that hospital, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, And you get home and you're like,
Speaker 1: I loved it. I stayed the four nights. UM. Depending
Speaker 1: on the hospital, the food can be not bad so
Speaker 1: emily in cases of UM when a c section is
Speaker 1: elected like it was in yours. Are there key questions
Speaker 1: that women should ask their doctors before making the decision
Speaker 1: to have a C section. Did you have questions for
Speaker 1: your doctor? No, I mean we walked, we went through everything. Um.
Speaker 1: I think it's understanding the recovery period, understanding what you're
Speaker 1: going to be experiencing, you know, obviously being medicated during
Speaker 1: the birth, being awake while someone's operating on you. It's intense,
Speaker 1: it really is. But oh my gosh, questions to ask.
Speaker 1: It's just getting you mentally mentality for battle. Did you
Speaker 1: guys feel can can either of you guys speak on
Speaker 1: while being awake? Having your stomach and uterus cut open
Speaker 1: A lot of pressure and a lot of pulling, like
Speaker 1: I felt tugging. And then I had a situation where
Speaker 1: I had a um when they were sewing me back up.
Speaker 1: I had um fibroids, which I know they're little and
Speaker 1: that as they're like little cyst they're benign. I've had
Speaker 1: them literally since I was eighteen. Their masses under benign. Okay,
Speaker 1: thank you for that. That's the real thing. And they're
Speaker 1: very common. They're very common, and they but one of
Speaker 1: them was like in the way of the needle or something,
Speaker 1: so they had to burn it off. So it took
Speaker 1: about a half hour longer or twenty minutes longer to
Speaker 1: sew me up, And I was like, what's what's happening?
Speaker 1: And you're so drugged? But I remember being like, what's like,
Speaker 1: I did you guys feel mentally drugged? Like as well,
Speaker 1: like did you feel kind of foggy or high or fine? Um?
Speaker 1: I felt fine when it was happening. I had a
Speaker 1: non conventional play list. I had to Beyonce Kelly Clarkson. Yeah.
Speaker 1: The whole situation was just like very much. I felt
Speaker 1: like I was in an episode of The Mindy Project,
Speaker 1: you know, like my doctor was a badass woman who
Speaker 1: was like running her operating room in a way that
Speaker 1: like I just felt like I'm bringing this girl into
Speaker 1: this world and like, look at what it's just like
Speaker 1: a really good like you feel great about it. I
Speaker 1: felt great about your decision, You felt great about the
Speaker 1: experience for you, I can do it again. And how
Speaker 1: was the recovery for you? Um? Great? I mean we
Speaker 1: had our house has a ton of stairs. I was
Speaker 1: walking the day that we The day of operation isn't
Speaker 1: dr commits. You're supposed to let me if I'm wrong,
Speaker 1: But when you have a C section, you have to
Speaker 1: get up and walk that day like a labor on
Speaker 1: the hospital. Really any surgery, the sooner that you're up
Speaker 1: in walking, the lower your risk of getting a blood
Speaker 1: clot in your legs, The quicker your bowel function will return,
Speaker 1: the quicker you start mobilizing extra fluid that you get
Speaker 1: so the swelling resolves more quickly. Yeah, and how was
Speaker 1: your recovery? We were talking about it a little bit,
Speaker 1: but I mean I didn't I have stairs to that
Speaker 1: were it was. That was tough. I had a lot
Speaker 1: of swelling, So I don't know, but I didn't come
Speaker 1: down for my swelling for almost two and a half weeks.
Speaker 1: My legs were like this big. I can't remember that.
Speaker 1: I couldn't fit into any of my shoes. Um. I
Speaker 1: don't know if it was because of the burn on
Speaker 1: my uterus with the fibroid or what it was, but
Speaker 1: I had a really painful I would say two and
Speaker 1: a half weeks, and then I had to go back
Speaker 1: to work at three and a half weeks, and so
Speaker 1: that was not not easy those first that first I
Speaker 1: don't know, two weeks at work, I was like shuffling
Speaker 1: and very swollen, just very big. Still. I also had
Speaker 1: a c section, and yeah, I was hoping you were
Speaker 1: going to say. I was hoping you were going to say,
Speaker 1: I knew you laters have been through and I can
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about tell me tell me the
Speaker 1: other side of the table, just because that weird. You like,
Speaker 1: know exactly what's happening while you're being cut and now
Speaker 1: here comes scalpel f s whatever it was. It was
Speaker 1: definitely interesting being on the other side of the table.
Speaker 1: And it was to one or full colleagues, good friends
Speaker 1: of mine, that we're operating on me. And um, I
Speaker 1: think they were you know, whenever it's a friend or
Speaker 1: a colleague, there's a little bit more anxiety going into it.
Speaker 1: I mean, you you never want anything to go wrong
Speaker 1: for anybody, but especially when it's somebody that you know
Speaker 1: and respect well. And um, they were very professional and
Speaker 1: it was you know, by the book and calling for
Speaker 1: the instruments and and very formal. And then once my
Speaker 1: daughter was out and we knew she was fine, they
Speaker 1: almost forgot that it was me lying on the table
Speaker 1: and they started chit chatting, you know, how are your kids,
Speaker 1: what are you doing this weekend when vacation and you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's interesting to me because I hear patients hear
Speaker 1: about this and complain about it. And for me, I
Speaker 1: found that so reassuring. I knew everything was going perfectly,
Speaker 1: that it was so routine and so easy for them
Speaker 1: they could talk about other things and have everything still
Speaker 1: go just fine. So for me, it was incredibly reassuring
Speaker 1: to hear my doctors, you know, chat about their kids.
Speaker 1: And um, you know in advance that you were going
Speaker 1: to have a C section or was it an emergency
Speaker 1: last minute thing or so Um I suspected I was
Speaker 1: going to end up having a C section. I also
Speaker 1: have a big fibrid. That fibrid was actually in the
Speaker 1: way of my daughter being able to come out naturally.
Speaker 1: And um, she she was head down the whole pregnancy,
Speaker 1: and then at thirty seven weeks decided to flip, so
Speaker 1: she came out to she first and pooped all over
Speaker 1: my doctors on the way. She pissed about the eviction
Speaker 1: notice and let them know in the only way she could.
