C-Section?

[Angelface]

has anyone opted to have a c section?

I'm kinda worried about pushing this LO out as my mum had major complications with my bro, which left him severly disabled.
The doctors notes say that had she been given a c section earlier he would be normal.

was talking to my mum, and she said i can have an Elected C section?

what u think?

 

[Jus]

I'd ask the midwife and see what she says

 

[becky1978]

Yeh definitely ask and see what they say, at the end of the day bubs health (and yours) are the most important factors. Personally I had a C section with my first and really want a vaginal birth now, but could opt for an elective if I wanted.

 

[Incubator]

I asked my midwife if it was possible to elect to have a c-section but she said it wasn't. I'm at a London hospital and they only do c-sections if it's deemed necessary. I'm pretty sure you can pay to have one in a private hospital though...probably crazily expensive. It's worth asking your hospital. Good luck.

 

[lillysmum]

definitely speak to the docs about what she'd recommend, but by no means underestimate what you are capable of, your body is stronger than you think - personally my mum had a c section with me and an assisted delivery with my little bro with forceps, my delivery with lilly was perfectly normal with no complications.

 

[Angelface]

definitely speak to the docs about what she'd recommend, but by no means underestimate what you are capable of, your body is stronger than you think - personally my mum had a c section with me and an assisted delivery with my little bro with forceps, my delivery with lilly was perfectly normal with no complications.

i havent decided fully on what i want to do, but i know it scares the living day lights out of me, knowing i could end up with a baby like my brother, (He's got sever cerebal palsy, epilepsy and more things that i cant even spell)
so even tho hes 19, is still at the age of a 3month old!

Thanks for ur replies x

 

[elm]

I think that whoever is delivering your baby will let you know if there's likely to be complications and if so then they'd suggest a C section if it would help.

Sorry you mum went through that with your brother, don't blame you for being worried about giving birth but maybe with some reassurance from your midwife you'll feel lots better about it - I'm sure that the likelihood of the same thing happening to you is really, really tiny.

C sections are best avoided if possible because of the healing time involved and it's a pretty big procedure isn't it? If the thought of giving birth vaginally is really effecting you though I'm sure you could argue for having a C section on psychological grounds. It's really important that you feel happy about how you're going to give birth as it makes it all lots easier. Maybe try a hypnotherapy cd about birth? I've got a couple of Mp3 files I got from someone on here I can try and upload them somewhere if you think they might help.

x

 

[Angelface]

i wouldnt mind going for a natural birth, im pretty open minded about it, but every time ive seen/spoken to a midwife they've been different, my first appointment i asked about ALOT of things, Cleft palate (as my OH bro has one) if complications wer to happen, and she reassured me that the hospital i wanted to go to (Addenbrookes) had a great system if i needed reasurrance they'd be there. but nothing was wrote down in my notes!

when i went for my scan i asked again, about cleft palate, and she said that all was normal.... but i've had such a rubbish pregnancy so far with bleeding etc, and the hospital has done nothing to even put my mind at rest.

i called them up last week as i had a huge amount of discharge, felt like id wet myself, so they asked me to come up, i got there @ 6 30, and didnt get seen till 12.30...

When she came in she said , so we suspect ur waters have broken, at this point my OH got scared and worried, i was 19 weeks then, so no way baby could have survived. but she left us there for 6 HOURS!!!!

i dont want to be left waiting if my baby is in danger.

 

[becky1978]

I think that whoever is delivering your baby will let you know if there's likely to be complications and if so then they'd suggest a C section if it would help.

Sorry you mum went through that with your brother, don't blame you for being worried about giving birth but maybe with some reassurance from your midwife you'll feel lots better about it - I'm sure that the likelihood of the same thing happening to you is really, really tiny.

C sections are best avoided if possible because of the healing time involved and it's a pretty big procedure isn't it? If the thought of giving birth vaginally is really effecting you though I'm sure you could argue for having a C section on psychological grounds. It's really important that you feel happy about how you're going to give birth as it makes it all lots easier. Maybe try a hypnotherapy cd about birth? I've got a couple of Mp3 files I got from someone on here I can try and upload them somewhere if you think they might help.

x

Elm - I would quite like to listen to the hypnotherapy cd as although this will be my 2nd child, I had a C section the first time for medical reasons and want to try for a natural birth this time.

 

[spelbound]

It depends on the trust as far as i know. Amy is tocophobic and so has a medical reason to have one. We were initially told that she would only get one if a psychologist approved, but after seeing the consultant he just agreed to it with no fuss. He said he prefers c-sections cos they less 'risky'. I asked him what he meant and he said that the standard of the team involved in a c-section is much higher than the general standard of midwives.

 

[Amanda]

Any woman has the right to ask and be granted a c section, no matter what the reason is behind the request. As spellbound said as well, there is a genuine condition why this request should be granted.

I think you need to talk this through with a consultant hun. If only so they can put your mind at rest that the same thing that happened to your mum and brother will not happen to you. A vaginal birth is a perfectly natural process, and the chances of something happening is very very minimal.

I had a VB with Kayleigh, and an elective section with Charlie. It was a standard birth with no complications with Kayleigh, just an episiotomy at the end after a quite long labour. With Charlie though, they didn't make the cut big enough, then they struggled to get him out, and he ended up being a section delivery with forceps! Poor little man had lovely marks on his face for a day or so. And because it took them so long to get him out, the anaesthetic wore off while I was being stitched back up!!!!

Don't want to scare you hun, but I just wanted to let you know there are pros and cons to both.

