Gentle Cesarean Birth Plan Template | What To Ask In The OR

If you’re scheduled for a cesarean, this Gentle Cesarean Birth Plan Template lets you shape how the room feels and how the first hour goes. A gentle approach doesn’t mean less medical care. It means the team keeps safety and sterility as usual, while you ask for small choices that can make the moment feel more personal.

Start by learning what your hospital already does. ACOG’s patient page on cesarean birth is a solid overview of what happens before, during, and after surgery.

This article gives you a copy-paste template you can bring to prenatal visits, pre-op check-in, and the OR. Use it as a menu: pick what fits your hospital’s rules and your medical picture.

What “Gentle” Means In A Cesarean

Hospitals use different terms: family-centered cesarean, mother-centered cesarean, or skin-to-skin cesarean. The idea is simple. You plan the experience around clear consent, less separation, and fewer surprises.

Requests Many Units Can Do

• Introductions and roles at the start (“Who is in the room and why?”)
• Plain-language updates during prep, delivery, and closing
• Music at low volume, or quiet if you prefer
• Photos once the sterile field is set
• Skin-to-skin contact as soon as you’re awake and stable
• Delayed cord clamping when the team says it’s appropriate

Requests That May Change In The Moment

Some options won’t work in urgent delivery, heavy bleeding, or when a baby needs fast care at the warmer. A good plan still helps because it includes a back-up line that keeps you informed and keeps your baby close when the team can.

How To Use This Template Before Surgery

Bring the plan to a prenatal visit well before your due date. Ask which requests match your hospital’s workflow. Then revise the plan with the parts that fit your setting.

Next, share it at pre-op or admission. If your hospital has a “birth preferences” form, attach your plan as an extra page.

Questions Worth Asking Ahead Of Time

• What anesthesia is typical for my case (spinal, epidural, or general)?
• How does skin-to-skin work in this operating room and in recovery?
• Can my partner stay by my head the full time?
• Is delayed cord clamping routine here? ACOG reviews timing and evidence in Delayed Umbilical Cord Clamping After Birth.

Requests That Keep The OR Feeling Human

Operating rooms are busy and bright. Your plan can still add warmth by setting expectations. You’re not asking the team to bend sterile rules. You’re asking for communication choices that cost little time.

Communication And Consent

• Tell me what you’re doing before each new step (tape, catheter, incision, pressure).
• Use my chosen name.
• If a new decision comes up and there’s time, give a one-sentence reason and my options.
• If something changes fast, tell me as soon as you can what happened and what comes next.

Sound, Light, And Photos

• Keep voices low unless an urgent call is needed.
• Let me use music at low volume once the team says it’s safe.
• Allow photos after the sterile drape is in place, if the unit allows it.

Seeing Your Baby

Some hospitals can lower the drape or use a clear drape at birth. Others keep the drape up and lift the baby for a quick view. Write what you want, then ask what your OR allows.

Gentle Cesarean Birth Plan Template With Operating Room Requests

Copy this section into a note on your phone, then print it. Keep it to one page if you can. Short pages get read.

Basic Details

• Birthing person: ____________________
• Birth partner: ____________________
• Planned hospital: ____________________
• Scheduled date: ____________________
• Allergies: ____________________
• Language needs: ____________________

Before The Incision

• Introduce everyone in the room and their role.
• Explain what I may feel (pressure, tugging) and what is not expected (sharp pain).
• Keep my arms free if safe, or keep one arm free if possible.
• Birth partner seated by my head, with phone ready for photos once allowed.

During Birth

• Lower or clear drape at birth if available.
• Delayed cord clamping if the team says it’s safe for me and baby.
• Show baby to me right away, then move to skin-to-skin quickly when cleared.

Newborn Care Preferences

• Do routine checks at my side when possible.
• If baby needs the warmer, birth partner stays with baby.
• Vitamin K: Yes / No / Ask me
• Erythromycin eye ointment: Yes / No / Ask me
• Hepatitis B vaccine: Yes / No / Ask me

Skin-To-Skin And Feeding

If you want early skin-to-skin, ask for it by name. WHO’s evidence summary on early skin-to-skin contact links it with better stability and feeding outcomes.

• Start skin-to-skin as soon as I’m awake and stable.
• Birth partner can do chest-to-chest if I’m not ready yet.
• Delay non-urgent weighing and measuring until after first feed or first hour, if allowed.

