A mum has told how she lifted her baby from her womb during a caesarean section in a remarkable procedure thought to be the first of its kind in Scotland.
NHS Lanarkshire staff arranged for university lecturer Dr Leila El Alti to give birth to daughter Aurora by “maternal-assisted c-section”, which involves the mother effectively becoming part of the operating theatre team.
Leila appeared at a meeting of the Board of NHS Lanarkshire today (29 Jan) to speak about her remarkable experience.
She described the moment she pulled her baby from her abdomen and on to her chest for immediate skin-to-skin bonding as “the most magical experience of my life.”
Leila praised staff at University Hospital Wishaw in North Lanarkshire for agreeing to take on the challenge of the novel procedure, which saw her scrubbing her hands and forearms along with the doctors, nurses and midwives, and wearing a surgical gown and gloves to prevent infection as she helped to birth 7lbs 9oz Aurora.
Speaking after the Board meeting, Leila, 39, who lives in West Lothian, said: “I’d recommend it to any woman who feels they would benefit from having such an active and empowering role in giving birth by c-section.
“I felt euphoric for weeks after Aurora was born in March, and my joy was not just for myself – my having done this successfully has hopefully opened the door for other women to also have this wonderful experience as a valid birth option.
“I was anxious to have a maternal-assisted procedure to give me a vital sense of difference, empowerment and control because the caesarean births of my first two children were highly traumatic. I was prepared to go anywhere in the UK.”
Leila discovered that NHS Lanarkshire already had a policy for “gentle method” c-sections. They don’t involve mum’s assistance but include a “holistic” birth experience with a slower delivery, the woman seeing the birth, and immediate skin-to-skin contact. Leila saw that option as a back-up while she discussed the possibility of a maternal-assisted caesarean with the NHS Lanarkshire clinicians.
She explained: “I did a lot of work and research and, through social media, I found a woman in England who’d given birth the maternal-assisted way. I put her midwife in touch with the NHS Lanarkshire team, which helped them gain confidence and understanding of the procedure.”
Because she wanted to be involved in the decision-making process, Leila also sent a heartfelt audio recording to the team, outlining why she needed the procedure, and other key steps alongside it, to avoid being re-traumatised following the births of her first daughter, now aged seven, and her son, who’s two.
Leila, a lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University, said: “I became pregnant for the first time when I was in Sweden. I was completing a PhD in healthcare ethics, so I was already writing about issues like consent, shared decision-making and the importance of care that’s centred on a person’s individual needs.
“My pregnancy with my first child was very difficult and I was depressed and in great pain throughout. I asked the Swedish hospital staff for a c-section but was denied that option, and was coerced to have a very traumatic induction.
“When that didn’t work the clinicians relented and I had a caesarean but what happened before and after it was horrendous – there was no proper attempt to explain what they were doing to my body or to genuinely get my consent for anything, including intimate examinations and very painful procedures.”
Leila said she should have received person-centred care but instead suffered what is referred to as “obstetric violence”, a term that can include the disregard of a pregnant woman’s needs and pain, denial of care, invasive practices, forced medical intervention and dehumanising treatment. Leila said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her first daughter’s birth and waited over five years to have her son, by which time she’d moved to the UK.
She says that, when she went to hospital for her c-section, there was a lack of awareness of the plan’s contents and the most crucial aspects of the birth plan were breached or not implemented.
“I was so traumatised that I couldn’t bond with my son for a year and I was in that state when I unexpectedly became pregnant with Aurora,” she recalled. “I knew I had to have a maternal-assisted c-section this time along with safeguards and guarantees on my needs for respectful care – appropriate informed consent, shared decision making and protecting my dignity during birth.
“I was delighted when the NHS Lanarkshire team agreed to the maternal-assisted option and my other needs and wishes, and we had multiple discussions and a full simulation session using a doll – a first for the clinicians.
“I was also able to keep her on my chest to continue skin-to-skin as I was transferred from the operating theatre to the ward.
“My recovery was very easy compared to the previous c-sections. Aurora and I had no complications and we were able to go home the very next day.
“Aurora is a healthy and happy 10-month-old who is the light of our world.”
Trudi Marshall, NHS Lanarkshire Executive Nurse Director, said: “We’re immensely proud of our maternity and obstetrics colleagues for the way they stepped out of their comfort zone to offer Leila the opportunity to give birth in the way she wanted and needed.
“It’s a fantastic example of what we strive to provide – care that’s person-centred and trauma-informed and reflects Scotland’s health and social care policy of Getting It Right For Everyone.”