Saying that though, I'm opting for a section again this time.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[babe2ooo]

i dont mean to be rude but i wouldnt ask for a c-section i had one and take it from me the recovery is worse from a c-section than if u have a nornal birth, its up to you though, if there is a reason for having a c-section then thats ok, but if its just cause your worried about the pain from a normal birth then i would say dont be, i went through the whole getting to 10cm and pushing but my baby was in the wrong place so i had to have an emergancy csection, i wouldnt advise having one becuase after a c-section there is alot of pain....if u wanna ask any more question about c-section pm me

 

[enigma]

Im pretty sure you will be closley monitored all the way through your labour and then if anything should go wrong, they can do what needs to be done.
I had an emergency section with my first and i went right upto the point of pushing, but was only 5cm dialated.
They was monitoring me and the baby to see what was the best option.

I know you've probably heard this loads of times, but some many things have progressed and gotten better in the medical world.
Plus they are so scared of getting sued these days that they darnt let anything get overlooked and go wrong.

I think asking to see a consultant would be your best bet.

 

[jolyn]

Hey hun, how u give birth is completely ur decision and u shud not feel forced into anything my the midwives. I went through 28 hours of labour, getting to 10cm and then finding my DS wanted to stay put so had to have an emergency c-section. It was pretty traumatic, but he came out fine and I found recovery a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I think it varies from person to person.

I was worried when I was PG last time as my mother had a rough time on both me and my brother, especially with pre-eclampsia, so I was convinced I was going to be the same, but my PG was perfect. I think u need to sit down with ur midwife and tell her about ur fears and anxieties and see how u feel after that.

Even after everything I went through last time, I have chosen to go for a VBAC this time, I figured that the team I had looked after last time when things went wrong and I'm still here with my gorgeous little boy now so where is the harm in giving it another go.

Only u can decide what is best for you, so once u decide, stick to it

 

[Frankie]

well im going to ask my midwife if there is a chance if i could opt for a C-Sec but only if i go over a certain period! they pushed my sister for 3 days until finally giving her an emergency C Sec!!!

 

[spelbound]

To be honest I think you should read the NICE guidelines or at least call NHS direct and get them to send you some stuff on the subject and your rights. We have researched it very thoroughly as we knew from the start Amy wanted a c-section due to her fear of child birth, and fact is there is nothing in the law that says a doctor MUST agree to a c-section. A lot of them do cos they dont want the fight, but the NICE guidelines state that a "patient cannot force a doctor into a decision he does not agree with" and then it goes on to state that "a doctor cannot force a patient into an unwanted medical procedure". The problem here is that 'natural' child birth is not a medical procedure and so you cannot argue that you are being forced into it.

I'm not trying to scare you I just want you to be prepared to argue your case fully to get what you want and be prepared in case you get a consultant that wants to be an ass. I said in my previous post that it depends on which trust you are with and thats true. Our trust at St Helier hospital allow elective c-sections, but a few miles down the road at St George's trust they dont and their literature states that "elective cesareans are only agreed to if it is in the best interests of both mother and baby. This usually means that there must be an overiding medical condition which can potentially cause harm to either mother or baby".

Sadly one has to wonder if this is simply manipulation of facts to match their desire to reduce costs, since a c-section is considerably more expensive than a 'natural' birth.

 

[Logiebear]

Unfortunately the NHS does not allow for proceedures, especially expensive ones to be performed without a medical reason. They are tightening the budgets beyond belief these days. I will be having a section but I have had 2 previously for medical reasons and haven't been given a choice this time. I'm not bothered by it as I know what to expect now. I have also had a natural birht previously and I would pick a natural birth over a section any day of the week. Although you aren't in control as much with a natural birth it gives you a closer bond straight away and the feeling of achievement is amazing and overwhelming.

I am sure that if you really wanted to then you could convince your consultant that you would not be able to handle labour due to your mums experience and the terror you feel, they may offer you a section but they will do everything in their power to persuade you and support you towards a natural birth. Things are so much different now then they were 19 yrs ago hun and midwifery has changed so much. I would place my faith in the medical staff and see what they have to say about your ability to give birth naturally and go with them xxx

Feel free to pm me if you want to know anything else xxx

 

[Angelface]

i only really wanted to know if people had opted to have an elective c section!!! and there views of it, i havent decided how i want to give birth, i'm definately not scared of giving birth.

thanks for replies ! x

 

[Amanda]

i dont mean to be rude but i wouldnt ask for a c-section i had one and take it from me the recovery is worse from a c-section than if u have a nornal birth, its up to you though, if there is a reason for having a c-section then thats ok, but if its just cause your worried about the pain from a normal birth then i would say dont be, i went through the whole getting to 10cm and pushing but my baby was in the wrong place so i had to have an emergancy csection, i wouldnt advise having one becuase after a c-section there is alot of pain....if u wanna ask any more question about c-section pm me

Can I just make the point (and I'm not argueing with you babe, I'm just putting a point across), that all births are different, and everyones opinion i also different.

My recovery from my C section was far easier than the recovery from my natural birth. With Kayleigh, I had an episiotomy and was in agony down below for weeks. I couldn't sit, go to the loo or anything. I ended up back in hospital after my 6 week check as I was still bleeding and had to have a d&c as some placenta had been left. With Charlie, I was up and about the day after, home the day after that, and cooking dinner that night! I was shopping in Tesco's a couple of days later, and driving after 9 days. Oh, and back to some 'loving' 5 days after he was born - with Kayleigh it was months later!!

I hope you've been enlightened a bit Angelface, there are certainly a lot of differing opinions.