Ashley Spears, Surgical Assistant with Covington Women’s Health Specialists, Explains the Benefit of Family Centered Cesarean Sections

* The following patient success story was developed with help from Piedmont Newton Hospital. If you would like to read the original piece, please click here. *

Ashley Spears thought she knew exactly what to expect as she prepared to deliver her second child at Piedmont Newton Hospital with Covington Women’s Health Specialists. As a surgical assistant with Covington Women’s Health Specialists, Spears spends a lot of time in the hospital’s Women’s Services department, and she had also delivered her oldest child at the hospital via cesarean section nine years earlier.

“Even though I’m working in the hospital on a regular basis, my experience as a patient was completely different,” said Spears. “As a patient, I experienced exceptionally personalized care. That’s one of the main benefits of delivering at a smaller hospital and with Covington Women’s Health Specialists. I received the same high-quality, clinical care patients think they have to travel to Atlanta to receive, and I was minutes from home. That’s incredible.”

Spears and her husband chose a family-centered cesarean section for her second child’s birth. Covington Women’s Health Specialists is proud to be the only practice in the Rockdale-Newton-Walton tri-county area offering these Family Centered Cesarean Sections. Just like during a vaginal delivery, our practice offers parents delivering by Cesarean Section the ability to watch the delivery, to see and hold their baby as soon as possible after birth, to enjoy skin to skin bonding, and cut the umbilical cord.

This process allowed both Spears and her husband to have more participation in the birth, including watching their son being born through a clear drape, her husband cutting the cord, and placing the baby immediately on her chest for uninterrupted skin-to-skin time.

“When my first child was born, I remember being sad because I felt like I only saw her briefly before she was taken to another part of the room to be measured and weighed,” said Spears. “With the family-centered c-section for our second child’s delivery, both my husband and I were able to fully engage in our son’s birth and the baby was immediately put onto my chest. It was an incredible experience for both my husband and me.”

Our very own Dr. Cathy Larrimore initiated the Family Centered Cesarean Sections in Newton County more than ten years ago. We’re proud to partner and deliver exclusively at Piedmont Newton Hospital where the Labor and Delivery staff is trained in the performance of Family Centered Cesarean Sections.

According to Spears, once she moved into a postpartum room, she experienced another change the hospital recently implemented; quiet time. Understanding that rest plays a role in healing, as well as gives new families uninterrupted bonding time, Piedmont Newton has ‘quiet hours’ from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. During quiet time, there will be limited disruption to patients to allow for rest and recovery.

“During the designated times, the entire department was quiet,” said Spears. “Hospitals are busy places, so to have those few hours of quiet gave us an opportunity to bond with our son, as well as get some much-needed rest without a constant influx of people in and out of the room.”

If you are expecting or planning to deliver by Cesarean section and would like to see us for your care, please call for an appointment 770-385-8954 or click here.

How to Best Prepare for Delivery Day

When you’re preparing to give birth, it can be an overwhelming and exciting process. There’s so much to do and to think through that you might be anxious about where to start first. Our experts are here to make the process easier for you. Here’s how to best prepare for delivery day.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!

As you are anxiously waiting to meet your baby and your due date gets close, make this time productive. Get all the basics completed in your preparation for childbirth, such as registering at Piedmont Newton Hospital where our practice attends deliveries, discussing your pain management plan, and researching cord blood banking.

You will want to obtain and install a car seat in the car you plan to take home your baby after delivery. Also, have your bags packed and ready to go for the hospital. Be sure to know the hospital’s visitor policy, which are probably dramatically different due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s lots of little details to think about when it comes to your delivery day preparation and that’s why we have developed a “Guide to Pregnancy” for our patients.  Check it out if this is the part of the process you’re currently working through!

Educate Yourself

If you know nothing about what it’s like to give birth, it’s vital you educate yourself. We recommend taking a local class so that you can learn from an expert and other expecting moms! When you educate yourself fully, you’re able to make wise decisions for your birthing process and also boost your confidence.

Reach for Others

Giving birth can be a stressful experience. However, you don’t have to do it alone! Don’t forget to reach for others as you get ready to go through this process. Whether it’s your partner, your Mom, or your friends who have given birth before, make sure to let them know what you’re feeling and how they can help. We’re sure they’ll be eager to do whatever they can to make it a positive experience for you! And it lightens the load for yourself.

Focus Mentally

On top of all the physical preparations you make for your birth plan, don’t forget to focus on preparing your mind for what’s to come. It can be easy to get distracted by all the birth stories out there, what worked for other women, and the nerves of the approaching day. That’s why it’s vital to practice your focus skills, your ability to calm yourself in stressful situations, and focusing on the positive.

Doing all of those mental tactics will make a good impact on your birthing process. It’ll help keep yourself nice and relaxed during the painful parts so you can focus on what’s most important: your incoming baby!

 

If you have any more questions about how to best prepare for delivery day, reach out to our experts by clicking here or giving us a call at 770-385-8954.