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For the latest COVID-19 information, visit vcuhealth.org/covid-19 or Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU for pediatrics. For vaccine details, visit vcuhealth.org/covidvaccine.

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Pregnancy and Birth

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Family-Centered C-Section – A Softer Side to Surgery

If your doctor or midwife decides that you need to have a C-section, you should not be concerned that your childbirth will be an impersonal, sterile, surgical experience. In fact, the opposite is true.

Our specialists pioneered the practice of family-centered C-section, a gentle, calm, more natural experience that helps you feel more in control and promotes mother-baby bonding and breastfeeding. For your baby’s birth:

  • LED lighting in the operating room is kept low and soft, except where needed for surgery.
  • You may choose your own music.
  • You may have your partner take photographs to capture the tender first moment of family bonding.
  • You are the first person your baby touches, as gloved staff immediately place your baby on your chest.

We place all healthy newborns on the mother’s bare chest for 1 hour or until the first feeding. This skin-to-skin contact allows your baby to smell you and be close to your breast, which can make breastfeeding easier and ultimately more successful. It also enables your body to regulate your baby’s body temperature and heart rate. The emotional bonding between mom and baby that is established during this time is critical to early infant development.