Fear of natural birth, elective c-section help.

nausea during/after a section is usually quite different to the nausea people may get with a GA. During a section under spinal it's more likely to be due either to BP changes (easily fixed) or due to the drugs we have to give to help the uterus contract and control bleeding. Having had nausea with a GA before doesn't necessarily mean there'd be a problem with a section, but equally it's really not wildly uncommon to feel sick/actually vomit in theatre with a section.

I’ve had both also. OP are you very young?

Hi op, one natural birth, emergency c section and elective c section here. Elective c section every time. Yes, I was a bit nauseous after anesthetic but I felt that the Elective was much more calmer and a quicker recovery to the others.

Much of the problem I think is even women who’ve had both can’t compare.

if you’ve had both it’s usually because the vaginal birth had complications. So compared to that an elective c-section will seem far easier.

someone who’s had a straightforward vaginal birth won’t choose a section for their next births.

I’ve had both. My first was a vaginal birth. Induction, back to back baby, 3b tear, repair in surgery. My second (13 years later) was an elective section. If I have another, I’ll be opting for a section again. The recovery was quicker, less pain, and I felt much more in control. I also haemorrhaged both times, I lost 2.1 litres with the section. Still felt better afterwards. I opted for the section because I didn’t want to risk another tear, I knew I wouldn’t bounce back as quickly as I did when I was 21!

I have one DD, born when I was 42.The labour was induced and lasted 14 hours (average for a first birth). I had two epidurals because the first one didn't work. Immediately after the birth, I asked myself: 'Would you do that again?'. The answer was yes. Once home, I was so glad that I didn't have an operation to recover from at the same time as looking after my lovely daughter.

The preamble to this story is that I was very frightened in the weeks running up to the Llabour but told myself that millions of women give birth every year, that I would be in the hands of professionals, and that the female body is designed (not very well) to give birth.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the very best of luck.

In terms of what you’ll go through.

natural birth comes in waves of pain, so you’ll have contractions that will be a build up of pain in your stomach/ back it’ll peak and then start to fade, that’ll happen every 3-10 minutes, maybe closer but by that point I didn’t know my own name let alone timings 😂 but you can get pain relief that either numbs it or takes the edge off, and then when your ready to push and the baby crowns that is like a burning sensation, but it’s over pretty quickly usually.

a section will be very calm, you’ll be walked down to theatre sit on a table they will do your spinal and then lay you down, the operation takes about an hour with baby out within about 15 minutes, you’ll go to recovery for an hour after then go up to the maternity ward, you’ll feel ok for the first day, and then it’ll be pretty painful for about a week

both have good points and bad, but you’ll have a lovely little baby at the end of it either way. Best of luck 🩷

It's your choice but I know loads of people who've had straight forward vaginal births, including home births. I've had three easy vaginal births with no pain relief needed. In one case the baby arrived very quickly and there was no time for intervention but I didn't need it anyway.

I'm currently being treated for cancer and the first thing my consultant said to me was to stay away from the internet. There are scare stories out there about everything. They don't always reflect real life or the majority of experiences.

I’m sorry you are so anxious about this. Have you done any antenatal classes? I assume those exist in Türkiye. Those sorts of classes usually give lots of information on different types of birth and the pros and cons of each. Although as you are now so close to your due date, perhaps it is too late for that.

I have just reread your OP and it sounds as though you’re leaning very heavily towards elective C-section so perhaps that is the right choice for you. If you decide to try the natural route, could you do some hypnobirthing or something like that to prepare?

The difficulty is that none of us can predict how our own births will go, let alone other people’s. We can’t tell you what you’re going to go through; we can only tell you what we went through. I had wonderful natural births but lots of women don’t. Equally, many women have wonderful experience of C-section but not everyone.

It’s really hard to make a decision but I think going with your strong instincts seems like the best option you have.

I’ve had a natural birth with my first, 11 days over due but very quick when it did happen, 5 hours from first contraction to delivery I went into spontaneous labour at home, it was painful I won’t lie but I was feeling good afterwards. But I didn’t tear or anything so I can’t comment on that.

2nd was an emergency section, that was crap because I laboured all day and still ended up with a section,

3rd was an elective section and the actual delivery was brilliant, only pain was the canula and the spinal which were both seconds and not that bad, the recovery of a section is pretty rough though. It’ll take 3 weeks to feel back to yourself and the first week will be pretty painful. But if I had to do it again I would take the elective section.

Yes. I had codeine or mophine (I can't remember which) over the 24 hours I was in hospital after the c-section, then I went home with ibuprofen and paracetamol and took that (alternating every few hours) for a few days.

