Questions about Childbirth

Factual Questions
1

I’ve got a few, probably laughable questions, but I’ve never been pregnant, and they never came up in biology or health classes…maybe you can help me fill in the blanks.

  1. I know, of course, that an unborn baby is in a amniotic sack. Some animals are born in them, and if a piece of it is on a (human) baby’s face at birth there are superstitions about the baby being either lucky or gifted with “second sight.” But what happens to it, normally, after the baby is born? Does it stay in the woman’s body to be reabsorbed, or does it come out with the placenta?

  2. Does delivering the placenta hurt as much as the baby? I suspect not, given it doesn’t have bones, but there still are contractions, aren’t there?

  3. What happens to the placenta when a woman has a c-section? Does the doctor remove it, or is she still expected to deliver it? Are there more problems with (like stopping blood loss) than when a woman has a baby through natural childbirth?

2

  1. You might have heard the phrase ‘her waters are breaking.’ That means the amniotic sac has been broken, and the water is starting to be expelled from the woman’s body. This is one of the signs of labour. It generally happens halfway through the labour, sometimes it happens at the start of labour, and occasionally it doesn’t happen at all and the doctor has to break the waters (which doesn’t really hurt). All the water comes out during and after labour, none of it is reabsorbed.

  2. It doesn’t hurt as much, but it can still hurt. However, most hosiptals give the woman painkillers for the delivery of the placenta and it is totally painless. It is very important that the placenta is delivered whole (if any is left inside the womb, it could cause an infection).

  3. The doctor removes it. The main problem with caesarian sections is a longer recovery period, due to the stitches and the major surgery itself.

3

The amniotic sac (which, of course, breaks open in humans before the baby is delivered) comes out with the placenta. The whole mess (if you’ll pardon the expression) is known as afterbirth.

I hardly noticed delivering the afterbirth. Now I’m sure part of that is because having a new human being lying on your chest tends to make you a bit preoccupied, but also it’s just easier. The placenta is much smaller and more flexible than the baby, and the contractions are weaker.

I’ve never had a C-section, so I can’t say for sure, but I’ve been told that when the baby comes into contact with the air outside, it triggers a reflex to start breathing, and that in turn starts a process that ends with a signal to let loose the placenta. In general, a C-section carries a higher risk of complications to both mother and baby, which is why all things being equal a vaginal delivery is safer. C-sections exist because all other things are not always equal.

4

  1. You might have heard the phrase ‘her waters are breaking.’ That means the amniotic sac has been broken, and the water is starting to be expelled from the woman’s body. This is one of the signs of labour. It generally happens halfway through the labour, sometimes it happens at the start of labour, and occasionally it doesn’t happen at all and the doctor has to break the waters (which doesn’t really hurt). All the water comes out during and after labour, none of it is reabsorbed.

  2. It doesn’t hurt as much, but it can still hurt. However, most hosiptals give the woman painkillers for the delivery of the placenta and it is totally painless. It is very important that the placenta is delivered whole (if any is left inside the womb, it could cause an infection).

  3. The doctor removes it. The main problem with caesarian sections is a longer recovery period, due to the stitches and the major surgery itself.

5

Damn lying board, told me it hadn’t posted!

6

As a mom about to have her second C-section in October I’ll chime in a little about that type of delivery.

I tried vaginal birthing but we were induced early and the little one wasn’t quite as head down as she should have been so after almost 24 hours of labor and some fetal distress they whisked us into surgery.

My water was broken during labor so all of that came out the ‘natural way.’ Breaking my water did not hurt but the contractions sure came fast and furious afterwards! I got my epidural an hour or so later.

So while in surgery… I was awake but numb from my middle fingers down to my toes. I was naked and spread out on the table with a bunch of baby monitors and mommy monitors. They shaved and iodined my belly and made a ‘bikini cut.’

Out came the baby! She was taken to a nearby baby station to be cleaned and weighed and all the other stuff they do to new babies.

The doctor then vacuumed me out and sewed me up. I was kind of freaked by the fact that some of my internal organs were kind of sitting on my outside for a minute or two while he rearranged and stitched me closed but I seem to be no worse for wear :slight_smile:

Recovery is different with surgery. I had staples in my belly for 5 days and I couldn’t lift more than the baby for 8 weeks. I couldn’t drive for 8 weeks either. You have to be confident in your ability to jam on the brakes before they give you the ok to drive again. The worst part of my recovery was the pneumonia I contracted in the hospital. Other than that it was not as bad as I feared. You can barely see the scar and the only real negative is the numb spot above the scar from the nerves not knitting back together properly.

Oh and from what a few of my friends have told me … delivering the placenta can hurt mostly because there is a nurse ‘massaging’ your uterus to help expel everything.

7

I have delivered 5 children so I am a little experienced.

