c-section for tokophobia and emetophobia?

[jools21]

I am suffering with terrible panic attacks and nightmares over giving birth and seriously considering asking my midwife about an elective.

I have had a panic attack so severe I ended up in a&e at 16 weeks.

Has anybody been granted an elective c section in the uk for this reason? How did you go about it?

Thanks!

 

[davidjoemum]

hi they might refeer you to therapist for counselling first before they agree on elective.

 

[saoirsecian]

hey there i live in scotland and i am also suffering with severe anxiety and panic attacks followed by nightmares but i have flashs and visions during the day also ... i am having a planned c section because of this and im also seeing a councellor because of it.. i have had 2 naturel births prior to this one and my second was traumatic thats another reason why i want a planned section... you need to talk to you consultant never mind midwives because they cant give you the go ahead... ask you consultant to put you in touch with a councellor asap and tell them you want a c section xxx

 

[crazylilth1ng]

As someone who has had both... I would take a vaginal over a section any day but I realise we are all different. I think in your circumstance you may well get the section.

 

[Elski]

Is your tocophobia because you're worried about vomiting in labour or are they both separate fears?

Ask for a referral to the counselling midwife at your Trust so that you can discuss your fears and she can then help put a case forward to your Consultant.

 

[jools21]

both separate but intermingled if that makes sense?

bought it up today and the mw just laughed and told me to stop watching one born every minute. I knew i wouldnt get taken seriously

 

[Arisa]

I am suffering with terrible panic attacks and nightmares over giving birth and seriously considering asking my midwife about an elective.

I have had a panic attack so severe I ended up in a&e at 16 weeks.

Has anybody been granted an elective c section in the uk for this reason? How did you go about it?

Thanks!

Hey hun, I had severe panic attacks over vaginal birth in my first trimester and went to my doctor as well as a psychiatrist who recommended a midwife who is also a trained OB and sure enough she is okay with C sections in cases such as mine so I would really look into it and search around and perhaps ask your doctor and take the referral through to a therapist and see what they recommend

Before my placenta decided to lay low and in a weird position, I was determined to have a C-sec due to my anxiety disorder and phobia over birth so you need to be a bit forceful with the doctor and make sure you find a MW who is okay with it, although I know in the UK you have a domino scheme right??
Its different in N.Z as we have the one midwife who is with us from the time we find out we're pregnant until six weeks post partum but you would need to book in to see an OB closer to the time which your midwife will need to arrange for you
I am seeing the OBs at around 33 weeks so they can discuss the section.

um and given your midwife's response I would change to another one and see a doctor. Do not let her just dismiss your fears, you should be able to have the birth you need

 

[scaredmmy2b]

I just had an emergeny section due to temperature and tachycardia and i was in labor to 9cm and tried pushing. Would prefer vaginal anyday i am 5 days pp and still in immense amouts of pain

 

[mightyspu]

both separate but intermingled if that makes sense?

bought it up today and the mw just laughed and told me to stop watching one born every minute. I knew i wouldnt get taken seriously

You need to talk to your doctor then about your fears, ask for some kind of counselling to show that you are serious and this isn't a little attack of the jitters!

 

[madfox30]

I suffer from tokophobia and thought I would share my story.

I have suffered from tokophobia since my teens and it became progressively worse as I got older. I had a lot of counselling and was prescribed anti-depressants as every day life was becoming more difficult to cope with.

In 2002 I saw a consultant and requested a c-section if I became pregnant. I thought I would be in for a fight but they understood and said yes straight away and put it writing for me.

In 2008 I plucked up the courage and became pregnant. The first 3 - 4 months were not great at all I suffered severe panic attacks had thoughts of terminating the pregnancy and splitting from my partner but this is a very normal reaction when you suffer from tokophobia. My partner was extremely supportive and understanding and encouraged me to carry on week by week. I took anti-depressants throughout the pregnancy. After 4 months things calmed down and I started to enjoy my pregnancy. At 35 weeks I had a little girl by emergency c-section due to pre-eclampsia and October of last year I had my second little girl via another c-section and I enjoyed this pregnancy from start to finish.

I now feel free of tokophobia as I do not think about birth and pregnancy every second of the day.

I would not wish this phobia on my worst enemy it creates so many horrible and negative feelings which you can only understand if you are a sufferer.

I hope my story helps and gives hope to others that you can have children.

 

[Jetera]

I was terrified of throwing up during labour. I got to 10cm but ended up in a c section because he was face up and wouldn't come out. When I got on the table, I had a panic attack and was screaming that I was going to throw up. They immediately gave me something through my IV that stopped all feelings of throwing up. Now I continued to panic a bit and I ended up getting put under general ( not trying to scare you), but the point is when it was over...I was really proud of myself and you will be too. Everyone handles childbirth and fear differently, and it's ok. You will find the strength inside you to get through.

 

[Starry Night]

I definitely have a phobia of barfing and that alone gave me panic attacks whenever I would look ahead to labour. Fortunately, for me, I never actually got nauseous during labour. Yeah, it hurt A LOT, but I never even felt like throwing up.

However, I did get a MASSIVE panic attack towards the end as I got the urge to push at 8cm and was not prepared for what was meant by "urge to push". It's more like an involuntary squeezing down of your entire body and I was supposed to fight that while I had 3 nurses trying to stick things up me so they could get a blood sample from my baby's scalp. The epidural had worn off so I felt everything the nurses were doing and the pain of the contractions. I ended up needing air to calm me down along with banning the word "baby" from everybody's vocabulary as it made the urge to push even worse.

In the end I needed an EMCS and was put under due to the epidural not working. I definitely would like another CS because that "urge to push" fiasco. Just the memory of it gives me another panic attack and scares me from getting pregnant again (ignoring my fears of another miscarriage or complicated pregnancy).

 

[bethanchloe]

NICE guidelines in the UK state that they have to take you seriously and should give you the opportunity to talk to a healthcare professional who has dealt with people with similar anxieties.
If, after these discussions, you are still sure then you should be allowed to elect to have a c-section.
I'm in a similar(ish) position and I haven't broached the subject yet but I will be taking a copy of the guidelines with me once I get the appointments through.