Speaker 1: And uh, Um, I presumed I was having a C
Speaker 1: section from the very beginning. Um. And uh, but interesting
Speaker 1: being on the other side of it, And did you
Speaker 1: go back to work? Um? I actually did? Uh? C
Speaker 1: section on a colleague of mine two weeks after my
Speaker 1: daughter was born. So your recovery was it was, it
Speaker 1: was not easy. But um, I also, you know, thank goodness,
Speaker 1: I'm in a position where I have the luxury of
Speaker 1: having control over my schedule and um so I went
Speaker 1: back to work really really minimal hours for the first
Speaker 1: month when I went back, UM, and definitely had backup
Speaker 1: arranged in case it was harder than I was expecting,
Speaker 1: because that's certainly a possibility. Um. But it wasn't easy.
Speaker 1: But the swelling was crazy. It was, But not everyone
Speaker 1: has that. Emily, you didn't have, you would have remembered it.
Speaker 1: If it is there a limit to how many C
Speaker 1: sections a woman can have, there really isn't unless there
Speaker 1: was a complication during her um, during her pregnancy, or
Speaker 1: her c section that would really risk her life if
Speaker 1: she were to get pregnant again. So it's not necessarily
Speaker 1: the number of c sections, But in that scenario, it's
Speaker 1: the number of pregnancies. For example, if somebody had a
Speaker 1: uterine rupture, that woman should never get pregnant again because
Speaker 1: her risk of uterin rupture, which is life threatening both
Speaker 1: to her and baby, is ridiculously high. And unsafe. Um,
Speaker 1: but I've I've done fifth c sections on women you know,
Speaker 1: have five babies. I literally don't understand what's going on.
Speaker 1: Like I I mean, so power to you, but like wow,
Speaker 1: that is wow. Um, yeah, it's really impressive. Are you familiar?
Speaker 1: I haven't. I don't know much about this. But with
Speaker 1: this term gentle c sections, what what is that is
Speaker 1: that different from a traditional C section? Is this just
Speaker 1: a new trender fat or is this something that's actually
Speaker 1: like something that people entertain and should entertain the idea
Speaker 1: of great question? Your opinion? Um, it is definitely becoming
Speaker 1: more popular. Um. The c section. The surgery itself is unchanged.
Speaker 1: Um for somebody that is requesting, you know, changes that
Speaker 1: would make their C section experience, um a little better
Speaker 1: for them. Um, it's not changing anything that I'm doing
Speaker 1: as a surgeon. So it's more of like the I think,
Speaker 1: the music and the attitude if you or not or
Speaker 1: exactly it has a lot to do with how somebody
Speaker 1: feels about about exactly the atmosphere. So um, it involves
Speaker 1: you know, having the playlist that you want going on.
Speaker 1: It involves, um, often having a clear drape so that
Speaker 1: when the doctor's actually pulling the baby out. Mom can watch.
Speaker 1: They have a clear drape, clear drape r field some
Speaker 1: people and some people do. I don't know that I
Speaker 1: would have wanted to watch. Um. I was surprised my
Speaker 1: husband watched. I was expecting him not to want to watch,
Speaker 1: and he was definitely curious, really crazy what goes on
Speaker 1: in there, because I was also like, uh, in my
Speaker 1: vaginal birth, I was like, I'm never looking down there ever, ever, ever, ever,
Speaker 1: And I think I remember like in the last couple pushes,
Speaker 1: Dr Komets, I think you said like, look down, here
Speaker 1: he comes, and I definitely looked down and like he
Speaker 1: was halfway out of my vaginal and I saw it.
Speaker 1: And I definitely had the conversation that Adam wasn't going
Speaker 1: to watch it, and he did. So things just go
Speaker 1: crazy in there. So you choose in advance whether there's
Speaker 1: a clear drape or not clear drape. They can also,
Speaker 1: depending on the hospital and the staffing availability, they can
Speaker 1: try to do skin to skin right away in the
Speaker 1: operating room. Um. We did that. Yeah, Emily, did you
Speaker 1: do that too? I didn't do it. Um. The issues
Speaker 1: are the operating rooms are really cold, and babies cannot
Speaker 1: maintain their heat really well. When they get moved to
Speaker 1: the warmer they're actually under a heat or to make
Speaker 1: sure they're warm because they come out wet and you know,
Speaker 1: they're coming out from a nice, warm, cozy place into
Speaker 1: a cold, wet place that's very bright and um, so
Speaker 1: if you're going to do skin to skin, it's really
Speaker 1: important that we are able to keep the baby warm enough. Also,
Speaker 1: you know, this is major abdominal surgery and there are
Speaker 1: lots of things that are happening during this process, and
Speaker 1: moms can feel shaky, moms can feel anxious. Um, and
Speaker 1: if she doesn't feel like she can colfortably hold the
Speaker 1: baby safely. And again, you kind of have to keep
Speaker 1: the baby at boob level and above because we're working
Speaker 1: we're working below there, so there's kind of a limited space.
Speaker 1: So you also need to have a nurse dedicated to
Speaker 1: helping you with in the operating room if you're doing that. So, um,
Speaker 1: you know, if staff is available to have one extra
Speaker 1: nurse that's simply dead kidded to helping you with the baby,
Speaker 1: that is fantastic. That's not always available, got it? And
Speaker 1: you guys do then, like Rebecca, help me with this
Speaker 1: that was cool, so in yours. So I guess both
Speaker 1: of you kind of had I would say gentle c sections,
Speaker 1: and that you both had playlists. Um, you were asked
Speaker 1: if you could do a clear draper non clear draper,
Speaker 1: and League said you did have skinned skin. For those
Speaker 1: of you guys who don't know, skin to skin basically
Speaker 1: means like when the baby comes out instead of being
Speaker 1: like kind of whisked away and tested on right away,
Speaker 1: if everything is looking good normal in the baby's vitals
Speaker 1: are all looking great. If I'm wrong, I don't, the
Speaker 1: baby goes onto your naked chest and their naked body
Speaker 1: and you have like a bonding time with them, and
Speaker 1: it's called skinned skin, and it was Adam's favorite thing
Speaker 1: the entire world. Um somedea being that mom's body temperature
Speaker 1: will help keep the baby warm even in a colder environment.
Speaker 1: And also this baby is used to hearing mom's heartbeat.
