If complications arise before or during the birth, things have to move quickly - it is not uncommon for an emergency caesarean section to be performed.
It is part of everyday life in the obstetrics department of the clinic: once or twice a week, the staff perform an emergency caesarean section. When the time comes, things have to happen quickly, because every minute is crucial for the course of the birth.
Caesarean section at the touch of a button
An emergency scenario before or during the birth can occur for a variety of reasons. If there is a heavy bleed, the child or mother is unwell, the placenta may become loose or the uterus may even rupture, the only thing left for the doctors in charge to do is to press the red button located at the entrance to the ward room in the building department. “This has the advantage that all staff involved, from the anesthetist to the nurses to the paediatrician, receive an alarm on their beeper . They then drop everything and go to the patient’s room as quickly as possible,“ explains Nicole Ochsenbein-Kölble, Head Physician at the Clinic for Obstetrics.
Nine minutes to delivery
The decision delivery time at the USZ only takes around nine minutes. This means that within these nine minutes the decision to perform an emergency caesarean section is made, the red button is pressed and the baby is delivered by caesarean section. This is well below the target of 15 minutes set by the Canton of Zurich. However, this only applies to the emergency caesarean section itself, says Nicole Ochsenbein. “It can of course happen that the mother needs further surgery afterwards. This can take several hours under certain circumstances.”
Nicole Ochsenbein-Kölble’s team no longer has to practice such a procedure: “It’s routine for us. We have a whole department with high-risk pregnancies. And the cooperation between all employees in the various departments is excellent. But we are always happy for mother and child when everything goes well.”
