Emergency C – Sections, the third category of a C – Section, is not something anyone would want.

Hello again,

I left an entry earlier, which was a post from a frequent reader. I hope that many of you will find this post useful, as I know that was the authors hope as well. This next entry is going to cover the 3rd category of C – Sections, which generally is not something you would like.

Moms do not have ANY control over any of these happening or not.

These cases are true emergencies with the babys or possibly the mothers life at risk. One cause can be fetal distress, such as the babys heartrate drops and doesn’t recover with moms positon changes, ( such as to her side ) and mother getting a high flow of oxygen by mask, along with IV fluids.

Doctors cannot predict this happening, and the cause can be many, such as the babys positioning, uterus having too many too close contractions ( hyper stimulation ) or the umbilical cord pinched off by babys position.

Another cause can be umbilical cord prolapse, in which the umbilical cord precedes the babys head and gets pinched off when the head progresses down. Most often this can happen when moms water breaks and she is not in labor yet, the cord can be carried with the flow of fluid. If your water breaks at home and you feel as though something is in your vagina, PROCEED DIRECTLY to the hospital WITHOUT DELAY. If this happens, baby can survive with rapid delivery.

Yet another cause can be placental abruption ( Abruptio Placentae ) or a separation of the placenta from the uterine wall. When this happens, blood
flows into the space between the two and forms a blood clot. Since blood cannot flow through a clot, bloodflow to the baby is decreased. How much decreased, depends on how large the abruption area is. Trauma to the abdomen such as a fall, auto accident or being hit or kicked can cause this. Some signs are vaginal bleeding, and a rigid board like abdomen over the area, with intense abdominal pain.

Again, if rapid delivery occurs as soon as this is diagnosed, the baby has a chance for survival. Although this doesn’t happen all that often, it does happen so you should know about it and be prepared for it if it does.

As always, I hope you find this entry useful and feel free to comment on it or your experiences.

God bless,

Meredith – RNC