Should I have had a c-section?

[Noelle610]

Hey girls,

I've been thinking a lot about my birth experience and I'm curious to know what you think. I often wonder if I should have had a c-section.

I have a narrow pelvis (apparently) and the first doctor I saw said I would need a c-section straight out. I then ended up with midwives and they encouraged me to have a natural birth. I ended up with a baby coming out arm first and very quickly. She could not make it down the birth canal due to her odd position. I had to have a fourth degree episiotomy and vaccum delivery. I gave birth in the operating room and the recovery was awful, so I feel like I might as well have had a section.

Here's the thing... They kept trying to manually move my baby into the "right" position. They then gave me pitocin to speed up labor so that she wouldn't move (though she did anyway). THEN the OBGYN (they kicked the midwife out) said I was to have a c-section and gave me a spinal, and then he changed his mind and decided I should try to have a vaginal delivery. So then I'm left numb from the waist down and I'm being asked to push and I can't feel anything or get into a good position. I had a terrible reaction to the spinal and shook horribly for days.

I'm not sure I could have handled the pain of labor without medication, but I'm wondering now if I a) Should have had a c-section or b) Should have just had NO assistance and let the baby do her thing. I kind of wonder if this would have been better. But then I also worry she wouldn't have made it out and I would have just hemoraged.

Just curious to know what you all think. I'm still processing this. Not sure if I want another baby, but if I decide to give birth again I'd like to be educated.

 

[mrsbeano]

It is so hard to know. From what I read on here, in the US they seem to really go for the heavily medicated births, flat on your back which they don't do here.

My sister had my nephew 5 months before Quinn and she was induced, had an epi and resulted in a forceps delivery. I spoke to my Mum about it in between the 2 events and questioned, what comes first, the epi leads to the forceps or would she have had it anyway?

I would speak to someone about it. I know a girl who effectively got PTSD from a traumatic birth and she said that 3 sessions of counselling really helped her address it. In effect, you have no way of knowing how it might have gone differently if you remained midwife led so you just need to accept that Charlotte's birth ended up being far from ideal.

I worry about how I would do it next time as it would be my choice between a c-section or attempting a normal delivery again and risking a tear. I do get annoyed because I think I tore so badly due to frantic, inexperienced midwives but there's not much I can do about it.

Sorry for the essay! x

 

[Noelle610]

It is so hard to know. From what I read on here, in the US they seem to really go for the heavily medicated births, flat on your back which they don't do here.

My sister had my nephew 5 months before Quinn and she was induced, had an epi and resulted in a forceps delivery. I spoke to my Mum about it in between the 2 events and questioned, what comes first, the epi leads to the forceps or would she have had it anyway?

I would speak to someone about it. I know a girl who effectively got PTSD from a traumatic birth and she said that 3 sessions of counselling really helped her address it. In effect, you have no way of knowing how it might have gone differently if you remained midwife led so you just need to accept that Charlotte's birth ended up being far from ideal.

I worry about how I would do it next time as it would be my choice between a c-section or attempting a normal delivery again and risking a tear. I do get annoyed because I think I tore so badly due to frantic, inexperienced midwives but there's not much I can do about it.

Sorry for the essay! x

Thanks for taking the time to reply, dear.

I felt really traumatized by the experience, but I mentioned that to one of the midwives and she kind of brushed it off as pretty normal. I gave birth in a hospital that generally does high risk labor and delivery, so I think that contributed to her attitude.

I do think assisted birth is common in the US and quite frankly I'm starting to think it's a big crock. Laboring women aren't sick, yet I really felt as if I was treated that way.

I hope we both make the right decision next time, regardless of what that is!

 

[little_lady]

How do the doctors know you had a narrow pelvis? Unless they measured it there is no way to tell without a 'trial of labour'. I was told the same thing, they even wrote it on my notes for this pregnancy that I have a small pelvis - it was only a helpful consultant that told me it wasn't true, baby's head was too high and at the wrong angle so wouldn't have come on its own. If she had been in a correct position and I had not had an epidural, pitocin and lots of interventions (hence flat on my back and immobile) then I could have birthed her myself.

