Can anyone have a C section?

[user1466690252]

I am unexpectedly pg with Dc3. We are over the initial shock and happy about it. But I am absolutely terrified of giving birth again and honestly don’t think I can go through it again. Both other births were straight forward VBAC with no intervention but I was so traumatised by them it took me a long long time to get over them. I feel sick and panicky at the thought of doing it again. What can I do?

Definitely speak with your midwife about this and ask to meet with an obstetrician. If your mental health is compromised through a vaginal birth they should take this into consideration.

Thank you, I just need to hear that. I know that it isn’t a walk in the park, both options, but I can’t stress how mentally ill I was after the last child and I honestly feel the birth caused this anxiety in me that took about a year to recover from, I just can’t bare the thought of that happening again

I assume you don’t mean you’ve already had 2 VBAC births?

I agree you need to speak to your midwife and ultimately the consultant.

The guidelines say that a woman should be offered a c-section if she wants one, even if there isn’t a ‘medical’ reason to have one.

However, apparently around 25% of NHS hospitals don’t follow this policy, in this case women have to go to another hospital if they choose a c-section.

I would have a good think about all your different options and try to address what traumatised you so badly with your first births. Would making different choices like going for a home birth help? I would also seek some (non-bias) information about a planned CS vs another VB (and taking into account you’ve had two straightforward vb before) so you can weigh up the risks and benefits (and of course your mental wellbeing IS a massive contributing factor).

If you decide that ultimately you definitely want to opt for a maternal request c-section then find out what your hospitals policy is and whether you might need to switch to a different hospital. Also be prepared to have drs try and persuade you otherwise, possibly present you with unbalanced and bias information in an attempt to scare you etc.

Congratulations btw, I know how hard birth trauma can be so feel for you

Sorry I mean VB not VBAC 🙈 I have had 2 VB’s. The first one was horrific, I was treated like cattle and I swore I would never do it again, 6 years later we decided for dc2 and I mentally prepared myself to do it again, I went to a lovely birthing center and it was a better experience but still traumatic and I was left with horrific anxiety for months, I feel no one will listen to me becaUse I’ve done it before but I really need to know who I can talk to to help me do this. It gives me hope that I can at least explain this to my midwife and maybe get some help. Thank you for your responses

Honestly, your chances of a 3rd VB being relatively easy are high. Especially if you were low risk enough last time for a birthing centre. It would be worth talking through options on how to make a VB a better experience first- home birth, early epidural etc.

A section is not an easy option. I had one emcs and one elcs and both were pretty horrific, even with a fairly straightforward recovery (no infections or wound issues).

I would ask your m/w if your hospital runs a vbac or birth reflections clinic. I went to the vbac clinic but it would have been extremely useful either way. A specialist m/w had all my previous notes, and we went through them with a fine tooth comb- rate of dilation, progression/lack of, complications and what went right and what didn’t.

It gave me a really good idea of how my next birth might go, and helped me make an informed decision based on that.

Something like that might help you decide whether a third VB might be the easier choice or not?

Thank you. I am up for that I just don’t want ti deal with the trauma again. I only had gas and air on them and maybe an epidural is what will make the difference. Dc2 was back to back aswell and I didn’t know until I was in labour and because I was in the birthing center I only had gas and air available. I have a hernia in my groin from pushing him that I’m worried about as due for surgery next week which I have had to cancel now obviously. I jut want to tell someone how scared I am and be taken seriously and helped.

I think you need to have all of your options given to you and the implications of each. Hopefully the team will support your decision.

Also, to give you the mental health support you need in this pregnancy.

Whatever happens, I wish you all the best

I asked for one for my first birth for no other reason than it was what I wanted, and I got one (in the UK on the NHS).

@needallthesleep what was it like?

It was still a fiddle though and I was up and at 'em within 48 hours. Cannot recommend highly enough

Thing is that can be said about either. I know women who find v birth almost enjoyable, women who have absolute textbook deliveries, women who have been out of hospital within hours.

I know women who have secondary infections from cs, mrsa, wound infections, even sepsis. My own experience of a cs was traumatic - my elcs it took an hour to site the spinal and i was left with a big patch of scarring on my back. I can’t feel the skin on my abdomen any more and i have an ugly tucked in scar from the section. Plus i react to the spinal and my blood pressure drops which feels awful- dizzy, nauseous and shaky, which meant i didn’t hold either of my cs babies for a couple of hours While i concentrated on not feeling like I was dying. I threw up everything for 48 hours after, including all pain meds. If you bf it can be hard to pick up and hold your baby- i needed dh to pull me up to sitting for about a week.

You don’t know whether you’ll find a section easier until afterward. You can only consider all the possibilities based on your own medical history. Someone else having an easy time of a cs/vb doesn’t mean you will. Examine the risks and the potentional ways of lessening them.

Worth talking to a counsellor pre birth too? Discuss exactly what you found traumatic and see if you can find solutions.

I think you should ask for a c-section if that's what you want. Have a look for your hospital's policy on ELCs and see what they say.
I am well aware that c-sections can be painful/complicated but I had a traumatic VB with my son and no way in hell would I go through that again. I had a long, painful, induced labour followed by a 3rd degree tear, PPH (4 litres lost), sepsis and a blood clot. I will definitely be requesting a c-section next time / if I get pregnant again. I have spoken to lots of women who strongly recommend them; especially those who had traumatic births the first time. I have had a few women tell me that c-sections are not easy and that it may take time to recover but it took me months to recover from having my son so even if that is the case, it's no worse than what I've already experienced (plus with an ELCs I won't have the exhausting 38 hour labour where I couldn't even eat due to being induced via drip either!)l I think people can be really dismissive of complications arising from "natural" births and I hope that your concerns are heard. Good luck.

