would I be allowed a ELCS?

[MrsMc82]

Am ttc for dc2 so this question is a bit previous but am wondering if I'd be able to request a ELCS.

With DS I had a EMCS after getting pre eampsia and being induced at 40wks. The induction went ok had syntocin ect but after 24ish hours was still only at 7cm and ds's hear rate kept dropping so they decided to give me a CS, that bit was quite traumatic, when they suddenly decided to do the CS a milllion people decended in the room and I went into shock was sick on the dr and mw...... But main thing was that epidural cathetar slipped out and istarted to wear off while I was being sewn up.


That said I think the main thing that upset me was that i was keft feeling like I tried and failed at the whole giving birth, I ended up with pnd and still believe the feeling of failure was the main cause.

So akk this might make you think that I'd want a VBAC but I just don't think I could mentally deal with the disappointment of trying to do it naturally and then ending up with a EMCS so a ELCS would illiminate that risk....... Hope that makes sense.

If I'm lucky enough to fall pregnant again, do you think I'd be allowed to have a ELCS?


Btw excus all typos please - am posting on my phone!

[verybusybear]

Perhaps not the answer you want - but I think the answer is 'maybe'. Not very helpful really - sorry.

It really does depend on the hospital you end up at. My story has similarities to yours, but while I think I had a bit of post traumatic stress but it wasn't really full on pnd, and I certainly didn't have a problem with the pain relief during the emcs - poor you!

Following a 28 week appointment with the consultant last week I've been told that I don't have any medical issues that require a second c section, so it has to be vbac, and that is hospital policy, so tough luck. It may be that if I'd had severe pnd and there was a strong chance of it happening again, that would have swung the decision in my favour, but I don't know.

Another local hospital which unfortunately is too popular for me to get into now, has given someone I know an elcs for their second child, despite there being no other medical problems - they had an elcs for their first because she was breech. They requested an elcs second time round, and got it - no problems! Hospital said it was entirely their decision.

Speak to your local midwife and do your research into the best hospital for you.

[PeppaPigandGeorge]

If you really want one, you need to go armed with the new NICE guidelines which basically say yes, you can have one on the NHS. The individual doctor can refuse, but has to refer you to another doctor (and again, and again, until someone agrees).

[catsareevil]

Another option would be to ask to trial labour, but opt for CS at first sign of anything going wrong. It gives you the chance of having what you really want, with hopefully not too much trauma then if you end up with a CS (and hopefully less rush and feeling of emergency).

[PeppaPigandGeorge]

If you did want to trial labour, as cats suggests, male sure you ask what the policy is on "emergency" CS. After my second child was born (she ended up being grade 1 emergency, we both nearly died) I found out that the registrar believed I was "just in labour" and as such would have been allowed to have a CS that day but the CS would be done at the end of the list of scheduled CS's (basically trying to trick me into VBAC as I had a very anti-CS registrar on the delivery suite). I found this to be totally unreasonable (my first was scheduled and I would have been horrified to think the hospital did that CS before that of someone who needed a CS but was labouring).

[PeppaPigandGeorge]

Make sure, not male sure!!

[MrsMc82]

Thanks both, that's some food for thought, kind of like idea of trialing labour but would be nervous of getting pushed into keepng trying for longer than was comfortable with.....

Shall google and look into nice guideline further to, thanks v much for the info :)

[SazZaVoom]

I really think it depends on the health authority. With ours, if you have had one CS, you are pretty much guaranteed another (if you want it). Support for VBAC not so good

[Ushy]

MrsMc The thing I would be bothered about with trial of labour is that if you do need help and it is at night - who exactly is going to be around to do the c/s? Probably some less experienced doc. This is partly why the risks of EMCS are so much higher than ELCS. Also the operation is on a contracting uterus so a lot more ouch!

I don't want to get too topical about this but I have just been reading about the campaign to reduce female genital mutilation in Africa. One of the reasons the practice is continued is that women themselves say they feel less of a woman, less 'normal' if they have not gone through this experience. That is entirely cultural because none of us in the west have that feeling.

Is the same true of believing you have failed if you have not put yourself through the experience of childbirth? Is it really natural to feel this or is it something cultural - the way the media bang on about 'empowering birth'? In South America and from personal experience most of France, the attitudes are quite different. There is not this social pressure to do it 'naturally' which in effect might mean someone like you puts themselves through quite a traumatic experience they could have avoided.

I don't know the answer to this but I think there are three issues - one is whether to go for elcs, the other is what you do about feeling a failure if you don't try a natural birth or it doesn't work out and the third is I suppose a moral dilemma of whether you cave into what is possibly a social pressure and therefore perhaps perpetuate it.

I just think that we should try to hang draw and quarter 'birth failure' feelings and replace it with 'success' feelings for all births. That will not only mean you don't face the dilemma you are facing but neither in the future does the baby you are carrying or the wife of that baby.

Sorry if that is a bit philosophical - just thought yours was a really interesting post!

Good luck