With this baby I have done my research and feel well informed. I am going to try to avoid an epidural at all costs. Epidurals increase the chance of bad positioning by something like 12% as you are flat on your back and baby has less room to maneuver. I'm sure you know that to keep upright and active opens the pelvis something like a fifth more (can't remember the actual statistic, sorry) and allows the baby to rotate correctly.

Part of my problem was that I had been in painful labour for 7 hours and was still at 2cm. I thought this meant I was rubbish with the pain and went straight for all the drugs. Having researched birth properly now, I now know that Isabelle was probably trying to rotate her head and that once she had done so labour would have sped up instead of slowed and contractions would not necessarily have become more painful. I looked up spinningbabies.com which gives good exercises to do if labour does stall and also explains the parts of labour with relevance to the baby's movements and not just the mother's pain.

Sorry for the ramble, I'm on my phone so this is a bit of a rushed reply, but what I want to say is that I believe a lot of traumatic births are due to lack of knowledge and interventions on the part of the medical team. Clearly this won't always be the case and you might well be unable to birth naturally, but most women who are told their pelvis is too small actually have nothing of the sort. If you have another I would really research everything before going for a c section. My emergency c section was awful, I can't remember Isabelles first cuddle, I didn't bond properly to start with, we struggled to breastfeed and I refused skin to skin because I was in such a state. I only felt normal again after about four weeks.

Hope this helps!

 

[Noelle610]

How do the doctors know you had a narrow pelvis? Unless they measured it there is no way to tell without a 'trial of labour'. I was told the same thing, they even wrote it on my notes for this pregnancy that I have a small pelvis - it was only a helpful consultant that told me it wasn't true, baby's head was too high and at the wrong angle so wouldn't have come on its own. If she had been in a correct position and I had not had an epidural, pitocin and lots of interventions (hence flat on my back and immobile) then I could have birthed her myself.

With this baby I have done my research and feel well informed. I am going to try to avoid an epidural at all costs. Epidurals increase the chance of bad positioning by something like 12% as you are flat on your back and baby has less room to maneuver. I'm sure you know that to keep upright and active opens the pelvis something like a fifth more (can't remember the actual statistic, sorry) and allows the baby to rotate correctly.

Part of my problem was that I had been in painful labour for 7 hours and was still at 2cm. I thought this meant I was rubbish with the pain and went straight for all the drugs. Having researched birth properly now, I now know that Isabelle was probably trying to rotate her head and that once she had done so labour would have sped up instead of slowed and contractions would not necessarily have become more painful. I looked up spinningbabies.com which gives good exercises to do if labour does stall and also explains the parts of labour with relevance to the baby's movements and not just the mother's pain.

Sorry for the ramble, I'm on my phone so this is a bit of a rushed reply, but what I want to say is that I believe a lot of traumatic births are due to lack of knowledge and interventions on the part of the medical team. Clearly this won't always be the case and you might well be unable to birth naturally, but most women who are told their pelvis is too small actually have nothing of the sort. If you have another I would really research everything before going for a c section. My emergency c section was awful, I can't remember Isabelles first cuddle, I didn't bond properly to start with, we struggled to breastfeed and I refused skin to skin because I was in such a state. I only felt normal again after about four weeks.

Hope this helps!

This actually really helps, thank you. Interesting stuff about your LO attempting to turn and hence the pain.

I'm not sure how the doctor would know I had a narrow pelvis. The midwife questioned the same thing. It's quite strange. I should add that he was very young and relatively new in the field - not sure if that makes a difference.

I think you make a good point about the interventions.

 

[little_lady]

I'd also add that it took me until Isabelle was about 15 months old to accept that I could have made decisions in labour that were not for the best. I found it difficult to come to terms with, and for a long time I told everyone my pelvis was tiny and my section was a real emergency. Now I don't believe either! So it's good that you're thinking about it now as whatever you conclude it will help you come to terms with the trauma.

