if you need a c-sec...how soon were you told the date to expect it ?

[eightisseventoomany]

Saw my OB today....and she has said

its a slim chance of a natural birth...as babies lying breech (lower baby) and transverse (higher baby)

Im already nearly 33 weeks.....and babies are already huge (over 5lb each baby)

bump is a massive 50cm already !!
chance is slim that babies will present in head down pos....when I labour...as not much space to turn.

but I was told today to book another scan in another 4 weeks time...and check-up in 2 weeks time...
but OB never mentioned if or when they will book a c-section for me...

(despite saying this is prob how I will have these babies)

I'll be 37 weeks when I have this scan !!

are they leaving this a little late ?? should'nt they have discussed how far into pg they will let me go ??

really dont want this to be an emcs !!!

wondered what other ppls experience of being booked for a c-section are ??

(I have already mentioned this worry in another thread....but that thread has nothing to do with this issue....so thought Id ask as a header topic)

Just worried if I go into natural labour before I even get to see my OB !

also....have no midwife appointments at all...
only seen midwife 3 times throughout this pg

Should i be being a bit more pushy about the issue ?


or is this all normal procedure ??

[Stinkyfeet]

Mine was booked for the opposite reason - baby too small. I had the scan on a Thursday and went in for the cs on the Monday; they offered me Friday, but I wanted the weekend to get my head round it!

[LadyMuck]

Very rare for a cs to be booked before 39 weeks ime. You might get at date at your next scan.

Are you still having the same number of appts as you would have had under mw care, just with the hospital?

[HeadFairy]

Not sure about twins, but when my ds was breech, we had a scan at 38 weeks to confirm he hadn't moved, and then I was booked in the next day for my cs at 39 weeks and 1 day (so 7 days notice for my cs)

[Bibithree]

I was booked in fairly early on for 39 weeks on the nose with the DTs, but when they decided to deliver early I was told on the Friday to come in on Monday at 35 weeks exactly.

[eightisseventoomany]

thanks ladies

so they do leave quite late then....even with twins...

assuming if I get contractions they'll just give me a time to come in ????

prob fretting moreso after reading paper today...stating so many women delivering babies in wards/corridors etc as maternity bed shortages...

praying this wont be the senario regarding c-secs..

preg women having c-secs carried out in wards by passers by...as shortage of surgical rooms & staff !!! lol

[AcademicMum]

I didn't have twins, but with ds1 my cs was booked at 38 weeks (for 39 weeks) due to them only just discovering what I'd been telling them for 2 months - he was transverse! With ds2 they booked my cs again at 38 weeks for 39+3 because I got cold feet over a VBAC. I get the impression it is often left late. If however you prefer to have it already booked I'd imagine your consultant would listen? Esp. with twins?

[LadyMuck]

Even if you're booked they will give priority to emergencies. I had an elective with ds2 and had to be at hospital at 7:30. finally wheeled into theatre at 6:30pm having been nil by mouth all day.

[AcademicMum]

Oh gosh LadyMuck - that brings back awful memories. With ds1 I was in hospital from 38 weeks onwards. I reached the date of my cs at 39 weeks and they said "you are first on the list to go down to theature, be ready for 8am" at 4.30pm I still had not gone down and the theatre staff were considering packing up for the day (for electives) till a wonderful midwife went and lost it at them till they backed down . DS1 was born 30 minutes later.

Anyway, that's probably enough of a negative story and I should add I expected the same situation with ds2 where it was completely different and I was taken to theatre within half an hour of arriving at the hospital.

[eightisseventoomany]

Agghhhhh

forgot that you get starved before operations...

nothing worse than being stuck in a hosp bed....waiting and waiting ....unable to eat/drink

(time stands atill in hosp!!! )

esp. when meals are announced....or others are tucking into a huge KFC in front of you !!

I feel the agony for any pregnant woman going through this...

(esp. when your always hungry towards end of a pg !!)

C-secs should be booked in mornings only.....so no pg woman has to endure this torture

[ZippysMum]

Hi mumsy,

Another one with twins here!

My c-sect date was booked (for 38 weeks 1 day) at my 30 week consultant appt.

Also an anaesthetic review was booked for a week before that (at 37 weeks)

Next week, (35 weeks), I have my MRSA screen with the midwife.

I would get on to your consultant if I were you!

[eightisseventoomany]

Hiya Zippysmum

are your twins ID ??

wondering...as often more intervention with ID twins...??

(im sure we've chatted B4 ....cant find the thread though)

Mine are non-ID & are huge (thinking my dates may be wrong now ??) as both estimated at 5LB ...
and my bump is 50cm.

never had a cycle between conception & my miscarriage
so harder for them to work out dates....

but Im 33 weeks now ....

so not far behind you....

do you know the sizes of yours ?

keep me posted on how you get on much more comforting when someone else in same situation ...
(goodness...Im such a wuss )

[cherrylips]

The medical team told me at 36 weeks that my C sec was booked for 39 weeks - on the nose!!

[ZippysMum]

Hi again mumsy!
Yes, we've definitely met before (I think it was on one of the 'I feel awful let's moan about how crap the last trimester is' threads ).

Mine are also fraternal - 2 sacs, 2 placentas. Though I have been classed as 'high-risk, precious babies' because of 6 yrs of trying, 2 yrs infertility treatment, 5 pregnancy losses, so maybe they are being extra nice to me?

Your bump does sound big - how are you sleeping?? I'm guessing the transverse baby isn't 'overlapping' the breech one, IYKWIM - hence the 'tall' bump. My two are one head-down, one breech, but kind of lying one on each side, so I am 'wide' rather than carrying high. When twin B was transverse at 30 weeks, the bump measured 40cm, but now twin B has turned breech again, it's only 39cm at 34 weeks.

