Emergency Sections

AN EMERGENCY CAESAREAN SECTION MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN YOUR PLAN Most of the time, important parts of your birth plan can still be included.
Most of the time you can still be awake to meet your baby
You can often still do skin to skin
You can usually still have your support person there
You can often still have delayed cord clamping
If you have an epidural in, then it can usually be boosted and used as your anaesthetic. Talk to your midwife
About any preferences you might have for an emergency caesarean section should you need one.

An emergency caesarean section is performed when you are already in labour. Click for more It is done for the safety of you, your baby, or both. They are categorised based on urgency, as per the Royal Australia and NZ College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG)

Category 1: Urgent threat to the life or health of parent or baby. Category 2: Compromised parent or baby, but not immediately life threatening. Category 3: Needing earlier than planned delivery, but no current compromise evident. Category 4: At a time acceptable for the parents and the delivering team.

Category 1 (Urgent) Caesarean Sections You might've heard these called "crash" Caesarean sections, and whilst the decision is often made quickly, there will always be time for your Obstetric and Anaesthetist team to talk through what is being recommended, and why. Why are they done? There are many reasons why your midwife or obstetrician may be worried that there is an urgent threat to the life of you or your baby.

This can include placental abruption, cord prolapse, uterine rupture, intrapartum haemorrhage or presumed fetal compromise. How common are they? Very uncommon!
Approximately 15% of women have an emergency Caesarean Section, and of these <10% are Category 1.

That is less than 1.5% of all births in New Zealand. When will I meet my baby? If you're awake for your birth, then your baby will be with you as soon as possible! Sometimes they may need some care from the Neonatal team.

If you have a General Anaesthetic you will be reunited with your baby as soon as you are awake and well enough. Usually this is within 30-40 minutes. It is everyone's priority to have you together as soon as possible, safely. Until that time, they will be with your whānau. What will happen? - Usually an emergency bell will be activated, which may cause an alarm to go off.
- The teams will be notified by pager or phone. This includes Neonatal/Paediatric resuscitation teams for your baby, the operating theatre staff, and the Anaesthetic team.
- You will be transferred quickly into the Operating Theatre
- The Anaesthetist will discuss the best anaesthetic options for you

The choices are:
- A spinal anaesthetic (where you will be awake).
- A boost of your epidural (if you have one).
- A general anaesthetic (where you will be asleep). This is slightly faster and sometimes is the safest option.

If you are having a General Anaesthetic then your support person usually won't be able to be in the room, so that the theatre team are able to concentrate on looking after you and your baby. Once your baby is born the Neonatal team will have your baby with your support person as soon as possible.
It can be helpful to debrief with your midwife and other staff afterwards, to talk through what happened, and make sure any questions you have are answered.

This page is run by
Dr Morgan Edwards
BSC (Hons), MBBS, FANZCA, PGDipSci Obstetric Anaesthetist
New Zealand
Views are my own Every effort has been made to ensure
the information
on this page is accurate and up to date.
However there is no substitute for
individualised medical advice,
so please speak to your
Midwife, Obstetrician, Anaesthetist
or GP if you have
any further questions Elective Sections Emergency Sections FAQs Further Information