I'm 30 weeks with 2nd baby and just trying to gather my thoughts about the impending birth and would appreciate input.
1st baby was a planned home birth and was text book, if more intense than I'd been expecting. Reasons for not going to hospital were wanting to avoid intervention and not wanting to stay on post natal ward without support from DP. Baby was diagnosed beech late on but was turned with ECV. All went well but we had to be admitted for failure to gain weight when DD was a week old which just reinforced my views on staying in hospital.
Move forward 3 years and I'm unexpectedly pregnant and still a bit ambivalent about having a 2nd baby. I had mild depression and anxiety and came off ADs when I found out I was pregnant. Coped ok with this but have moderate PGP and I'm exhausted physically and mentally. At my last mw appointment baby was breech but I know there's plenty of time to turn. However I really don't know if I have the energy to go through another ECV and labour at home or whether I should seriously consider requesting an ELCS.
What would you say the pros and cons of each option are?
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Childbirth
WWYD? Thoughts on home birth vs ELCS please.
ArchangelGallic · 28/12/2014 11:19
Sorry 'have the energy ' not 'face'. On the app and miss remembered your wording. 
I have never had a section myself (forceps, then two homebirths). But I have quite a few friends who had a section for their second. The disclaimer is that this was usually after a complicated or traumatic first delivery - serious tear, retained placenta, etc.
They would say that the advantages were things like calm delivery, more foreseeable complications, known timing and therefore easier to plan. For most though, it would be that they then know that they will not have a rerun of whatever complication happened first time. Or that ongoing complications like pelvic floor weakness won't get worse.
The downside is basically the recovery. You skip the pain during delivery, but for most people there is a fair amount of pain afterwards. And the recovery can be very tough. Especially if you have an older child to look after. And, of course, you're going through that recovery whilst looking after a newborn.
I think that, for the majority of people, the intensity and pain of a natural, straightforward birth would be preferable to a section. But a section is preferable for most people to complications. The issue is normally not knowing whether you'll get uncomplicated or complicated if you try vaginal. You are in a fairly unusual group in feeling that a section would be less exhausting and mentally draining than even a straightforward vaginal delivery. (I'm leaving aside for the purposes of this analogy those with tokophobia, or health conditions or whatever than mitigate strongly for a ELCS. I'm just meaning your average Joanna Bloggs looking at outcomes). I'm not saying that you're wrong at all, but that you might have a limited pool of people who can tell you that they've been through a similar process.
If your biggest issue is staying in hospital, I'm not sure how a section helps. Wouldn't something like an early epidural compromise your desire not to go trhough unmedicated labour (entirely understandable) and your desire not to stay in more effectively? Or does that not appeal at all?
Good luck. After my first, rather traumatic, delivery, I was torn between homebirth and pushing for a section, but I tipped the other way.
Thank you, this is all very helpful. I suspect I'm feeling low and lacking confidence so was perhaps hoping an ELCS would be an easy option. Thank you for reminding me that it isn't!
I'm guessing that if baby isn't breech then HB remains my best option. I'll have to think about what to do if he is breech and talk it over with MW. Maybe I can grow a backbone in next 10 weeks!
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