Speaker 1: It's been a constant um you know, sound that they've
Speaker 1: been listening to for the previous nine months. So very
Speaker 1: theory wise, we can't really them because they don't remember
Speaker 1: and can't tell us later. But the theory being that
Speaker 1: if they put them right on your chest, that they're
Speaker 1: going to hear that familiar sound. Got it? So on Angelique, um,
Speaker 1: your gentle c sections. You also were allowed to bring
Speaker 1: in your dula, right, So she came in, but not
Speaker 1: during the cutting. It was like as soon as the
Speaker 1: baby was out, she was waiting looking and came in.
Speaker 1: And she had been in a bunch of C sections
Speaker 1: at Cedars and she knew the anesthesiologists really well. So
Speaker 1: that's why, because you find that having a duela during it,
Speaker 1: like there are people who have a lot of duelas
Speaker 1: during vaginal birds or if they're going to attempt to
Speaker 1: do a vaginal birth without medical intervention or whatever it is.
Speaker 1: Did you find that having a duela in a C
Speaker 1: section was helpful to your process? Or um? I found
Speaker 1: it extremely reassuring and comforting, especially because she didn't know
Speaker 1: the staff essentially and sotin she'd done it so many times.
Speaker 1: And even though I had heard my OBI explain what
Speaker 1: was going to happen and like prepare me for all
Speaker 1: the steps, Rebecca was there with us the whole time.
Speaker 1: So she was like, come on, you sign in, we
Speaker 1: sit here, then you go and wipe off your whole body.
Speaker 1: She was rubbing my feet she like it was incredibly helpful.
Speaker 1: I found it because I did not know how I
Speaker 1: was going to feel, and I was quite anxious that,
Speaker 1: oh my god, I'd be so scared and so um
Speaker 1: Emily for you, UM, did you have a doula in
Speaker 1: the room with it? Not, but you had your husband
Speaker 1: in the room with you, and you went with the
Speaker 1: non Everyone's choosing the non clear drape. I'm guessing because
Speaker 1: it's major surgery and you don't know how you're going
Speaker 1: to react to seeing I guess your own stomach. I
Speaker 1: would say the patients that ask for the gentler approach, UM,
Speaker 1: fifty will pick the clear drape. Um. There are other
Speaker 1: things associated with it, you know, if your goal is
Speaker 1: to try to do skin to skin right away, they
Speaker 1: have the heart monitors that are on mom's chest, more
Speaker 1: lateral so that there's room for the baby to beyond
Speaker 1: mom's chest, and things like that. But I'd say about
Speaker 1: fifty request the clear drape. UM. So Dr kumets, what
Speaker 1: are some of the reasons What are some of the
Speaker 1: reasons for an emergency section? Like, did I say that correctly? Emergency? Second? Yeah,
Speaker 1: what would be some of the reasons that um that
Speaker 1: women have to do that, and how do you give
Speaker 1: them that information and how does one respond? I'm assuming
Speaker 1: this sometimes happens very quickly. UM. Thankfully, those true true
Speaker 1: quick emergencies are rare, but they do happen. UM. You know,
Speaker 1: somebody with a known previa who went into labor will
Speaker 1: probably start hemorrhaging pretty quickly, and that would be something
Speaker 1: you would want to resolve quickly for them. Um. There
Speaker 1: are situations where the water breaks and suddenly the baby's
Speaker 1: umbilical cord comes out, and once the umbilical cord is
Speaker 1: past the cervix um, it starts clamping down, so baby
Speaker 1: is no longer getting oxygen and is one of those
Speaker 1: true quick, very scary, life threatening emergency situations for baby.
Speaker 1: Mom is usually okay in that scenario, that's you know,
Speaker 1: babies in you know, imminent danger, and that is you
Speaker 1: rush that mom to the operating room and you get
Speaker 1: that kid out as fast as possible. And how fast
Speaker 1: are we talking like in a situation like that, how
Speaker 1: fast is that baby out of there? The goal is
Speaker 1: to get the baby out in less than ten minutes
Speaker 1: from when it's identified, so from you've identified it and
Speaker 1: then the baby is out and breathing within ten minutes.
Speaker 1: Oh my god. In that kind of emergency situation, an
Speaker 1: experienced obee can go from skin to baby in seconds.
Speaker 1: Oh that's my Guy'm sorry. I'm just dead white on
Speaker 1: the phone right now. That's because I have goose bumps
Speaker 1: and my milk just came in and I'm not that's
Speaker 1: not the goal, but that's possible, you know. Other scenarios
Speaker 1: would be something called a placental abruption, which is during labor,
Speaker 1: the placena suddenly separates from the wall of the uterus,
Speaker 1: and in that situation, both mom and baby are in danger.
Speaker 1: There's typically a lot of bleeding signs of fetal distress
Speaker 1: um leading to UH emergency in that scenario. Often, if
Speaker 1: it's a labor situation um that wasn't known about in advance,
Speaker 1: emergencies typically come up either because of fetal distress or bleeding. Right,
Speaker 1: And that might that wouldn't be a situation where it's
Speaker 1: so fast. That might be something where you've been laboring
Speaker 1: for a while and things just are not progressing at all,
Speaker 1: and you're exhausted, and the fetus is heart rate is
Speaker 1: not at a happy place, and so then you start
Speaker 1: to have conversations with this is looking like we're going
Speaker 1: to have to maybe in a different way exactly. You know,
Speaker 1: if if mom has been pushing for three hours and
Speaker 1: the baby hasn't moved in the last hour, that's the
Speaker 1: point where you start, at least you know, mentioning that
Speaker 1: this is something that may be necessary. And you know,
Speaker 1: obviously you're thinking about all the possible ways that you
Speaker 1: can help accomplish a natural delivery, both for mom and baby.
Speaker 1: But you know, as the doctor managing, I want to
Speaker 1: start preparing for the possible need for surgery. Um. But yeah,
Speaker 1: the majority of time when cesareans are done after labor
Speaker 1: has started, it's usually because labor is failing in some
Speaker 1: way or the baby is not tolerating labor for whatever reason.
