Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about Caesarian sections.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash C section or in the Labor and Delivery section of the Zero to Finals, Obstetrics and Gynaecology book.

So let's get straight into it.

A caesarian section involves a surgical operation to deliver the baby via an incision in the abdomen

and the uterus.

It can be a planned procedure called an elective caesarian

or performed where there are acute problems during the antenatal period or labour,

and this is an emergency caesarian.

First let's talk about elective cesarean sections.

Elective cesarean sections. Elective caesarian sections involve a planned date on which the woman will come in for delivery of the baby.

It's usually performed under a spinal anaesthetic and is generally considered very safe and a routine procedure.

Usually these are performed after 39 weeks gestation.

Indications for elective caesarian section include a previous caesarian section when the woman

is symptomatic after a previous significant perineal tear,

placenta previa, where the placenta is covering the exit for the baby,

vasa previa, breach presentation where the baby is not headfirst,

multiple pregnancy where there are twins or triplets,

uncontrolled HIV infection in the mother and cervical cancer.

Next let's talk about emergency caesarian section. There are four categories of emergency caesarian section.

Category one is where there is an immediate threat to the life of the mother or the baby,

and the decision time to delivery time is within 30 minutes,

meaning that once it's decided that a caesarian section is required,

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