Westmead Private Hospital

[prayforson]

Hello beautiful ladies,

I am currently due in June 2022 and my Obgyn practices in Sydney, Westmead private hospital . She has advised for c- section due to medical conditions . Usually they do operation 2 weeks before the due date which falls in June mid around 38 weeks.

1. Is it generally the norm - 2 weeks before due date for planned C section?

2. I am from Asian background and have some religious beliefs. the date that the doctor has advised does not seems auspicious per our culture. So was wondering if the doctors are a little flexible to do 1-2 days before or after?

3. Do doctors do planned c section during weekends ?

Anyone who has experience/knows about Sydney Westmead private hospital protocols ...Can you please advise.

I did bring this up to the doctor casually some time back and she mentioned they dont do it on weekends or at a specific certain time frame ... was wondering if I should put forward the request to doctor & the hospital.

I am little bit hestitant to ask and my husband has made it very clear he is not going to ask it either.

I am not superstitious and agree that mom’s & baby health is what it should matter . But if given a chance want to have the operation scheduled at auspicious time. I value and respect what the doctors do for us. Kindly no judgements , please looking for your advise.


thank you so much!

[MissTwiggley]

If it means a lot to you, I would ask. A safe and healthy birth is important but a happy experience is also equally important. Good luck! x

[Beary]

Always worth asking - at worst they say no. But unless they have a good reason not to, in my experience, healthcare providers will work with you 🙂

[MLadyEm]

I have no experience at Westmead, but this may help.

Research shows that delivery in the 39th week is “optimal” for babies in the sense that they are far more likely to breathe on their own, feed without too much trouble and in general adapt to life on the 'outside' much better. Most elective caesareans will be booked for some time in the 39th week for this reason, so there may be some scope to push out the caesarean date to sometime within a week. There are some exceptions though. Things like diabetes (gestational or type 1/2 requiring insulin) will often be recommended delivery within/by 38 weeks as the benefit to keeping bub in is outweighed by the benefit of delivery. You'll need to chat to your doctor about the reasons for this.

Most obstetricians will only operate on certain days. It's how the theatres can organise all the elective procedures. It may not be possible to move to another date of your choosing for this reason. Again, something to chat to your doctor about. Sometimes bigger hospitals have a little bit more flexibility but there are no guarantees. Your doctor will also have other patients appointments to consider if you're requesting a date that's not a normal theatre day for them.

Most doctors will generally not do elective procedures on a weekend. It's not just the obstetrician that needs to be free to perform the procedure, but also the theatre staff, anaesthetist, paediatrician etc. Your bigger hospitals (think Royal Prince Alfred/Westmead) will only have a base level staff on to cover emergencies and most other hospitals will only have on call theatre staff who only come in if a case requires theatre.