Speaker 1: Have you ever had someone can ask, of course, and
Speaker 1: that's such a round table. Girls like I don't want
Speaker 1: an epidural, Like give me a c section, but no
Speaker 1: anesthesia because they're like trying to have a natural Has
Speaker 1: that ever happened? Does that happen? Or would they not
Speaker 1: let you do that? Well? I guess you know. Ultimately,
Speaker 1: we can't do anything to anybody without their consent. That's
Speaker 1: called the salt and battery and I really have no
Speaker 1: interesting so. Um, you know, with anesthesia, it's it's a
Speaker 1: personal preference. So I can do a natural delivery with
Speaker 1: or without anesthesia. Um, it looks really painful. I've never
Speaker 1: experienced it myself, but it looks really painful. I don't
Speaker 1: know that i'd want to do it that way. Um,
Speaker 1: but you know, respect whatever choices people have for their
Speaker 1: birth experience. UM. I've never had anybody ask not to
Speaker 1: have anesthesia. Typically in that scenario. Um, if they don't
Speaker 1: have an epidural in place already and there isn't time
Speaker 1: to place a spinal um, it's typically under general anesthesia. Ah. Oh,
Speaker 1: so if it's if they're right right. So, if someone
Speaker 1: was let's say in labor for a while and they
Speaker 1: were not having an epidural, and now all of a
Speaker 1: sudden you need a last minute emergency C section and
Speaker 1: it's too late to get the epidural in spinally, then
Speaker 1: you get general anesthesia. That's why they put you under
Speaker 1: general anesthesia. They put a tube down your throat and
Speaker 1: they breathe for you. Nope. Wait yeah, yeah, yeah, that's
Speaker 1: like so that your whole thing is numb and you're
Speaker 1: not a word out that you're out, So has have
Speaker 1: you done that before? Many? Many times it's it's never.
Speaker 1: It's never a great situation. And even for the anesthesiologist
Speaker 1: because we anesthesia just hate doing general anesthesia on pregnant women.
Speaker 1: Pregnant women tend to have more fluid on board, they
Speaker 1: tend to be more swollen, it's harder to ventilate them,
Speaker 1: um and understand how much they need or don't need.
Speaker 1: I'm sure, yeah, it's it's and huge fluid changes that
Speaker 1: they're having to manage, and um, you know, we try
Speaker 1: to avoid general anesthesia with at all possible. If I
Speaker 1: have a patient who is you know, been pushing for
Speaker 1: two three hours, um, and it looks like we're heading
Speaker 1: towards a C section, I will often recommend at that
Speaker 1: point that they get an epidural so they don't have
Speaker 1: to have we have it in case or if if
Speaker 1: if mom's trying to go natural all and the baby
Speaker 1: is really looking unhappy, then again I'll suggest that they
Speaker 1: have the epidural placed so that we have it in
Speaker 1: the event that we needed and hope that we don't
Speaker 1: need it. Um. And when when she says like baby
Speaker 1: being unhappy for you, guys to know. There's like monitors
Speaker 1: all on your stomach that are just gauging the heart
Speaker 1: rate of the baby, and so when there are major
Speaker 1: drops or it stays low for too long, that's when
Speaker 1: the baby's not happy. I remember during my C section
Speaker 1: that I started to feel really nauseous, like during the
Speaker 1: like I guess the cutting or something. And my mysologists
Speaker 1: was like here like monitoring everything, and I was like,
Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna be sick, and he like did
Speaker 1: something and I was like, I'm better like that at
Speaker 1: I was like so much better, it was. Dilogists are
Speaker 1: so great. They're so good at their job. Emily, did
Speaker 1: you feel nauseous at all? Not during the C section?
Speaker 1: But I just remember feeling really cold and I shook it.
Speaker 1: What is this? Did you both shake? So the shaking
Speaker 1: is really normal. Shaking can happen even just an epidural
Speaker 1: if you're not in a SA section right and after
Speaker 1: a natural delivery, it's very common for women to shake
Speaker 1: for you know, forty five minutes to an hour after
Speaker 1: the placentic comes out, your body is going through such
Speaker 1: huge hormone shifts and fluid shifts and um, you know,
Speaker 1: in addition to the adrenaline and the anxiety, and now
Speaker 1: you have this baby and everything seems to be going okay.
Speaker 1: Very very common to shake for about forty violent shaking.
Speaker 1: I did not have any shaking, but I was petrified
Speaker 1: of it and I had been hearing about it and
Speaker 1: I didn't I'm now remembering I didn't have shaking. I
Speaker 1: was just cold, but I didn't have shaking because I
Speaker 1: asked Rebecca and she said no, I had. I like
Speaker 1: vomited after like yeah, like yeah, I was really nauseous.
Speaker 1: After two. I had the shaking. But it started for
Speaker 1: me really when I got to the recovery room and
Speaker 1: I actually had difficulty holding my daughter for a few
Speaker 1: minutes because I was I was shaking. Am I allowed
Speaker 1: to do this? And it's a present because you were
Speaker 1: shaking being so hard too and also holding Tuesday. Um,
Speaker 1: can you guys tell me all about your partner's role
Speaker 1: during the C section? Like were they above the cloth?
Speaker 1: Like did they look? Did they were they scared about
Speaker 1: surgery the cloth? Um, he did not look. We decided
Speaker 1: that we weren't looking, and um, he was just there
Speaker 1: to be supportive. That was Did he seem anxious as
Speaker 1: well about like watching his watch your significant other go
Speaker 1: through major surgery, right, No, he was calm, and I
Speaker 1: mean we trusted the doctors that we trusted everybody in
Speaker 1: the operating room, and we just were going going for
Speaker 1: it and then did because the is the significant other,
Speaker 1: not the baby. Also, after the baby comes out, like
Speaker 1: how does that work? Often after a c section UM,
Speaker 1: when the baby first gets delivered, they're taken over to
Speaker 1: the warmer and want to make sure that they're warm.
Speaker 1: They want to make sure they're breathing okay. Because babies
Speaker 1: that are delivered via cessarean don't get the same squeeze
Speaker 1: that babies get coming through a birth canal, so they
Speaker 1: can often have a little bit of extra fluid within
Speaker 1: their lungs. It takes them a little bit longer to
Speaker 1: transition to breathing air rather than breathing through their umbilical cord.
Speaker 1: So we want to make sure that the baby is
Speaker 1: transitioning well and they're pinking up and they're breathing okay,
Speaker 1: and that they look happy and healthy. Um, And that
Speaker 1: process can take you know, anywhere from two minutes to
Speaker 1: a lot longer than that if they're not doing okay.
