There are two words that most pregnant women fear: Caesarean Section (C-section).

Unless planned, many moms-to-be are not even entertaining the chance that this could be your birthing plan.  Many agree, no matter what your birth plan is, giving birth can be just downright scary. There are many uncertainties because babies have their own plan which they do not feel the need to share with the moms. All kidding aside, as Dr. Laura Parks, OBGYN at Town Plaza Women’s Health – a part of HCA Midwest Health, tells us: “Our number one goal is a happy and healthy baby and mama.”

So, keeping that main goal in mind, sometimes a C-section is the safest birthing method for either baby, mama or both. Dr. Parks sheds some light on what it means to have a gentler C-section. 

A gentler C-section is a birth plan where a C-section is something everyone involved in the birth can see as an option. 

“As obstetricians, there are several things that we can do to start the conversation, even in office visits before a formal birth plan is even discussed,” Dr. Parks explains. 

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That is where your birth story should begin, a birth plan. A birth plan can include just a couple of things like whether you want pain medication or not and if you want to wear your own socks during labor.  If that is what works for you, great. 

Dr. Parks recommends thinking about these questions:

• Do you want music, if so, will you be creating a playlist?
• Who do you want in the room while you labor and ultimately when you give birth?
• Do you want to have your partner cut the cord?
• Are you ok with photos and videos?
• Do you want any pain medication like an epidural?
• How do you feel about any medication that could speed up delivery like oxytocin or Pitocin? 

There are also questions you and your doctor should discuss so you feel more comfortable making tough decisions prior to being in the heat of the moment:

• What is the average number of C-sections your doctor performs in a year? Is that a normal amount, a bit higher, a lot lower? And what is that number for the hospital where you plan on giving birth?
• If my labor isn’t going as planned, provided a vaginal birth is expected, at what time do we move from plan A to plan B, a C-section?
• What are the things you need to know about a C-section so there are as few surprises as possible?
• What is the difference between the recovery of a vaginal birth and a c-section?

There are many more questions you and your doctor should have prior to arriving at the hospital for delivery.  But the main takeaway of this should be, it’s very important to have the conversation and as your pregnancy progresses, you should have it again. 

“A C-section delivery isn’t necessarily harder, it’s just different. Start with a plan and know how you ideally want to respond to any bump in the road. Remember, we are all here with the same goal, a happy and healthy mom and baby,” she says.

So, as you move forward in your pregnancy journey, be aware, everyone who has ever had a baby also has a story.  Some are sweet and the picture of birth perfection and others not so much. 

“When someone starts to share their story, maybe stop them by saying something like: I am so excited to hear all about your delivery, but can we put a pin in this until I have my own and we can share and celebrate our birth stories together,” Dr. Parks says.

Labor and delivery in Kansas City

HCA Midwest Health offers four hospitals across the Kansas City region that offer advanced childbirth care and support that makes more moms choose us for their babies' first days.  Our labor and delivery hospitals offer exceptional knowledge and clinical resources, as well as crucial amenities, such as spacious maternity suites and low-intervention birth options. Learn more and find a doctor at HCAMidwest.com/Delivers.