Maternal-assisted C-sections allow babies to go straight into parents’ arms
Six years ago when Lissa Dahlheimer delivered her first child by emergency cesarean section, the sight of her newborn daughter being whisked away from her left her feeling unsettled.
“It felt like everyone else saw and touched my baby before me,” she said.
With her second child two years later, Lissa planned a different experience. The lights were low. Music played softly in the operating room. The environment felt gentle.
When Lissa was pregnant with her third child and learned about the option for a maternal-assisted C-section, her decision came easily: Yes!
“For some people, they feel disappointed or removed from the birth process and may have prepared their whole pregnancy for a vaginal birth,” said Melissa Hasler, director of nurse midwives with M Health Fairview. “The idea that the pregnant person can participate with the birth of their baby for some can be redemptive and powerful, even if it is surgical. To be the first person to greet their child is a very powerful moment. Providing that opportunity for women who didn’t have the option of a vaginal birth can help prevent birth trauma and create a rewarding and safe birth experience for the families.”
An active role in her son’s birth
As a labor and delivery nurse at M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital herself, Lissa saw and experienced the emotional weight many new parents carry after surgical births.
“As a health system, we've been recognizing and validating birth trauma but especially around having to go to surgery to give birth,” she said. “In the past, C-sections felt more passive and focused on surgery. By assisting in my C-section, it felt like I was bringing the intimacy of birth into the operating room and having an active role in my child's birth.”
Care teams at M Health Fairview Birthplaces will do their best to honor people’s requests for creating an intimate and personal birthing experience. Assisting in a surgical birth – when it is medically safe to do so – is one way to do that.
Maternal-assisted C-sections allow the birthing parent to help lift the baby from the uterus and bring them up to their chest. Typically, medical teams would pass the baby around a drape.
“Maternal assisted C-sections have been driven by patients more than anything,” said Kristen Fried, MD, with Premier Women's Health - MetroPartners OB-GYN, who delivers babies at M Health Fairview St. John's and Woodwinds hospitals. “It’s honoring a patient request and thinking of ways to make it possible.”
For Lissa, that participation was meaningful.
“Being able to see and touch my baby right away was really healing,” she said.
Preparing for mom’s assistance
Maternal-assisted C-sections are gaining attention in parent groups and on social media. They aren’t medically complicated, but they do take some preparation.
At Lissa’s prenatal visits, the team discussed the process thoughtfully. It was this particular care team’s first time doing a maternal-assisted C-section together.
Before entering the operating room, Lissa scrubbed her hands thoroughly. Once on the table, she applied surgical hand sanitizer, and a surgical technologist helped her into sterile sleeves and gloves. Sterile towels were arranged over her arms so she could comfortably rest them while waiting to touch her baby.
“It ended up feeling like a sterile cocoon,” she said. “We really figured it out together.
When the moment finally came, the drapes were lowered. Dr. Fried guided Lissa's baby partway out until his head and arms were free.
“Then I reached under his armpits and pulled him up,” Lissa said. “It was really cool.”
She was able to hold her son, whom she named David, on her chest.
“We dried him and got him to cry like we typically do for a vaginal birth,” she said. “I bypassed that moment where the baby gets handed from person to person. He came directly to me.”
Lissa was careful to emphasize that maternal-assisted C-sections aren’t about promoting surgical births. However, when it is the safest option, she wants birthing people to know they can ask to assist.
She said her husband also liked the experience because it was the first time he felt like he truly saw his child’s birth.
Maternal-assisted C-sections require advance planning and coordination with the surgeon and care team. They are currently available only in limited circumstances and may not be offered by all providers or at all birth locations. Patients who are interested should talk with their provider in advance to understand whether it may be an option for their birth.
Small changes, big impact
M Health Fairview Birthplaces have made meaningful changes to make the c-section experience more family centered. Parents can view the birth through clear drapes or mirrors or ask for delayed cord clamping, early skin-to-skin contact, and initiating breastfeeding in the operating room
Another recent change at St. John’s made a meaningful difference—the warmer was placed within direct view of the surgical table. Knowing the baby is only a few feet away and within sight can be reassuring for new parents.
Care teams at M Health Fairview Birthplaces want to help you make your birth experience your own.
“If there’s something that would make your birthing experience more special or personal, we encourage you to ask for it,” Hasler said. “You can request low lighting, music, or fewer side conversations. This is your birthing experience.”