Speaker 1: But assuming that you're in that typical two minutes and
Speaker 1: they're doing okay. They'll typically at that point wrap the
Speaker 1: baby up and give the baby to dad to hold
Speaker 1: to bring over to mom. Um. If you want to
Speaker 1: try to do skin to skin or you know, some
Speaker 1: cudle time, at that point, that's the appropriate time to
Speaker 1: do it. Yeah. So he so Michael took the baby
Speaker 1: from the warmer and then handed and hurt to you,
Speaker 1: and Jason was um up by me the whole time.
Speaker 1: He was really nervous. My husband not great in the hospital.
Speaker 1: He was so clean and so sweet, but he didn't
Speaker 1: really talk, but he was like looking at me in
Speaker 1: the eyes the whole time. And then we had our
Speaker 1: big camera and as soon as the baby was about
Speaker 1: to come out, he did look over, and I was shocked,
Speaker 1: and he looked over and he got all these amazing
Speaker 1: pictures of her coming out of me, which was like,
Speaker 1: I'm so glad now that he was brave enough to
Speaker 1: do that. Um, and then he just started weeping and
Speaker 1: he went um to the They went to the warmer
Speaker 1: and she was only in there for like two seconds,
Speaker 1: like very short, because she was like big and very
Speaker 1: paink already and like crying the best and they didn't
Speaker 1: wrap her. She just came. He brought her to me naked,
Speaker 1: but then there was a blanket placed over us both.
Speaker 1: But I was that okay. I mean, I guess it
Speaker 1: was fine, but like she okay okay because Rebecca knew
Speaker 1: that I really wanted that. So, um, we've also had
Speaker 1: on this oh interesting. But I do remember this strange
Speaker 1: feeling of like looking over, like what's happening, where's my baby?
Speaker 1: Because there's this like two or minute gap of like
Speaker 1: them coming up, they take her and before she's on me.
Speaker 1: So like there was like it's a weird feeling to
Speaker 1: not know what's going on because you can't move. I
Speaker 1: couldn't move my arms. I just remember being like, did
Speaker 1: all three of you stay in the hospital the three year?
Speaker 1: Four nights? I know you said you did, Emily you
Speaker 1: did three days and you did as well, and um,
Speaker 1: we've already we've talked a lot about your um oh.
Speaker 1: But one thing I do want to say that I
Speaker 1: was told that did not happen is I was told
Speaker 1: like they like put your arms out and like I
Speaker 1: don't know, that didn't happen, Like I had my arms free.
Speaker 1: Sometimes I think in some situations they strap your arms out,
Speaker 1: and Rebecca had actually said that, like, usually it's like that,
Speaker 1: but that was not the case. Did that happen with you?
Speaker 1: I don't remember. I know, it's weird not not remembering
Speaker 1: a lot of specifics. I think it's your brains tricking
Speaker 1: way for you to make more children. So that's probably
Speaker 1: hospital specific and becoming less common, especially when you have
Speaker 1: an awake patient. When you're doing surgery on somebody who
Speaker 1: is completely out, you want to make sure that their
Speaker 1: arms aren't falling or getting pressed in a way that's
Speaker 1: you know, potentially going to injure a nerve or um
Speaker 1: cause a bruise. So we typically will strap people's arms
Speaker 1: down when they're having surgery and they're asleep, but if
Speaker 1: you're awake and having a C section and talking to us,
Speaker 1: generally we don't so. Um. Again, this is the hospitals
Speaker 1: I've worked at typically don't that. That may be different
Speaker 1: in other places, but less common. Aul, Like you said,
Speaker 1: we talked about your recovery, which seemed very bloated heavily.
Speaker 1: You seem to have a great recovery time period, and
Speaker 1: what about you, Dr Kumets, how is yours. You were
Speaker 1: up and working too. I was UM, I was pretty swollen. UM.
Speaker 1: You know something that that we have to remember is UM,
Speaker 1: a woman's body actually increases her blood volume by about
Speaker 1: thirty percent over the course of pregnancy. UM. And that's
Speaker 1: really in preparation for the expected bleeding that you're going
Speaker 1: to have afterwards. Whether it's a natural delivery a C section,
Speaker 1: you're expected to lose some some blood at that point,
Speaker 1: and you do have some bleeding afterwards, and the body
Speaker 1: is amazing in that it prepares for that. But you
Speaker 1: just take on a lot of extra fluid in that situation. UM.
Speaker 1: And if you're having a C section, you do get
Speaker 1: extra fluid to make sure that we're maintaining your blood
Speaker 1: pressure okay. And you know that could be on the
Speaker 1: order of two to three leaders through the ivy UM
Speaker 1: over the course of that hour surgery or so. And
Speaker 1: you know, if you were somebody that had been in
Speaker 1: labor for twenty four hours plus, you know, prior to
Speaker 1: ending up with a C section, you've gotten a whole
Speaker 1: lot of fluid in that time frame. And UM, typically
Speaker 1: a few days after the baby comes out, your body realizes, oh,
Speaker 1: I'm okay, and I'm not pregnant anymore. I don't need
Speaker 1: all this extra fluid in my blood vessels, and it
Speaker 1: dumps it into the extra spaces in your body and
Speaker 1: pulls it all into your feet. So um, by day six,
Speaker 1: I didn't have a single pair of shoes I could
Speaker 1: get my feet and I couldn't leave the house. I
Speaker 1: could not get my feet into a single pair of shoes.
Speaker 1: Do you vaginally bleed like for after you deliver vaginally?
Speaker 1: You know, you're like in a diaper for anywhere from
Speaker 1: one week, two weeks, four weeks. You know, it's like
Speaker 1: having just like a heavy period for like a while
Speaker 1: as your uterus is shedding all that stuff in there. Um.
Speaker 1: Is it similar with c section? Often the bleeding is
Speaker 1: a little bit less because we do clean the uterus
Speaker 1: out a little bit at the time we removed the
Speaker 1: placenta and we clean everything out, so often the bleeding
Speaker 1: is less with the C section than with the natural delivery.
Speaker 1: But normal bleeding is anywhere from two weeks to two months.