I’ve had 3 sections and not by choice. I would not have chosen them and would not choose again.

baby 1 emergency section
baby 2 tried for vaginal birth got to 9cm emergency section
baby 3 I had to have a section this time, out of my control since it would be dangerous to attempt vaginal.

it is not what I would wish for anyone

I had an elective c-section, for a few reasons which would seem trivial to some, but it was my body, and my choice. Control was one of those reasons.
I was supposed to have my c-section in the morning, but a couple of emergency cases had to go in front of me, which meant by the time my surgery came around, I had been fasting for almost 18 hours and had to be hooked up to an IV for hydration. Just be mindful that there may be a wait. Other than that, it was completely fine. My stitches were sore for a couple of days but I was up and about within 18 hours. I've healed relatively well, but my scar and the area around it is still completely numb after 4 years.
The anesthetic made me feel sick, but they gave me anti-sickness medication which helped.

I think everyone should make their own decision based on advice from their medical team.

Personally, I was much more scared of having an epidural than I was of a natural birth. I was lucky that everything went smoothly with both births and I didn’t need more than gas and air (the second was a water birth so the water also provided some pain relief). Neither lasted more than 6 hours from the first contraction.

I obviously can’t compare both types of birth but, like your mother, a good friend of mine had four natural births and one caesarean (which was recommended because it was breech). She hated the caesarean and said it was by far the worst experience.

Her experience is irrelevant of course. What matters is what you feel and how best you can manage your anxiety.

And to add to my previous post - I found the recovery for both the emergency and my planned c-secs fine! As long as you get up and moving fairly quickly then you’ll be fine!

Also for what it’s worth OP, my c-section was great. It was an emergency one; but my recovery was absolutely fine with minimal pain. Up and in Tesco on day 3.

not everyone’s experiences but you always hear bad stories and fear about c sections so I feel the need to share a positive story with expectant mums x

If you are thinking seriously about having a c-section, just make sure that you read up on all of the potential risks. I had an emergency c-sec first time round and it was fine, but second time round I had a planned c-sec and she suffered with TTN, so was taken straight to special care where she stayed for four days. This is one of the potential risks with an elective c-sec, so just worth considering! X

There are risks with both. A straightforward vaginal birth is always the least risky to both you and the baby, but of course you can’t guarantee that.

my c-sections were horrific. The emergency was possibly better as it was so fast it was done before I could think about it. The recovery was awful. The elective wasn’t much better tbh, I got very sick from the anaesthetic and thought I was going to die. I then spent two days throwing up every pain killer they gave me, while trying to look after a newborn and recover from major surgery.

it’s a very difficult choice and both are a leap into the unknown. Talk it through with a midwife if you can.

I've had two emergencies, and one elective. I would take the elective every time. My induction of labour with my eldest was genuinely horrendous. The pain was absurd - and I have a very high pain tolerance usually.

I would mention that post-section, not having expected it, it did surprise me how difficult movement was. My pain was controlled fine with painkillers though and after a few days I adjusted.

With my elective, it was calm, controlled and easy tbh. I was in surgery around 9am, and back up and moving by lunchtime. It was a very healing and positive experience. I did struggle afterwards with movement and pain - my anchor stitch area and right leg pain was awful (this was my 3rd section in 5 years too). But once I had a regime of painkillers (mixing ibuprofen and paracetamol in stages) I was fine.

If you want the section I'd absolutely recommend you do it. It's your birth, your body, your baby, your experience. Just make sure you really read up on what to expect - and ideally have support around you for at least the first week.

I’m not sure why you’re asking what internet strangers think! It’s your body and your baby and your choice.

I had two vaginal births. They were very painful but they were genuinely amazing, life-affirming experiences. I didn’t need drugs or stitches and I recovered quickly. I would love to give birth again.

So that’s what I think but that was my own unique experience and has no bearing on what sort of birth you want/plan/have.

I hope everything goes really well and you have a positive experience. 💐

Sorry, this does sound like a stressful situation especially as the public hospital cannot guarantee having pain relief like an epidural available.

I had a fear of birth before I got pregnant, but I would say I had a stronger fear of needles, the idea of surgery, blood etc...so I knew I needed a way to manage my fear of natural birth. Like @scoobysnaxx said hypnobirthing also worked amazingly well for me. I had two natural births, the first one with gas&air and the second unmedicated as it happened so quickly at home! Both quick, no screaming or crying as I was using the hypnobirthing breathing techniques during contractions.

I'm not saying it works for everyone and you need to focus and push for what you feel is right for you. Just thought I would give my positive experience of natural birth as you mentioned you hadn't heard many good stories.