[ZippysMum]

mumsy - well done for growing those babies big!! Mine were 4lb 4oz and 4lb 12oz at 32 week scan - so hoping they are both over 5lbs now!

[eightisseventoomany]

Your babies dont sound small zippys

and what a lot of heartache you've had to go through to get here...OMG

lower baby has her head on left...she's breech...and ds is transverse (lying over her!! ) with his head also on left ..
they're prob having good old chats in there

grew so big ...prob from all the custard donuts I ate last week !!!!

So you'll be greeting them mid September then

My bday is 16th...lovely sweet children born around this time
virgo children are so helpful, neat & friendly ..lol
well worth waiting for xx

(not that Im bias hehe)

did you find out sexes? ...or is this to be a surprise ??

look at all my smilies...arrgghh....I must stop doing this !!! lol

[eightisseventoomany]

PS...
Academic & ladymuck ...

how were your c-sec's ...
were they OK ???

and did you recover quickly from them ??

[ZippysMum]

No, we don't know the sexes - though kind of hoping for one of each as my wonderful best friend has handed on stacks of clothes and she has one of each.

Mmmmm custard donuts. I am HUGE (have put on 5 st and was a size 14-16 before I got pg). Still, I take consolation from my friend who was heavier than me when she started, put on 6 st and had lost 5 st within a month!! Pleeeeeeeease let that happen to me!

Yes, date is booked for 23rd Sept, but the way I'm feeling I will be amazed to make it that far! 1st Sept was our initial goal (not far to go now!), but then 36 weeks. If we get anywhere past that I will be thrilled!

So spill the beans - how are you sleeping? I really struggle at night (daytime not so bad) - I have a nap from 2ish - 4ish, but even if i don't nap, I can't sleep more than about 4 hrs a night. It's the heartburn that really gets me - Baby B's head shoves right into my stomach, and gives me dreadful acid reflux. Yuk!

[eightisseventoomany]

I have to take my bottle of Gaviscon (sp?)
with me everywhere
Even took it to camber sands on that hot wednesday...had it next to my huge camping chair
Im sure ppl thought it was vodka or something...got lots of strange looks !!

and its beside my bed all night too !!
along with my 2 pints of juice (suffer dehydration now as well!)
body gets too hot (fan goes on, covers come off) then Im cold an hour later !! grrr

I do sleep badly...
toilet visits 3-5 times a night...
toss & turn (with great struggle ) all night..
have got Carpal tunnel....but since taking vits B6 & B12...now I just have pins/needles rather than the shooting pains !!

RLS...although looks more like turrets with me!! hehe
I try so hard to keep the legs still...that the rest of my limbs jolt instead !! haha

I cant get up/ off bed unaided anymore...unless I roll off the bed & onto cushions on the floor...
deeply embarrasing

but not too long b4 I get some stomach muscles back !! (I hope...they've prob disintegrated )

so im not getting an easy time of it....
did have anemia despite having 3x 200mg iron everyday since conception !!(HB 9) but feeling less tired since hubby bought me plant food ...(yukkk!) (Floradix) 10ml 3 x a day also.

[ZippysMum]

I feel your pain! Last week DH was a bit because I said "I love having a spare bottle of Gaviscon - it's like money in the bank" (can you believe I had RUN OUT the week before and was having to make do with the tablet things that just don't seem to touch it.

I swap beds all night - start off with DH, then into spare room and sometimes end up on the sofa in the nursery.

Next to my bed I have - gaviscon (of course), paracetamol, Bottle of COLD water, book, radio..... lucky my DH is a patient man...

I only get RLS in the evenings, not when trying to sleep - but that must be so annoying.

Also, the babies get hiccups OFTEN, and that keeps me awake!

[eightisseventoomany]

Gaviscon.....

every pregnant womans best friend

[AcademicMum]

My first cs did seem to take ages to recover from, but I think in hindsight that this was more due to my unrealistic expectations, plus we had the stress of moving house when ds1 was only about 6 weeks old...

My second cs was great. I rearranged the house before I went into hospital so that I wouldn't have to go upstairs for the first couple of weeks (which I found really difficult the first time), I took every painkiller going and I tried to move in hospital as much as I could. Peppermint tea is an essential for after the operation as are big pants. Make sure that you don't need to bend down for a week or so afterwards as this is also really hard - get a baby changing table for nappies and let your dh do baths and get a pair of slippers without backs that you can slip on without bending down for when in the hospital. The most important thing though is just to take it as easy as you can (bearing in mind you will have 2 new babies...).

[eightisseventoomany]

thanks academic

will be prepared for those now...
heard the big pants thing....

One thing i dont know...and dont want to ask
do you still have to experience the lochia after a c-sec ??

and do they always have to insert a catheter ??

and will they shave me ...even if i veet myself in preperation

if I think of any other things i am clueless about....I'll add on here...

[lucky1979]

I've got an assessment appointment at 30 weeks where they will book in my caesarean, but the doctor did say that that was earlier than usual and just because they're extremely concerned about my mobility.

He said that they would usually make the booking at 34 weeks so push them at the check up to get the date in the diary.

[AcademicMum]

You still get lochia after a c-section. You also still get afterpains esp. when bf. The first time I didn't shave in advance and they just gave me a bic razor and told me to get on with it- next time I was prepared - nothing worse than shaving rash from a cheap disposible razor, especially not when you have a wound on top of the shaving rash!.

[eightisseventoomany]

Thanks lucky ...

will def mention to my OB in 2 weeks...(if I make it that far !!)
already suffering lots braxton hicks & back pain today {hmm]

academic ...will def veet myself then...!!
I would splice myself to pieces if someone gave me a bic razor !!!