Speaker 1: Did you guys have that? I had some Like I
Speaker 1: didn't have light periods. It was like a period. I
Speaker 1: just were like a pad for about two weeks and
Speaker 1: did the same was pretty heavy actually, but and I
Speaker 1: wasn't expecting that. I think I thought it would be
Speaker 1: like a period and I was like, oh wow, I
Speaker 1: am wearing cloth diapers right, Oh yeah, yeah, guys, the
Speaker 1: closes are my favorite panties should be sold like at
Speaker 1: the gap. Thanks so much. They're so comfortable. Here's another thing,
Speaker 1: and this might be too personal and you totally don't
Speaker 1: have to answer, but there's that I find that men
Speaker 1: or even women like make jokes about, oh, I had
Speaker 1: a c section, so my vagina is still that of
Speaker 1: like a sixteen year old something that just got really weird.
Speaker 1: But you get what I'm saying, Like, like is that true?
Speaker 1: Like do you guys find post surgery and c section
Speaker 1: that like your your vaginas are like totally like how
Speaker 1: they were before you got pregnant or is everything kind
Speaker 1: of changed anyway because you were pregnant. I mean, my
Speaker 1: vagina is tight open, of course it's type, But I like,
Speaker 1: does it feel the same. I mean, it's the same
Speaker 1: to me, nothing changed. See that is that's great because
Speaker 1: it does not guys not like I'm not I mean,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. It's just like when you
Speaker 1: have intercourse for the first time, and hopefully maybe someday
Speaker 1: we will do an episode about this. But when you
Speaker 1: have intercourse after you've had vaginal birth, I mean, it's
Speaker 1: it's intense, like it's it's a different situation, and I
Speaker 1: have heard it goes back um to feeling great. So
Speaker 1: I was curious about that for C section people. UM,
Speaker 1: what are some important steps Dr Kumets that patients can
Speaker 1: take to help with their recovery? Uh, also great question. UM.
Speaker 1: I think starting out by having reasonable expectations for what
Speaker 1: it's going to be like, understanding that you are going
Speaker 1: to be in pain and you are going to need
Speaker 1: help doing things. UM. Understanding that it is major abdominal
Speaker 1: surgery and that does require recovery time. UM. Getting up
Speaker 1: and walking right away is huge. Um. One of the
Speaker 1: best things you can do is to get up, and
Speaker 1: you know, even if it hurts, you know, getting out
Speaker 1: of bed and walking the halls, it's going to mobilize
Speaker 1: that fluid faster. It's gonna wake your bowels up. You know,
Speaker 1: pregnant women tend to be constipated, and that doesn't just
Speaker 1: resolve immediately upon delivery. And if you're taking pain medicine,
Speaker 1: particularly narcotic pain medicine, which can be constipating. That is also,
Speaker 1: you know, straining having a bowl movement is kind of
Speaker 1: unpleasant when you have literally scared. I was too with
Speaker 1: the vaginlu birth also was taking like that first poop,
Speaker 1: You're like, I'm so scared right now, Like it was
Speaker 1: so scary. Um, did you guys feel that way as well?
Speaker 1: I mean, it wasn't great. It wasn't like it was
Speaker 1: definitely scary, I think, but I went to the bathroom.
Speaker 1: I think that day, like I'm I had. It was weird,
Speaker 1: but it was very big nice. It was that good.
Speaker 1: I feel like it was. I never I took a
Speaker 1: picture of it and crazy, Sure that was great because
Speaker 1: I feel like I was so scared, just because when
Speaker 1: you've pushed a baby out and then you have to
Speaker 1: post that I'm so scared that I'm going to just
Speaker 1: blow everything out again? Right, And I remember being scared
Speaker 1: I was going to hurt my stitches. Yeah, you won't
Speaker 1: hurt your stitches, right, I can. I can assure you
Speaker 1: that no one has ever popped stitches from streaming to
Speaker 1: a movement. It will hurt, but you won't pop this. Okay, Um,
Speaker 1: did so I know andrelague. You're still breastfeeding and Emily
Speaker 1: breastfed for after her delivery. Did you guys find that
Speaker 1: breastfeeding um it was more difficult because of having a
Speaker 1: C section? Did you find it um? I didn't like,
Speaker 1: did they teach you a certain way to hold the
Speaker 1: baby after you have a C section? Because I imagine
Speaker 1: with this scar that wasn't really near it. The babies
Speaker 1: are so little, they're up here and like your scars
Speaker 1: way down here. I mean you still got like a
Speaker 1: little tummy when you're learning. But No, I didn't find
Speaker 1: it hard hard. No, and you either really really clearly yeah,
Speaker 1: and the way you went, Yeah, c sections really shouldn't
Speaker 1: impact um breast breast milk production. That's that's a myth
Speaker 1: that's out there that you get very concerned that they're
Speaker 1: not going to be able to breastfeed or that they're
Speaker 1: not going to make milk right away because they didn't labor.
Speaker 1: That's not true. That's not true. My milk came in.
Speaker 1: I remember it being like, oh, like that next day,
Speaker 1: like it was right. Is that supposed to with within
Speaker 1: the first three or four days, full milk should come
Speaker 1: in And that's regardless of motive delivery. How does your
Speaker 1: bear body just knows like that the baby's out whichever
Speaker 1: way it got out, it's time for milk to come in.
Speaker 1: Let's send us out and baby is latching and that's
Speaker 1: the stimulation for your brain to make the oxytocin horn
Speaker 1: known to trigger the milk production. It's amazing how you dozing,
Speaker 1: It's amazing. I mean, how is this all even happening?
Speaker 1: I don't understand. Um, how do you women all feel
Speaker 1: about your c section scar? Like? Has anyone braved? You know?
Speaker 1: I mean, look, I'm not braving. I mean I gave
Speaker 1: up Aikin's like ten years ago, but like, you know, like,
Speaker 1: how do you feel about having an incision scar there?
Speaker 1: And you know, when you are looking at yourself the
Speaker 1: mirror or when you go out in public in those
Speaker 1: crop tops. No one's doing that right anymore. It's actually
Speaker 1: really low And I didn't realize that. I Like, I
Speaker 1: got the scar cream that you can put on it,
Speaker 1: and I haven't used it because you don't see it
Speaker 1: because it's right above the pubic bone. It's often, you know,
Speaker 1: either right above or right at the top of the
Speaker 1: pubic CareLine. It. So that was surprising to me too,
Speaker 1: because you can't see it in any underwear. It's below you.
