How long can you not eat before a caesarean section? Things to note before a caesarean section

You cannot eat or drink water for eight hours before a caesarean section to avoid vomiting and to ensure the smooth progress of the operation. Caesarean section is a major operation and the mother must follow the doctor's instructions carefully.

Generally, you cannot eat or drink water 8 hours before a caesarean section. You must empty your stomach to avoid vomiting during the operation. If you have eaten before a caesarean section, your stomach will be emptied through some special means. In addition, try not to eat more nourishing products during the period close to delivery. Not only will it easily affect postpartum rest, it may also cause bleeding during caesarean section. In addition, it is not advisable to eat tonic foods immediately after surgery.

1. Estimation of surgical risks

Surgery is both a treatment measure and a traumatic process. Therefore, a thorough assessment of the risks of anesthesia should be made before surgery to ensure the safety of the surgery.

2. Psychological preparation

Almost all expectant mothers and their families will experience obvious psychological changes before surgery. This is because obstetric surgery is often due to the rapid onset of the mother's condition, great pain, and many complications, which makes the patient feel strongly about life and death and feel fear and anxiety. According to a survey, 60% of patients have doubts about surgery before surgery; more than 50% are very afraid of surgery; 31% to 38% are worried that surgery will damage health or endanger life; 17% are afraid of anesthesia; 12% are concerned about pain and vomiting after surgery, which is unbearable. The most common psychological reaction of expectant mothers before surgery is anxiety caused by fear. As the operation period approaches, the psychological burden of expectant mothers is increasing, resulting in complex psychological changes that both hope for early surgery and attempt to give up surgery. Mild anxiety before surgery reflects the normal psychological adaptability of expectant mothers, while severe anxiety is not conducive to surgery and its recovery. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding, correct guidance and timely correction of these abnormal psychological changes should be made to help alleviate the anxiety of expectant mothers and enhance their confidence in welcoming the arrival of new life.

3. Preparation of the body

Good preoperative preparation is an important condition to improve the tolerance of expectant mothers to surgery and reduce postoperative complications. The main preparations for the body include: 1. Correcting anemia and bleeding tendency; 2. Maintaining water, electrolyte and acid-base balance; 3. Improving nutritional status and hypoproteinemia; 4. Actively dealing with complications. Preoperative examination A series of examinations should be done before the operation, including the pregnant woman's temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, past medical history, current physical examination results, blood type, liver function, HIV virus, hepatitis C, and syphilis, to determine the health status of the pregnant woman and the fetus. The hospitalization time for cesarean section preparation is determined by the doctor according to the fetal condition. The patient should be hospitalized one day before the operation according to the agreed time to receive preoperative preparation. Before the operation, measure vital signs and listen to the fetal heart rate. It is normal for the fetal heart rate to be 120 to 160 beats/min.

4. Fasting before surgery

The most serious complications of anesthesia are vomiting and regurgitation, which can cause the stomach contents to be accidentally inhaled into the trachea, causing mechanical airway obstruction and leading to the patient's death. Therefore, it is very important for expectant mothers who are preparing for cesarean section to fast before the operation. Usually, expectant mothers are required to abstain from food, water and drinks 4 hours before the operation to prevent accidents during the operation. The dinner on the night before the operation should be light, and no food should be eaten after 12 o'clock at midnight to ensure intestinal cleanliness and reduce intraoperative infection.

5. Preparation of surgical plan

The design of the surgical plan is an important part of preoperative preparation. The surgical plan includes: operation time, anesthesia method, incision selection and surgical method.

1. The baby's spare clothes, diapers, and milk (better quality milk is better, because breastfeeding is not allowed in the first few days after the birth of the baby);

2. Adults' spare clothes (loose fitting), toilet paper (towel), and hats;

3. Clothing of the accompanying person;

4. Because you will be hospitalized, remember to bring some daily necessities: such as buckets (basins), casseroles for cooking (food bought outside is not nutritious);

5. The most important thing is to be mentally prepared for hospitalization;

6. Documents required for childbirth: money, ID card, birth permit, and household registration booklet.

1. First choice for emergency

Caesarean section is the first choice when the mother or the fetus has an abnormal physical condition and vaginal delivery is not possible or when natural delivery will put the mother and fetus in danger of life.

2. Reduce labor pain

If the cervix cannot open wide enough and the fetus cannot be delivered smoothly, a caesarean section can reduce the pain of the mother.

3. Combined with other surgeries

After the baby is born, other surgeries can be performed according to the actual situation of the mother. If there are other diseases in the abdominal cavity, such as ovarian tumors, they can be treated at the same time. Women who need it can undergo ligation surgery or hysterectomy. Hysterectomy is for women who can no longer keep their uterus for some reason, such as severe uterine infection, uterine rupture and other symptoms.