Well, your not just anyone.
Firstly your female and secondly you have already had 2 dc.
You know what vb entails.

You shouldn't need to convince anyone. Just say you can't go thru it again, pregnancy 3 a surprise etc.

@user1466690252 honestly a really positive, relaxed experience. No pain, a quick recovery. Back on my feet faster than my friends who had VB’s. I know it’s not the same for everyone but I would make the same decision in a heartbeat.

Yes you can now legally request a c-section for whatever reason and they have to agree however expect to have to jump through every hoop possible to get one.

I opted for one with DC4 knowing he would be my last child so no risks to future pregnancies etc. also wouldn’t have been devastated had my fertility been affected in any way (tiny tiny risk of needing a hysterectomy but what they won’t tell you is there’s always that risk with a VB too). So I basically had the ‘upperhand’ when they were going into details about future stillbirth and ectopic risk etc, I knew I wouldn’t have another child so it didn’t affect me.

They made me see three different consultants and a consultant midwife before they’d agree to the c-section. Then on the day of the section a consultant came in whilst DP and I were in scrubs ready to go to theatre and she tried to talk me out of it! Said she was willing to induce me instead which I refused. They attempted to scare me with every tactic in the book, I was basically told by one consultant I would DEFINITELY need a hysterectomy as I would definitely haemorrhage.

The ELCS went really well and was the most peaceful delivery I’ve had . Nothing went wrong afterwards either, had a good recovery.

Just be prepared for them to try and deter you. I asked for an ELCS because I had a previous delivery with shoulder dystocia and emergency forceps and also a massive PPH due to retained placenta. Further to that I had a huge haemorrhage after medical management for a missed miscarriage and needed emergency surgery to save my life. They still didn’t want me to have a CS .

Both of my VBs were horrendous. I then had 2 c sections which in comparison were far easier both physically and mentally to deal with. But, over the years I've developed huge internal scar tissue which has affected my bowels, uterus and caused horrendous problems. Even 20+ years on, I still get problems with my scar if I have a cough and if I'd known now what I would struggle with, I'd have had a VB.

If you are going to ask for one, do your research very very thoroughly. It is major abdominal surgery and certainly not an easier alternative.

If you have a hernia from pushing last time that requires surgery that sounds like a medical reason for not having another vb?

You are entitled to have a C section .

Also beware they likely will warn you off it by showing you inaccurate statistics which is data from emergency and elective sections lumped together.

Do you own research and be prepared to tell them what you want . I also highly recommend the Birthrights website xxx

Thank you everyone. I will do my research.
The hernia is from pushing and needs the mesh to put it all back together. It is one of my concerns actually as (tmi sorry) I find it difficult to push a poo out let alone a baby and that’s a concern of mine. I will look at as much information as I can. Thank you

I think the hernia will probably be medical grounds enough, surely! I had an EMCS with my oldest and asked for an ELCS for my second child. I had to jump through hoops with the midwives but I found the consultants to be exceptionally sympathetic and didn’t have to fight too much - probably because I was very adamant throughout that I wanted a CS. The ELCS itself was a lovely experience, honestly one of the best days of my life, meeting my little boy without being exhausted and just enjoying it. No regrets here and if we had a third baby I’d have an ELCS again in a heartbeat!

I didn’t have to “fight”, demand or insist at all.

I took all the help and advice offered. I sat down with the m/w at the vbac clinic and we went through every option. They sent me away with some well researched and referenced reading material (i’m a clinical scientist so can spot pseudoscience and bullshit a mile off), with an appt for rwo weeks.

I went back, we went through my reasoning for a cs. Because it was an informed decision based on risk/benefit they were very happy to do the cs. I think showing you have thought it through and used clinical information to decide rather than demanding with no basis in what is actually best helps.

I felt exactly like you during my 3rd preg. I told my gp how I felt because I knew she would hear me out. She told me at that time under NICE guidelines I should be able to have one if I wanted it. It’s not a decision taken lightly. Or rather your past experience has led you to feel this way. Your experience! Some people have less traumatic births. I was like you. My second birth was awful and I knew I just wouldn’t do it again if I could help it. I was always polite but very clear that I absolutely wanted a Caesarian. Listen to your midwife don’t be crazy emotional and panicked when discussing! Remain calm! I got one and I have to say, it was a lovely experience. Felt a bit Woosy just before they started. You certainly feel the drugs! But to experience birth without the pain is something I’m really glad I got one go at! It means a lot to bring your baby into the world in a peaceful and calm way. It really does. My experience of recovery was also pretty blooming awesome too! Good luck! Hope you get your c-section!

I had a cs 4 months ago for my last baby. I'd had 5 previous VBs and a mesh after number 5 due to damage from horrendous emergency forceps/various drs with their whole arms inside me without any pain relief.

However I didn't find the cs easy. I didn't enjoy the operation, I felt unwell and anxious. The anaesthetist was lovely but I really hated the whole thing and felt cheated that other people said CS was relaxed and nice!! It wasn't for me.

And my recovery was much worse than after a VB.

I had no choice whether or not to have a CS, a VB would have ruined my TVT and I didn't want to have that operation again!! (Also no fun- but great results!!)

I found it really difficult not being able to sit up or easily hold the baby to feed him . Not driving was also very limiting although I did drive once I felt better at 3 weeks. I found it really painful for those 3 weeks though . I now find the overhang worse , and I think I'll always be numb around the wound.

The baby is lovely though!! :)

Good luck with whatever you decide xx

Thank you everyone. I am going to do as much research as I can and speak to my midwife, I have no desire to kick off and be rude I admire the midwives and they have always been lovely. I just feel like I went in to the last 2 just doing what I was told to do and I really think it would help to be more in control this time. Especially as the baby is enough of a shock, thank you everyone