The mother lies numb on the table as a tiny little head is pulled from her belly and into the world. It looks like a regular caesarean – beautiful, clinical. Until the doctors let go.
The woman in the video (below) is Sarah Saunders, a mum who gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy via a practise known as natural caesarean.
Designed for full-term, planned C-sections, the hands-off technique aims to mimic a vaginal birth by using a combination of contractions and gentle assistance to allow the child to wriggle its way out of the womb.
There’s also no curtain beneath the mother’s breast, allowing her to watch as the whole, incredible process take place.
“I wanted to share this video to show that if you are unable to give birth ‘naturally’ that having a natural caesarean is the next best thing,” Sarah captioned the video.
The slow delivery technique helps expel liquid from the baby’s lungs and allows it begin to breathing on its own while still attached to the umbilical cord. This also means that, unlike a standard caesarean, the baby doesn’t have to be whisked away for resuscitation immediately after birth.
Instead it can be gently laid on the mother’s chest for that precious first bare-skin cuddle.
The benefits of natural caesareans are untested, but trials are currently underway in the UK to see how they affect both mother and baby.
Belinda Green, a consultant midwife at University College Hospital in Central London recently told The Daily Mail UK that demand for this type of birth is on the rise.
“So many women say the bond with their baby is stronger after a skin-to-skin caesarean, and there is evidence to suggest it reduces a number of complications after birth.”
Sarah, whose video has now been viewed almost 58,000 times, is one of the converts, writing beneath the video that her natural caesarean provided a birth experience she will “cherish forever”.
Would you opt for a natural caesarean if was available?
* Feature image via YouTube/Sarah Saunders.
Top Comments
The vast majority of babies could be given straight to their mothers and be skin to skin at the moment of birth during a caesarean. They certainly aren't 'whisked away to be resuscitated'. The are taken away, sure, but most of the time they don't need to be resuscitated beyond rubbing them with a towel or receiving blanket in exactly the same way they are when the baby is born vaginally.
I really, really hope that this is the future for caesareans. Unless there is a medical reason indicating otherwise, the best place for a newborn baby is on their mother's chest.