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Original poster

C Section is 'not a real birth'

283 replies

concretevase · 25/07/2024 13:46

Please read the post before commenting.

Birth of my daughter was a traumatic emergency C Section, after six days of an induction.

I'm about to have a baby and because of GDM am being pressured into a planned C Section or induction.

I hate hate hate the idea of going through all that again. I hate the idea of recovering from another C Section now with a toddler and a newborn and not much paternity leave for my husband.

To make matters worse I have convinced myself that if I don't push a baby out I am missing out on something about womanhood.

Has anyone experienced the same thoughts? If so how did you rationalise them?

OP posts:
PennyPugwash · 25/07/2024 13:58

I had a planned c section on twins and it was a great experience. Very calm and quick.
Recovery was brilliant and I was hoovering in 10 days.
Not a bother

YankSplaining · 25/07/2024 13:57

I had two C-sections - one scheduled and one unplanned - and those kinds of ideas never even occurred to me until I heard them from other women. Personally, I was glad I ended up with two C-sections. I was dreading spending days in labor, or tearing all the way to my anal muscles.

Of course it’s a real birth. It’s a cesarean birth. This isn’t Macbeth.

Cookiecrumblepie · 25/07/2024 13:56

Ridiculous. Birth is when a child is born from a mother. Method of birth is irrelevant. Focus on the health of the baby and mother. There is nothing “less” about a c section.

paperrockscissors · 25/07/2024 13:54

That is a load of rubbish. I was made to feel the same guilt having gone through an emergency c-section which saved mine and my son’s lives. It’s the same kind of opinion that also accompanies ones about bottle feeding. Again, something I had no choice to resort to after trying and failing for weeks and weeks to establish BF. I also had to have IVF to have my first baby. I suppose that makes me even less of a women 🙄

Original poster
concretevase · 25/07/2024 13:53

thank you @Hopefullymovinghouse

OP posts:
Hopefullymovinghouse · 25/07/2024 13:52

Ps

Planned c section is much easier to recover from than an emergency and/or induction. In my experience anyway....

Hopefullymovinghouse · 25/07/2024 13:52

I have had 3 c sections. The first two were fairly traumatic and I struggled psychologically. I felt like I had missed out on giving birth naturally and it took a real toll on my mental wellbeing and my confidence. My third was a planned section which almost healed all of these negative thoughts. Now I barely think about it. I know so many people who have had hideous vaginal births with long term issues and complications and I feel very lucky that this hasn't happened to me. I have breastfed all of my babies to 2 years and I am proud of that. It's really hard not to beat yourself up about it and not to feel sad that you've missed out but I promise it gets better with time. Having a c section is giving birth, OP.

radio4everyday · 25/07/2024 13:47

What nonsense.

The only thing that matters is healthy mum and baby at the end. The rest is just frills.