After Birth And Closing

• Tell me when the uterus is closed and when skin closure starts.
• Keep baby on my chest when safe during closing and transfer.
• Give a clear plan for nausea, shivering, and itch relief.

Plan B If Things Move Fast

• If baby needs extra care, birth partner goes with baby and sends photos.
• Tell me where baby is going and who is caring for baby.
• Bring baby back to me as soon as it’s safe.

Recovery Choices After A C-Section

Recovery is where small choices can make the first day smoother. Ask your team what is routine on your unit, then note what you want.

Pain Control Without Guesswork

Many hospitals use a step-by-step mix of medicines so you can move and care for your baby. ACOG’s Postpartum Pain Management FAQ lists options and safety notes to ask about.

• Ask for a written med schedule before discharge.
• Ask what to take first for baseline pain and what to save for break-through pain.
• Ask what level of pain means you should call the nurse.

Movement, Catheter, And Gas Pain

Walking soon after surgery can lower stiffness and can help your bowels wake up. Ask when the catheter can come out and what milestones the unit uses for first walk and first pee. If shoulder or rib pain hits, ask if it could be gas pain from surgery and what usually helps.

Bleeding, Fever, And When To Call

After a cesarean, bleeding is still normal for days to weeks. Get clear instructions on warning signs like heavy bleeding, fever, worse belly pain, redness at the incision, foul-smelling discharge, or shortness of breath.

Table Of Common Gentle Cesarean Requests And Tradeoffs

Use this list during your prenatal visit. Mark “Yes,” “No,” or “Ask” beside each line, then copy only what you want into your one-page plan.

Request	Why People Ask For It	When It May Change
Step-by-step narration	Reduces surprises and keeps consent clear	Team may keep words short during urgent moments
Partner by your head	Comfort and a steady point of focus	May shift during anesthesia placement
Music at low volume	Sets a tone you like	May pause if staff need clear audio cues
Clear or lowered drape	Lets you see birth sooner	Depends on OR setup and sterile field
Delayed cord clamping	Can improve newborn iron stores	May be skipped if bleeding is heavy or baby needs fast care
Skin-to-skin in the OR	Early contact and easier first feed	Needs you alert and stable; staffing matters
Newborn checks at your side	Less separation, more reassurance	Some checks need warmer equipment
Partner with baby if warmer used	Baby stays with your family	May change if staff need extra space
Delayed weight and measurements	Protects the first hour	May change if baby has glucose or breathing concerns

How Hospitals Decide What’s Allowed

It’s normal to hear, “That depends.” Policies exist for sterility, staffing, and newborn safety. Your plan works best when you write requests as preferences, then add a back-up choice you can live with.

Planned Versus Urgent Cesarean

In a planned cesarean, there’s usually more time for photos, drape choices, and early contact. In urgent categories, the team moves fast and speaks in short phrases. Many units label urgency levels (planned, urgent, emergent). Ask which type you’re having and what that changes for drape, photos, and early contact.

Anesthesia Type Matters

With spinal or epidural anesthesia, you’re awake and can often start early contact sooner. With general anesthesia, skin-to-skin may start later, and your birth partner’s role gets bigger in the first minutes.

Newborn Status Can Shift The Plan

Many babies can stay with you right away. Some need the warmer for breathing help or extra checks. That’s where your Plan B lines keep you connected even if you’re separated for a bit.

Post-Op Checklist You Can Screenshot

This checklist fits on one screen. Use it to track what you asked for so the handoff between OR and recovery stays smooth.

Timing	Ask For	Notes
Pre-op	Review plan with nurse and anesthesia	Confirm allergies, nausea plan, photo rules
In OR	Role introductions and narration	Say your top requests out loud
Birth moment	View of baby, cord timing, photos	Partner keeps phone ready once cleared
First 15 minutes	Skin-to-skin as soon as stable	Partner can start chest-to-chest if needed
Recovery	Feeding plan and newborn checks near you	Ask when weight/measurements happen
6–12 hours	First walk and catheter plan	Ask for a goal time and criteria
Discharge	Written pain plan and warning signs	Confirm who to call day or night

Printing And Bringing Your Plan

Print two copies. Give one to your nurse. Keep one with your birth partner. Save a phone copy too. If your hospital uses an online portal, upload it as a document so it’s in your chart.

Keep the plan simple, then speak up once in the OR: “These are my top requests today.” That single sentence can anchor the whole room.