 

[tristansmum]

I can't answer whether you should have had a section or anything else. But I can totally get the questioning of your birth after the event. I had my son in Oct 2010. I had to be induced due to obstetric cholrstasis. I accept this was the right decision as I would never risk my baby's health. I was 40weeks and only needed one pessary to get me to 2cm but they had to delay breaking my waters until there was a room on labour ward which took 15 hours! By this time I had gone into early labour myself and was contracting painfully every 4-5 minutes. They broke my waters at about 6 am which was 22 hours after I had the pessary. To say I was tired would be an understatement! Then I laboured to 10 cm . After pushing for about 2 hours they discovered he was in a bad position with his head tilted back. So went to theatre for a spinal and rotational forceps. They could not turn him so it was c section.
I questioned everything for so long. What if I had not been induced? What if they had broken my waters immediately? If I had not been so exhausted from being up so long would I have stayed more upright? Would that have gotten him in a better position? It took me a very long him to come to terms with my birth experience. For me I came to the conclusion that what happened happened. Who knows the answers to the what ifs. Not even the health professionals can really tell you. Eventually I felt that I have my son and I have to at peace with it all.
I'm trying for a vbac this time and I'm getting so nervous history is going to repeat itself. I'm trying not to plan too much as birth is so unexpected you can make set plans. Fingers crossed it all goes well this time and I get a natural labour and birth. I really want to immediate skin to skin and bond that I missed out on last time. I want to see him immediately and see my husband cut the cord. I want to be able to hold him first.
I don't know if this helps but hopefully you won't feel you are the only person with all these wuestions and that you can get past it to try again for another baby.

 

[Noelle610]

I can't answer whether you should have had a section or anything else. But I can totally get the questioning of your birth after the event. I had my son in Oct 2010. I had to be induced due to obstetric cholrstasis. I accept this was the right decision as I would never risk my baby's health. I was 40weeks and only needed one pessary to get me to 2cm but they had to delay breaking my waters until there was a room on labour ward which took 15 hours! By this time I had gone into early labour myself and was contracting painfully every 4-5 minutes. They broke my waters at about 6 am which was 22 hours after I had the pessary. To say I was tired would be an understatement! Then I laboured to 10 cm . After pushing for about 2 hours they discovered he was in a bad position with his head tilted back. So went to theatre for a spinal and rotational forceps. They could not turn him so it was c section.
I questioned everything for so long. What if I had not been induced? What if they had broken my waters immediately? If I had not been so exhausted from being up so long would I have stayed more upright? Would that have gotten him in a better position? It took me a very long him to come to terms with my birth experience. For me I came to the conclusion that what happened happened. Who knows the answers to the what ifs. Not even the health professionals can really tell you. Eventually I felt that I have my son and I have to at peace with it all.
I'm trying for a vbac this time and I'm getting so nervous history is going to repeat itself. I'm trying not to plan too much as birth is so unexpected you can make set plans. Fingers crossed it all goes well this time and I get a natural labour and birth. I really want to immediate skin to skin and bond that I missed out on last time. I want to see him immediately and see my husband cut the cord. I want to be able to hold him first.
I don't know if this helps but hopefully you won't feel you are the only person with all these wuestions and that you can get past it to try again for another baby.

Thanks for sharing your story hun. I really relate to questioning the process - especially my own decisions. I wonder what would have happened if I'd be insistent that I didn't want pain relief. I feel like as soon as that first real contraction hit, it really scared me.

I also have a lot of guilt over the birth experience in terms of how my daughter experienced it. She was colicky and had reflux and was an all around unhappy newborn and I can't help but think that her birth had something to do with it. I feel that if only it had been different, she might have been more settled. I know that's kind of silly, but it does seem like a lot of difficult babies had tough entries into this world.

I am trying to educate myself and I just find it so hard. There's a lot of information from the natural birth advocates and the medical community (in the US) that differs.

Best of luck with your VBAC!

