Dr. Àlex Querol and his team from the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Service at Clínica Girona have carried out the first “gentle Caesareans” in the delivery rooms of the new Clínica Girona.
The so-called “gentle” or also called “bonding” caesarean section is a type of caesarean which facilitates and promotes "skin-to-skin" contact and is considered kinder and more sensitive for the mother than traditional caesarean sections. This type of caesarean section began to be performed in 2018 at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona.
The main difference compared to traditional C-sections is that in those, mothers do not witness their child's birth nor can they hold them immediately after birth, whereas in ‘bonding C-sections’ or “gentle” C-sections, the mother can have skin-to-skin contact with her baby right from the start. Furthermore, if the mother wishes, she can participate in the extraction process, and her companion can also take part by cutting the umbilical cord.
According to experts, this technique also has many benefits, as it creates an emotional bond with the baby from the first moment of birth, which is something very important for both. The breastfeeding rate is higher because the baby is not separated from the mother, and there is no increased rate of infection or blood loss.
Following the first gentle caesarean section in the Delivery Rooms of the new Girona Clinic, the parents of the first child born by this procedure sent the following letter to Dr. Querol:
A kind Caesarean birth is possible
On Monday, 16th May, our daughter was born at Clínica Girona. The birth didn't go as we had hoped and ended in a Caesarean section. We would have liked a natural birth, and for that reason the idea of a Caesarean section saddened us. Despite our disappointment, we ended up in the operating theatre.
But this isn't a sad story. Despite being an unwanted ending, it was a beautiful C-section where I felt close to my partner and my daughter at all times. It was very important to us that the operating theatre had low lighting and soft music was playing. Her dad was by my side the whole time and my hands were free, which allowed me to hold our baby straight after she was born. I suppose maternal instinct made me reach out. I couldn't hold back the emotion or the tears, and I'll always remember the joy I felt at that moment. I don't even want to imagine being separated from her.
They only grabbed her for the seconds while they cleaned her up a bit. Dad cut the cord and the baby started latching onto my chest in the same operating room.
That we have this good memory is thanks to the fact that the anaesthetist, the gynaecologist, the nurses and midwives did not follow the usual procedure.
For this, we are extremely grateful and hope that this practice will become much more common from now on and will become a new protocol that is followed in all caesarean sections whenever possible.
Thank you Doctor Querol, without you it wouldn't have been possible.