Speaker 1: I don't care about the scar at all. I'm like
Speaker 1: kind of proud of it because to me, it's like
Speaker 1: my warrior. I like love it and it's small. What
Speaker 1: I'm more concerned about is like the pooch. I'm like,
Speaker 1: when does the like that to me? Because you've cut
Speaker 1: through stomach muscle correct, So that's actually we don't cut
Speaker 1: through I'm not a doctor. That's okay. There's there's a
Speaker 1: separation um in the abdominal muscles, and we separate the
Speaker 1: large abdominal muscles vertically, so the stitches that are inside
Speaker 1: are actually in several different directions, in different layers. The
Speaker 1: goal being to try to keep normal anatomy to the
Speaker 1: extent possible, so we don't cut through the muscles. Um.
Speaker 1: But surgical technique for repairing. Some doctors will put the
Speaker 1: muscles back together. UM. I personally do. I think it
Speaker 1: ends up looking better than if they're not put together. UM.
Speaker 1: But the recovery is a little bit harder for the
Speaker 1: first week when they are put together, because there are
Speaker 1: now stitches through the muscle, and anytime you use your muscles,
Speaker 1: like to get into and out of bed or um
Speaker 1: in and out of chair, up and downstairs. Um, it's
Speaker 1: to pull on those stitches and that hurts. And I
Speaker 1: remember about breastfeeding, like I chose to keep my baby
Speaker 1: in her own crib, in her own room from day
Speaker 1: one because it was part of the sleep training method
Speaker 1: that I did. And the hardest part was those stitches,
Speaker 1: like getting up every three hours to go breastfeed her
Speaker 1: because I didn't want the baby coming into my room
Speaker 1: and that was hard, Like that was probably the hardest part. Yeah,
Speaker 1: was painful, those stitches, Like you could really feel that right.
Speaker 1: Abdominal binders help a lot um and that's a good
Speaker 1: tip guys to be underused. Are those the like binding
Speaker 1: like those I wore them too, Like belly bandage band
Speaker 1: It makes it great when a lot of hospitals will
Speaker 1: offer them. It's basically a giant ace bandage that is
Speaker 1: just kind of holding all all your banks around your thighs.
Speaker 1: But they make ones that velcrow around your stomach. And
Speaker 1: I actually found it really helped too because I didn't
Speaker 1: have a C section scar, but I but I what
Speaker 1: I felt inside was all this space and my organs
Speaker 1: had moved out of the way for where the baby
Speaker 1: was growing, and then all of a sudden, the baby's gone.
Speaker 1: And so when you would sleep on your side, I
Speaker 1: could literally feel all my like insides go to one
Speaker 1: side and then shift to the other side when I'd
Speaker 1: roll in the middle the night, which was very uncomfortable
Speaker 1: and kind of weird feeling. And so if I wore
Speaker 1: the binding thing, it just felt like everything was far
Speaker 1: more supported, um and not like wiggling around so much
Speaker 1: in there. Um. Before we get to the end here,
Speaker 1: I want to ask three, you know, let's just go
Speaker 1: through this a little bit. Um. Can you guys talk
Speaker 1: a little bit about the stigma surrounding c sections and
Speaker 1: UM talk about I think we got into this a
Speaker 1: little bit, which helped Jelique mentally prepared for changing her
Speaker 1: the way she was thinking about giving birth this way,
Speaker 1: but how a c section people don't consider it actually
Speaker 1: like giving birth, Like what what what is that? I
Speaker 1: What I find bothers me is that when people say, oh,
Speaker 1: you gave birth the old fashioned way, I'm like, what
Speaker 1: the hell is that? You know what I mean? Or um,
Speaker 1: because you got to push or something that that makes
Speaker 1: one labor better? Than the other. Um, there's definitely a stigma.
Speaker 1: I felt felt another part of this. You did, for sure.
Speaker 1: And I remember being like, yeah, I'm having like talking
Speaker 1: about as I'm getting closer to my due date, speaking
Speaker 1: about like oh, I'm going in at five am or
Speaker 1: whatever on this date, and people being like oh, like
Speaker 1: that there was like a there was a tone that
Speaker 1: people would receive that information and like almost with like pity,
Speaker 1: like don't but don't pity, like it's fine, Like it's fine.
Speaker 1: I think there's a stigma about that. It's like a
Speaker 1: failure of some kind as a woman or a pregnant
Speaker 1: person having a baby. And I was very shock surprised
Speaker 1: at that I didn't. And Emily, who who electively had
Speaker 1: a c sections like no, I'm actually really looking forward
Speaker 1: to I think there's so much competitiveness as women and
Speaker 1: as parents and you know, as moms that I didn't
Speaker 1: want to subscribe to any of that, Like my birth
Speaker 1: is more valid than yours. And you know, when you
Speaker 1: raise a kid, it's about your family unit and what
Speaker 1: works best for you as a family, and it's not
Speaker 1: about what someone that you went to high school with
Speaker 1: thinks about and posted on Facebook. You know, it's like,
Speaker 1: did you find yourself when people would ask you and
Speaker 1: you'd say, no, I chose to do this, and I'm
Speaker 1: really excited. Did you find yourself really like digging in
Speaker 1: and like making a stand when you would tell that Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, I definitely did because I it was
Speaker 1: my choice and I'm happy and proud. I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: talking about it on a podcast, you know. I get
Speaker 1: like it was what was right for us, and that's
Speaker 1: what as moms we have to do for our families.
Speaker 1: That's true. Yeah, I would like defend my I would
Speaker 1: defend it, and then once you kind of explain like no,
Speaker 1: I have to for medical reasons otherwise baby and myself
Speaker 1: or in danger, like oh okay, I get like, but
Speaker 1: it's also the method in what your child was. I
Speaker 1: also think l A is the worst in general as
Speaker 1: far as what you're saying. The competition of how you
Speaker 1: have your baby and do you use endesty asia, and
Speaker 1: like are you breastfeeding? The breastfeeding too. It's like everyone's
Speaker 1: judging everything all the time. If you have to go
Speaker 1: back to work, if you don't go back to work.
