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Childbirth: the meeting with the baby
It’s time to discover this little being that we carried for 9 months. The midwife places it on our stomach. Baby will make the link between what he felt in utero and what he feels at the present moment. By putting it against us, it will be able to find our scent, hear our heartbeats and our voice.
About 5 to 10 minutes after the birth of our baby, it is time to cut the umbilical cord which connects it to the placenta. Very symbolic, this gesture, painless for the mother as for the child, generally returns to the father. But if he does not wish, the medical team will take care of it.
At birth, the midwife gives the baby the Apgar test. We certainly won’t realize it, too busy admiring it! It is just a quick observation, which is practiced while he is on our stomach. The midwife looks to see if he is pink, if his heart is beating well …
Expulsion of the placenta
Deliverance is delivery of the placenta after childbirth. It must take place within half an hour of giving birth, otherwise there is a risk of bleeding. How’s it going ? The midwife presses on our stomach by bringing up the uterine fund. Once the placenta has come off, she asks us to push to get it out. We will feel some bleeding, but don’t worry, it’s normal, and it doesn’t hurt. During this phase, our baby is not withdrawn from us, he continues to get to know us, nestled in the hollow of our chest or our neck. The placenta is then carefully examined. If parts are missing, the doctor or midwife will manually check that the uterus is empty. This requires a short anesthesia. Baby is then entrusted to his dad or placed in his cradle.
Aftermath of the episiotomy: sew and it’s over!
Once the placenta is expelled, the midwife looks for lesions, a tear. But maybe you had an episiotomy? … In this case, you will have to sew up. If you have had a epidural but that its effect decreases, we add a little anesthetic product. Otherwise, you will have a local anesthesia. The procedure can be complex, since it is necessary to sew all the layers of the mucosa and the muscle separately. It can therefore last between 30 and 45 minutes. As it is not very pleasant, it may be the right time to entrust baby to his dad, or to a childcare assistant for first aid.
The first feeding
Even before the placenta is delivered or the episiotomy is repaired, the breastfeeding baby. Usually, it goes naturally to the breast and will start to suckle. But maybe he will need a little assistance to take the nipple. In this case, the midwife or the childcare assistant will help him. If we don’t want to breastfeed, we can bottle-feed her several hours after giving birth, once we have returned to our room. The baby is not hungry when it comes out of our womb.
Examining the baby
Weight height… baby is examined from every angle by the midwife before we can get back to the room, both of us. It is at this time that the umbilical forceps are put in place, that they are given a dose of vitamin K (for good coagulation) and that they are dressed.
Note: this first aid is not always done immediately after birth. If baby is healthy, the priority is for him to be skin to skin with us, to promote her well-being and the start of breastfeeding (if that is our choice).
Return to our room
We will have to wait at least two hours before entering our room. Medical surveillance requires it. When we leave the delivery room, the epidural catheter and the infusion are removed from us. With our child, we can now return to our room, always accompanied, on a stretcher or a wheelchair. With the loss of blood, the labor of childbirth … you could have vagal discomfort. Normally, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that a woman, even during labor, be able to eat and drink. Also, after childbirth, there should be no worries about restoring. We generally prefer that the mother returns to her room before offering her something to snack on. Then place for the well-deserved calm. We needmaximum rest to recover. If you have little dizziness when you get up, it’s normal. You can ask for help to stand up and walk. Likewise, we will need help to wash ourselves.