 

[babezone]

i dont know if its any help for you but your birth pretty much sounds like how mine went, except it was forcepes and i got a bad infection after and my stitches fell out so had to heal from inside out which was horrible!!!

so with my second i chose a c section. Admitedly the actual c section itself was very plesent, and the birth was so much nicer and a happier expieince. but it only lasted a day or 2 then everything went wrong!.

partly cus i went home to early, but i ended up with severe pain, an infection in which an ambulance had to be called for me to go to hospital. i had to stay in hospital on a drip i then started to feel abit better c section wise, although whilst i was in i was getting pain in my fingers but didnt think much of it, any way was home after the week and was managing c section scar wise but my hands were killing, as were my legs and my arms basically every muscle/joint, i didnt know what was wrong so that night probably a week after being out of hosp i went to emergency docs thy told me it was a water infection which i knew was abso rusbbish so went home in tears then decided to go to A&E basically ended up being admitted.

I was then there for 2 more weeks! as i had reaction arthritus from the infection from the c section, i had to have lots of steriod infusions, and could hardly move it was bloody horrible, i really couldnt believe my luck!

i eventelly came home 2 weeks after all that time missing my new little bubba who had been born!. and now suffer with a long term illness called fibromyalgia which has developed from the reaction artritus,

I mean whilst i no not every case is bad, i would strongly recomend weighing up the pros and cons, as an elective c section can be just as bad, the likli hood of you having another awfull labour is probably quite low, im pregnant again and am opting for a vbac, a baby has come out of there before which gives the immiditate advantage of the birth canel being able to stretch, i also think if you go in quite open minded were going to know what to expect we know how much it hurts and maybe can be in abit more control.

Good luck with what ever you decide but thought id share my story xxx

 

[Noelle610]

i dont know if its any help for you but your birth pretty much sounds like how mine went, except it was forcepes and i got a bad infection after and my stitches fell out so had to heal from inside out which was horrible!!!

so with my second i chose a c section. Admitedly the actual c section itself was very plesent, and the birth was so much nicer and a happier expieince. but it only lasted a day or 2 then everything went wrong!.

partly cus i went home to early, but i ended up with severe pain, an infection in which an ambulance had to be called for me to go to hospital. i had to stay in hospital on a drip i then started to feel abit better c section wise, although whilst i was in i was getting pain in my fingers but didnt think much of it, any way was home after the week and was managing c section scar wise but my hands were killing, as were my legs and my arms basically every muscle/joint, i didnt know what was wrong so that night probably a week after being out of hosp i went to emergency docs thy told me it was a water infection which i knew was abso rusbbish so went home in tears then decided to go to A&E basically ended up being admitted.

I was then there for 2 more weeks! as i had reaction arthritus from the infection from the c section, i had to have lots of steriod infusions, and could hardly move it was bloody horrible, i really couldnt believe my luck!

i eventelly came home 2 weeks after all that time missing my new little bubba who had been born!. and now suffer with a long term illness called fibromyalgia which has developed from the reaction artritus,

I mean whilst i no not every case is bad, i would strongly recomend weighing up the pros and cons, as an elective c section can be just as bad, the likli hood of you having another awfull labour is probably quite low, im pregnant again and am opting for a vbac, a baby has come out of there before which gives the immiditate advantage of the birth canel being able to stretch, i also think if you go in quite open minded were going to know what to expect we know how much it hurts and maybe can be in abit more control.

Good luck with what ever you decide but thought id share my story xxx

Hey, thank you. It's really good to remember that all c-sections are not drama free! I tend to think that way.

 

[JeepGirl]

I had a EMCS because DS was back to back and got stuck. When they took DS out in the CS it ripped up both sides of my uterus. The recovery was awful and because of this, I will never be able to have a VBAC. I'm dreading my upcoming CS and would give anything to be able to have a vaginal birth. There are way more risks with a CS than a vaginal birth, it is major surgery and complications can and do happen.

Only you can make the decision, but do your reseach and know that not all CS's are easy.

If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend watching the film The Business of Giving Birth.