Speaker 1: I find I found myself being really sensitive to the
Speaker 1: vocabulary I used, which was I had to get really
Speaker 1: comfortable with saying the word vaginally because I didn't I've
Speaker 1: had a lot of really great friends, close friends give
Speaker 1: birth through c section, and I didn't want to ever
Speaker 1: say like mine was natural versus yours, that's my own
Speaker 1: personal preference, like whatever. But I would just say, oh,
Speaker 1: I had my baby vaginally, which like, try saying that
Speaker 1: word a lot, like in front of dudes. Why do
Speaker 1: they get so weird? I'm like, guys, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina,
Speaker 1: Get over it. I don't get the stigma either. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, when you get to decide what happens to
Speaker 1: your body, whether it's an elective C section or in
Speaker 1: the situation where it's not elective and there's a medical
Speaker 1: reason to do it, you're making the choice that's the
Speaker 1: best thing for you and your baby. And birth means
Speaker 1: a child has come out of you, regardless of the
Speaker 1: way child came out of you. When a child comes
Speaker 1: out of you, you have given birth, and it I
Speaker 1: truly don't understand the the reason that there's a stigma
Speaker 1: associated with that. Um. They're both super scary and super
Speaker 1: exciting at the same time. UM, really quick and the
Speaker 1: last question, is there anything that comes to mind that
Speaker 1: you would uh that you wish someone had told you
Speaker 1: before you had a C section, Like a little piece
Speaker 1: of advice, a little anything. I know these are always
Speaker 1: because I can't ever think of anything either. I think
Speaker 1: the bell I would say, like just know that you're
Speaker 1: going to still look pregnant, and like that your clothes,
Speaker 1: like what are you gonna wear? Like that was a
Speaker 1: really big thing for me, like I didn't know how
Speaker 1: to dress. I remember going to my first table read
Speaker 1: and I was like, I have no clothes that fit me,
Speaker 1: and I didn't want to wear my pregnancy clothes because
Speaker 1: they're tight. Oh I work by pregnancy clothes for a
Speaker 1: good nine months because they were so much more comfortable
Speaker 1: than anything else I owned. But a lot of the
Speaker 1: pregnancy clothes hug your bump, and then once you have
Speaker 1: the baby, you don't want your bump out there because
Speaker 1: then there's nothing in there, you know. I found that
Speaker 1: really confused maternity where is I wish someone is still
Speaker 1: subject to? For me, A lot of it's not good.
Speaker 1: It's not just gonna s great, it's not great. But
Speaker 1: you would suggest would be getting some nice new clothes
Speaker 1: that made you feel better in a bigger size that
Speaker 1: you exactly like I wish I had feel like, yes,
Speaker 1: I just had a baby, and I look good, and
Speaker 1: I like how I look in this Like yeah, like
Speaker 1: go to Gap or whatever, any old navy and just
Speaker 1: buy like a couple of dresses or move moves that
Speaker 1: are just a couple of size bigger than what you
Speaker 1: normally wear and wear that so you feel pretty. I
Speaker 1: would get that too, because I would have people come
Speaker 1: over and like not have anything. And I didn't fit
Speaker 1: back into my old clothes for sure, but I definitely
Speaker 1: did feel a little bit weird about my maternity clothes
Speaker 1: as well. Um, Emily anything you would say, twenty four
Speaker 1: year old brother made a great playlist baby time and
Speaker 1: it was you know, it was wonderful. But um, I
Speaker 1: think the only thing that was incredibly shocked to me
Speaker 1: as I lost the ability to um know that I
Speaker 1: had to pee for like a few months. And I
Speaker 1: don't know if that's common. I just like I would
Speaker 1: have to look at the clock and be like, oh,
Speaker 1: I should go to the bathroom because I could go
Speaker 1: all day and be like, what's going on here? Um?
Speaker 1: And that was the biggest surprise I think it's not
Speaker 1: uncommon for the bladder to get a little stunned after
Speaker 1: after a C section. Um, we actually have to move
Speaker 1: the bladder off of the uterus because it's typically attached
Speaker 1: to the lower part of euterus, typically where we're making
Speaker 1: the incision to get the baby out. So we move
Speaker 1: the bladder off of the uterus, and that can affect
Speaker 1: some of the nerves to the bladder, and it's not
Speaker 1: uncommon to feel some difficulty controlling your bladder. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: anywhere from a day or two to a few months afterwards.
Speaker 1: Oh that's that's good to know. See, Like, here's all
Speaker 1: the stuff, guys. Nobody tells you, but we will want
Speaker 1: Katie's grip and Dr Coomb as any advice or something
Speaker 1: you wish someone had told you before you yourself had
Speaker 1: a C section. Um, well, I'd actually like to answer
Speaker 1: slightly different questions. I would say, approach your pregnancy by
Speaker 1: trusting your doctor. Um. As I mentioned at the beginning,
Speaker 1: you know, babies and uterus is just often don't read
Speaker 1: the birth plan. They are just not on board with
Speaker 1: what your goals are. And um, you know, I try
Speaker 1: to liken um birth and birth plans and when patients
Speaker 1: come to me with their seven page, single line type
Speaker 1: typed birth preferences, which I think is a better term
Speaker 1: than birth plan. Um. You know, I tried to explain
Speaker 1: to them. You know, think about your delivery. As you
Speaker 1: have charted a really expensive private flight, there's a lot
Speaker 1: of choices that you can make on that trip. You
Speaker 1: can decide if you want to sit in the window
Speaker 1: seat or you want to sit in the aisle seat.
Speaker 1: You can decide if you want to fly around the
Speaker 1: mountains or you want to fly over the lake. You
Speaker 1: can decide if you want to have chicken or fish
Speaker 1: for lunch. And I might make some suggestions in there,
Speaker 1: like I think the chicken is better than the fish.
Speaker 1: But ultimately those choices you're yours. But if the plane's
Speaker 1: going down, let me take care of you, and you
Speaker 1: have to trust that your doctor can fly the plane
Speaker 1: and make sure that you have a relationship with the
Speaker 1: person who's taken care of you that if they're saying
Speaker 1: to you, look, this is an emergency and we really
Speaker 1: have to go ahead and do this, or you know,
Speaker 1: they're altering your plan in some way, there's usually a
Speaker 1: reason and hopefully there will be enough time to explain
Speaker 1: that reason to you. But if there isn't trust them
Speaker 1: that this is really in your best interest. Amazing you guys.
Speaker 1: I can't thank you all enough for doing this fancy,
Speaker 1: fancy version of Katie's Crib in this awesome recording booth
Speaker 1: and um. Thank you guys for all of your advice
Speaker 1: and words of wisdom and sharing your experiences with your
Speaker 1: c section. And thank you guys all listening to this
Speaker 1: episode of Katie's Crib. You never know