C-Section Delivery (full care)

What it is

A cesarean section is abdominal surgery. The surgeon opens the lower belly and the uterus, lifts the baby out, delivers the placenta and closes in layers. The mother is usually awake, with a spinal or epidural block rather than general anesthesia, and a support person can often be in the room. The operation itself generally takes about an hour. This billing code covers more than the operation: like its vaginal counterpart, it is a global obstetric package covering routine prenatal care, the delivery, and postpartum care from the same practice.

Why it is done

• When the baby's position or heart rate makes a vaginal birth unsafe
• When labour is not progressing, or the baby is too large to pass safely
• For problems with the placenta, such as it lying over the cervix or separating early
• For certain maternal conditions, or after previous cesarean deliveries where repeating the surgery is judged safer

What to expect

A planned cesarean is scheduled and preceded by fasting instructions and pre-operative bloods; an unplanned one happens during labour, sometimes quickly. Afterwards the hospital stay is longer than for a vaginal birth, commonly two to three days, and recovery at home is slower — there is a healing abdominal incision as well as everything else. Bleeding can continue for several weeks. Pain relief and gradual walking are part of the standard recovery. Future pregnancies are affected: some women go on to deliver vaginally, depending on the type of incision and the reason for the first operation.

Questions worth asking

• Does this price cover the surgeon's package only? A cesarean generates an operating-room facility charge and often an assistant surgeon's charge as well.
• Is the anesthesiologist in my network, and is their bill separate?
• If the cesarean is unplanned after labour has started, does the practice bill this global code or a different combination?
• What is the expected length of stay, and how is the extra night or two priced compared with a vaginal delivery?
• Is the baby's care during the stay billed under a separate account?