Regarding the placenta…I delivered vaginally. The placenta comes out naturally after the birth it doesn’t hurt. However I did have to have one removed manually because it had attached itself to scar tissue. Removing manually hurt.

  1. But what happens to it, normally, after the baby is born? Does it stay in the woman’s body to be reabsorbed, or does it come out with the placenta?
    -----what doesn’t come out with the placenta will be discharged after the mother becomes mobile.

  2. Does delivering the placenta hurt as much as the baby?
    —no not at all. YOu don’t really feel it unless its manual

I suspect not, given it doesn’t have bones, but there still are contractions, aren’t there?
----yes. If the placenta and afterbirth is taking a long time the doctor will order a drug that will give you contractions for like 12 hours and then you will have plenty of time to rid yourself of it.

8

I saw something on TLC recently that helped me understand the question I had about the amniotic sac- the placenta is inside it. D’oh!

But now I have another question…what is that yellow stuff inevitably smeared all over the babies in TLC specials? (looks sort of like cream cheese…) And is whatever it is common to be on a newborn? I’ve only seen one baby born, and although I was only six at the time so the memory isn’t the sharpest I have, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t covered in anything but a bit of blood.

9

It’s a naturally occuring substance called “vernix.” Both of mine had it, but there was more on the second one than the first. From the Oh Baby! site:

10

The more mature the baby, the less vernix—it’s an indicator of baby’s age. 36 weekers are covered in vernix while 40 weekers have hardly any. The labor nurse rubs the baby hard to stimulate crying and it’s hard to attach temperature probes to a cheesy baby so your baby might look pretty clean when you see him!
During c-section, the doc removes the placenta and checks to make sure its all there. Retained placental fragments don’t allow the uterus to shrink and bleeding continues. The body tries to clot that blood and the clots keep the uterus from shrinking and bleeding continues. The body will run out of clotting factor, no more clotting and the mom bleeds out. Expelling the clots and getting the uterus to shrink makes fundal massage vital. The nurse is not a sadistic she-devil when she rubs your sore tummy hard. She just wants to keep mom from bleeding to death. Pitocin/ Oxytocin helps, so does a shot of Methergine, but there’s nothing like a firm massage.
Cyn, OB/GYN RN who doesn’t want to think how many c-sections she’s circulated on, much less how much Pit she’s hung…

11

2. Does delivering the placenta hurt as much as the baby? I suspect not, given it doesn’t have bones, but there still are contractions, aren’t there?

It doesn’t hurt anywhere near as much as the kid. With me I just kinda pushed it out during a contraction right after the baby was born, one push and plop, there it was. By that time I’d been through so much pain and an episiotomy in which I was only about half-numb, so the placenta was a breeze.

As far as the placenta being small, maybe that depends on the size of the baby (my baby was 8 lbs 10 oz). It was HUGE and really really ugly.

12

I can honestly say that having a baby doesn’t hurt one bit.
My wife though screamed bloody murder.

:smiley:

13

Another dad here.

If you do end up with a c-section, don’t freak out. My wife has had two, and the surguries went fine. Recovery is a little longer, but it’s manageable. Easy for me to say.

The dad (or coach, partner, whatever) can still be in the room with you. I strongly suggest that he not actually watch the operation. I hid under a sheet last time. During the first c-section, the ansthesiologist (sp?) told me to stand up if I wanted to see the baby being born. I stood up and saw Christopher come out. Anything else I might have seen (my wife’s insides on the outsides, etc.) disappeared. I have no memory of those things.

The most recent c-section (May 27, 2003), the doctor did not tell me to stand. However, she did indicate to me what was happening. I will describe why in a moment.

The strangest thing about both experiences was that my wife was wide awake and coherent. This was especially true the first time. She was undergoing major surgury, yet I could talk to her normally. It was a very surreal experience.

—Warning: Sad story following —

The most recent c-section was different because the baby was stillborn at 38 weeks. We knew Hayden had died before the operation began. Therefore, the mood was decidedly less cheerful. The doctor described what she was doing and reassured my wife that she (my wife) was perfectly fine. The baby presented with no symptoms of trauma, or any other problem. The demise was probably caused by pre-eclampsia. Four days later, my wife had an eclamptic seizure and we nearly lost her, too. She is fine, now, though the emotional healing is still rough on all of us.

My point: Pay attention to your body. Don’t scare yourself to death, but do become educated on what things may feel like if they start to go bad. Ask questions. Get answers. NEVER, EVER miss a doctor’s appointment. We missed the last appointment and we will regret that for the rest of our lives.

Good luck. Childbirth from the daddy’s point of view is an amazing experience. Somehow, you get the strength to get through anything.

14

Did I kill this thread? Sorry, I didn’t mean to end the discussion.

15

Don’t worry about it, DG. Thank you for sharing that, and my condolences to you and your wife on your loss.