I don't think "too posh to push" cs should be allowed on the NHS

[SoupDragon]

And by "too posh to push" I mean can't be ar$ed to do it "naturally, want to fit the birth into a busy schedule or want it early to avoid stretch marks. That kind of thing.

Obviously where there is a medical need (and by this I include maternal fear/distress where it can not be allayed beforehand} then yes, they should be provided by the NHS.

In the same way, I did not expect the NHS to provide me with a birthing pool, pay for the electricity and increased heating costs or provide me with food for my home waterbirth.

(yes, I know this will descend into popcorn and hard hats but I don't want to clutter up the other posters thread )

[lulumama]

I agree...

my friend told me to have an elective section, like she had 2nd time, as we had both had emergency c.sections first time...i wanted a VBAC

she said, 'you can get your hair done before you go for an elective and make sure you look nice'

and there's no such thing as 'too posh too push'!!!!!

my a*se!!!!

I had a vbac, and proudly looked like a crumpled mess throughout!!!

[pesme]

oh for gods sake. why when it comes to womans reproductive health we go all puritan and bring out the leeches. where do you stop with this nonsense. no help for drug addicts cos its their own fault. no help for smoking related illnesses ditto. its all about choice. you might not want that choice or agree with others but don't start telling folk they can't have choice.

[lulumama]

not saying there should be no choice...just that i don;t agree!!

having had both , i think i am perfectly entitled to state my opinion.....doesn;t make me a puritan, or that it is nonsense.

if medically necessary fine, but not because you dont; want to mess up your hair!!!

[SSSandy]

No one has to suffer pain when their teeth are pulled unless they expressly wish to, why should anyone have to give birth "naturally" if they don't want to? I would be a bit freaked at the idea of a C-section. Find the whole idea a bit scary personally but I don't begrudge it any other woman.

[SSSandy]

No one has to suffer pain when their teeth are pulled unless they expressly wish to, why should anyone have to give birth "naturally" if they don't want to? I would be a bit freaked at the idea of a C-section. Find the whole idea a bit scary personally but I don't begrudge it any other woman.

[Blu]

What about a trade-off situation? The obstetricain at DS's birth said that he should have been a CS baby, and that had I been labouring in hospital (instead of last minute transfer) he would have been a CS baby 'hours ago'. I was determined I didn't want a CS. BUT I would happily 'donate' the resources for the CS I should have had to a woman who really really would prefer an elective CS.

[PanicPants]

I agree, unless they want to stump up the extra cash needed for it (over and above a vbac), then it's up to them.

[badkarma]

Well, I can think of one damn good reason why a c-section shouldn't be made a choice unless an emergency! They cost the NHS a lot more than a vaginal delivery.... funds they don't have, and can't afford to spend on drugs such as cancer drugs (Which are being fought through the courts as we speak) so because X chose to have a c-section rather than be 'inconvenienced' with a natural birth, someone who needs the funds for cancer drugs will get sicker..

[kittythescarygoblin]

I always get a nasty feeling that those "to posh to push" might also resent how a child would intrude upon their lives. if you can't take time out to labour, how about taking time out to parent. Just a thought.

[lulumama]

c-section costs around 4 times as much to the NHS as natural birth

my friend was charged £2 500 to have c.s done at a private hospital, excluding the obstetricians fees....so that gives an idea of cost..

[wannaBe1974]

agree totally. The nhs is overstretched enough as it is without having to find extra money/resources/theatre space for women who view having a baby in the same way as going to the shops. "have your hair done first so you look nice."

but tbh I think most of these women just don't think about what they're actually "electing" to have done - after all a cs is major surgery, I don't think anyone would generally "opt" to have any other major surgery for convenience would they?

When I was pg with ds the thought of having to have a cs for any reason absolutely terrified me. Why anyone would want to lie there wide awake while someone cut them open and inserted a hand into their interior is beyond me.

[badkarma]

That's interesting lulumama, I wonder how much a natural birth costs the NHS? Suppose nothing at all if you home birth?

[BATtymumma]

women can CHOOSE to have an elective C section but it shouldnt be at the cost of an already over stretched and underfunded NHS

[northerner]

What's all this bollocks about not having teeth out with no pian releif? You can heve pain releif with a vaginal birth - epidural/pethidene/gas and air etc

Elective c sections should not be available on the nhs no. If you want a c section by choice then pay for it, I couldn't give a toss what you reasons are, hair do or not!

But the nhs is under imense (sp?) financial strain as it is.

[lulumama]

take it you read my post wannabe - re having your hair done

i think it proves the point that it is seen , by some, as something that can be slotted in, and done for convenience

if you have elective c.s first, have a bad experience, might be harder to go for natural birth second time ....so it can have huge implications...

[wannaBe1974]

badkarma there would be some cost even if you had a home birth, as a mw would generally come out to assist with the birth, in fact a lot of areas don't offer home births because of lack of resources.

[southeastastra]

do consultants who do c sections privately also work in the nhs? anyone know

[badkarma]

I'm the same.. I maintain that if we ever have another child, and I need a c/s I want to be knocked out cold before I have a heart attack on the op table My sister had a natural birth with her first, he was 6lb 2oz. Her 2nd child, she was told, was a large baby, she is 4ft 10" and a size 8, they advised her to have a c/s. She had one and her son was 7lb 10oz. Her next baby, again she was told she had to have a c/s as she already had one with her ds her dd was same weight as ds1 and would quite easily have been born vaginally! I hate it when hospitals make you think they know what's best for you.. of course it was put in her notes both times that it was elective as she wasn't an emergency

[lulumama]

badkarma- i read the costings re NHS birth in the NICE guidelines

which also say maternal indication is not enough to get a section...

BUT virtually everyone i know who had an emergency CS first, then elected to have a subsequent c.s...with no argument from the obstetrician......so the NHS is failing itself from within.

[piglit]

But what percentage of those women who have c sections are really "too posh to push"? Most of the statistics that the media use to highlight this issue relate to elective sections. Elective sections are not the same as being too posh to push; an elective section is any situation other than an emergency.

For example I had an emergency section with ds1 and was advised to have a section with ds2 so I was booked in for an elective section. This would, according to most statistics used, make me too posh to push. Utter bollocks. I may be posh but I am not too posh to push. In the end ds2 was born prematurely and I had a vbac.

I am quite sure that the number of women who actually have a section because they can't be arsed to have a vaginal birth is tiny. And even the high profile people named by the media again and again may well have had a medical reason that we don't know about. And frankly it's none of our business.

[badkarma]

Thanks w74 But not as much cost as the c/s though? Amazing isn't it!

[wannaBe1974]

not sure southeast, aren't most privately funded births done at posh clinics, the portland and the like? don't think you'd be able to get a private deliver round here for instance, it's the nhs or nothing.