Special Care for Mother and Baby

1140 E. 3900 S., Suite 390
Salt Lake City, UT 84124
Phone: 801-743-4700
Fax: 801-743-4705
Toll Free: 1-877-FETUSRX

Patient Services

• [What Happens When You Are Referred ?]
• [About Your Hospital Stay]
• [Lodging and Transportation]

About Your Hospital Stay

Before Surgery

Before surgery, you should plan on not eating or drinking anything for 6-8 hours. In the hospital, this is called NPO and means 'nothing by mouth'. Please make sure that you are drinking plenty of fluids prior to this time to keep from getting dehydrated.

On the day of surgery, you should plan on arriving 2-3 hours before surgery. The nurse coordinator will inform you of this time. In Salt Lake City, you will check in on the Labor and Delivery Unit. If your surgery is performed in a different city, the nurse coordinator will direct you to the appropriate area for check in.

Once on Labor and Delivery, an intraveneous line (IV) will be placed in order to give medications and fluids necessary for the procedure. Some initial blood tests will also be checked. Your spouse or partner is welcome to stay with you during this time. Before going to surgery, a brief ultrasound will be done to make sure that nothing has changed.

Surgery

Shortly before surgery, you will be taken to the Operating Room area. There, you will meet with your anesthesiologist. You may choose one person to accompany you here. During surgery, this person can wait either in the waiting room outside of the surgery suites or may return to Labor and Delivery to wait in your room.

The anesthesiologist and nurse will take you to the operating room and help you on to the operating table. The anesthesiologist will then give you pain medication-most commonly, a spinal. Although you will be awake, this will make you 'numb' from your breasts to your toes. The anesthesiologist stays with you throughout the procedure. After receiving your anesthesia, a catheter will be placed in your bladder. This drains your urine and will come out later that day. You can expect the procedure to take 45 minutes to an hour, but may be longer.

After Surgery

When surgery is done, you will return to Labor and Delivery for your recovery as well as the rest of your stay. Your blood pressure, pulse, respirations and temperature will be monitored frequently. Additionally, you will be placed on a monitor to watch for contractions. The nurses will also check the babies heartbeats.

Pain should be minimal after your surgery, however medicine will be available if needed. You will also be given antibiotics and medications to keep your uterus from contracting, as needed.

After surgery, you may resume eating as tolerated, usually within 2 hours.

The next morning after the procedure, you will have an ultrasound to check on the babies fluid volumes and blood flow. You should expect to be able to be discharged later that day.

If you do not live in the surrounding area, we recommend staying one night locally before traveling.

Follow-Up Care/Delivery

After surgery, your physician can resume your care for the rest of your pregnancy. You and your doctor should feel free to contact us at any time for questions or concerns.

Twice weekly or weekly ultrasounds will be initially recommended for the month following your procedure. After that time, ultrasounds can be done as suggested by your doctor.

We will continue to follow your pregnancy closely and would like to receive copies of your ultrasound examinations and any other relevant information. We will also request information from your doctor regarding your delivery as well as asking that your placenta be returned to us for evaluation. This is a very important part of evaluating our care and techniques. You will be given a container and everything necessary for your hospital to return it to us.

The nurse coordinator will be in contact with you periodically over the next 2 years to see how your babies are doing.