Why do you need to shave your hair during a caesarean section?

Most women have pubic hair on their lower body, because the main purpose is to prevent some bacteria from invading the female vagina and reduce friction during sexual intercourse. At the same time, there are many bacteria in pubic hair, so many women who give birth naturally have to shave before giving birth. However, women who choose caesarean section will also find that doctors will shave their hair. So why do they need to shave their hair during caesarean section?

No matter what delivery method the pregnant mother chooses, the pubic hair needs to be shaved before delivery, which is called skin preparation in medical terms. Skin preparation is the surgical preparation that involves shaving the hair at the corresponding parts of the operation and cleaning the body surface. It is the work of cleaning the surgical area for patients who are going to undergo surgical operation before the operation. It is not as simple as removing body hair, but also includes skin cleaning. Sometimes, the skin is also scrubbed with iodine before the operation. This is different from the concept of hair removal and shaving that women usually do.

The purpose of skin preparation is to remove hair and dirt from the surgical area, clean the skin, prepare for skin disinfection during surgery, and prevent post-incision infection. Many mothers don’t understand why babies born by caesarean section still have to be shaved when the belly can be cut directly instead of coming out from the bottom. The doctor's reply was: This makes it easier to disinfect after delivery, and a catheter will be inserted next. In addition, lochia will be produced after delivery, and it is more hygienic and easier to clean without hair. If hair falls into the wound, it will cause infection. Therefore, in order for the operation to proceed smoothly, mothers must cooperate with doctors and nurses to perform necessary preoperative skin preparation.

Precautions for caesarean section skin preparation

1. The wider the skin preparation area, the better. Do not prepare the skin unless the hair interferes with the surgical operation.

2. When choosing a skin preparation device or depilatory agent, be sure to choose a professional one.

3. Be careful when preparing the skin and try to maintain the integrity of the skin.

4. Skin preparation should not be done too far in advance and should be done as close to the start time of surgery as possible.

5. The skin preparation process should not be performed in the operating room, but outside the operating room.

6. The skin preparation device can be reused, but please note that the head of the skin preparation device should be disinfected before it can be used on the next pregnant mother.

7. The area of ​​skin preparation should preferably include the entire lower abdomen, because there is a possibility that a mother may not be able to give birth naturally due to abnormalities, so be prepared to perform a caesarean section at any time.

8. Pubic hair usually starts to grow one week after skin preparation, and will return to its previous standard in about two months.

9. For a normal birth, you need to go to the delivery room and take off your lower body clothes. For a caesarean section, you need to take off all your clothes and lie on the bed before going into the operating room. The skin preparation must be completed before this.