Mom and Baby Stay Together immediately after Cesarean

I had a cesarean with my first baby and the hardest part was being separated from the baby afterwards.  I was in recovery alone (with a nurse) and my hubby was with the baby in the nursery.  This was the worst part of my cesarean.

Many hospitals have this routine.  Mom goes to recovery and baby goes to nursery for 2 hours and then you are reunited.  That is a LONG time and pretty traumatic for mom and baby.

Some hospitals allow mom and baby to recover together (as long as baby is healthy)  At Saddleback I love the fact that after a cesarean the mom AND baby go back to the mom’s room TOGETHER for recovery.  So mom and baby are not separated.  This is so helpful for the mom, dad and baby.  Much nicer for everyone.

In this country where on average 30% of moms (though my class statistics are 7.5-11% cesarean rate… yay for Independent Childbirth Classes!)  are ending up with cesareans, even if you are not planning on having one, this is an important question to ask!  If you have different hospitals to choose from, find out the policies and choose the one you like best.  You can call the hospitals to ask these questions.  You can call your local Childbirth Educators or Doulas, they typically have wonderful insights into what goes on at the hospitals!