Why vaginal birth?

[SantaSusan]

Inspired by another thread. I'm really interested to understand the reasons for most women opting for a vaginal birth.

Disclaimer: I really, really want this thread to be a nice discussion to share views. I'd hate for this to descend into a judgy or unkind thread! Obviously, however anyone chooses to give birth is their choice alone. And as long as your precious little bundle arrives safely at the end, then who cares how they got there!?

I ended up with an elective. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd have anything but a vaginal birth. However, for reasons I won't go into, it was decided during my pregnancy that a c section would probably be the best option for me. Everyone I spoke to absolutely loved their c section experience, and 99% of the comments online were so positive, so I wasn't worried about it at all once it was decided upon.

I had absolutely no pain during my c section or during recovery. I breastfed right away. I was up and about pretty much immediately. This seems to be the experience of most women who've had elcs. I would have an elective section again and again. If I'm lucky enough to have another baby, it'll be another section.

As such, I often wonder why more women don't choose to have their babies this way. It's so common in other countries. I think there's a lot of misinformation around c sections. The risks are also lumped in with those of emergency c sections, so electives are often painted to be riskler than they actually are.

You often hear people saying it's major abdominal surgery' in quite a judgemental way, which of course it is. But as far as surgical procedures go, it's generally very straightforward and in most cases, is easy to recover from.

I also repeatedly hear that vaginal is best as it's the most natural. But just because something is the 'natural' way to do something, doesn't necessarily mean it's the best. There's lots of things we do now with technology and with medicine that isn't the 'natural' way, and nobody bats an eyelid.

I can't quite put my finger on why I was so opposed to c sections previously. It's like it was subconsciously ingrained in me for no reason other than popular rhetoric. Which is why I'd be interested to hear why others decided a vaginal birth was best for them? Or why others knew they wanted an elcs? Has your subsequent birthing experience changed your minds at all?

I don't know if it was even an option when I had mine, but I wouldn't have chosen it. I can understand if there are medical reasons why it is needed but to me it seems invasive and 'forcing' a baby out prematurely.

And, despite the pain, I feel that experiencing natural childbirth is amazing and I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on it.

What do you mean by 'too small'? I'm short and slightly underweight but I gave birth vaginally. Although I would've struggled if DD was a big baby (she was nearly 7lbs).

I was offered the option with my twins, induction or section. I chose induction. I knew twin one was looking at surgery very soon after birth and at least a month in the NICU after the surgery. I needed to be up and moving and driving quickly. I would also have the other twin and an 18 month old to look after. It went fairly smoothly and very quickly and not like any of the induction horror stories you hear. Not completely straight forward as twin two had to be delivered breech and I nearly needed an emergency section to deliver him after twin one had delivered vaginally. But by the end of that same day I was walking down to the NICU to see them both and I absolutely wouldn’t have swapped a planned section for that. You just need to do what works in your circumstances, there should be no judgement either side, whatever is right for you.

I was awake when my little one made it to this world and I held her straight away. I was with her since, they just took her a few minutes in the room's corner to get her cleaned and dressed. I will never forget those minutes of my life!

I have no idea what you think happens during an elective c section, but I think you have the decidedly wrong idea.

I would choose to give birth vaginally unless i was given specific reasons why it wouldnt be safe to do so. The thought of having an injection in my spine making me numb from the waist down not being able to feel anything or move for hours, then being cut open with a baby coming out is honestly jist not something i could ever choose voluntarily. If i had no choice then fine but i had no pain relief during my whole labour/birth and im glad. I wanted to feel everything and know what was going on and feel more in control during the pushing i wouldnt of had it any other way and i still needed intervention! My recovery from birth lasted 3 weeks but after the first 24 hours i was already up and about! I dont recommend trying to go for a long walk after only 4 days though cos that did hurt 😬

I had a VB as there was no reason for me to consider a C-section. I wouldn’t ordinarily opt into surgery unless I had exhausted all other avenues and that’s also how I felt about childbirth.

Each to their own.

I had an EMCS, was always going to be CS but ended up at 31 weeks. DTs were delivered at 2201 and 2206, I was in the shower at 0800 and walked to the NICU at around 11am. In contrast I've got a couple of friends with hideous birth injuries, I wouldn't want to risk that.

Never ever going to happen but I would opt for an elective if I did.

I wouldn't judge anyone on how they want to deliver their baby.

Babies are supposed to come out of the vagina. It didn't even enter my head to change to a different method when there was no need.

A quick Google will give you a list of countries where more than 50% of births are csections. I don't think anyone, myself included, said that was a reason to do it?

Quite frankly, I didn't want to be cut open.

But I would accept it if it was best for me and baby. As I would other interventions.

I also didn't want chemical induction or epidural. I gave birth vaginally with gas and air. Had I or baby needed any interventions then I would take them.

I worked in a maternity ward in India when I was much younger and helped with a variety of births (c-section, episiotomy, vacuum & forceps). Over there, the standard was an episiotomy, and no pain relief was given. (That experience traumatised me for life!) I know things are very different in the UK these days, but that experience makes me want to have as little intervention as possible when I have my baby in February. I'm more afraid of an epidural than giving birth, and would rather avoid surgery unless it's absolutely necessary.
Obviously, the priority is that mum and baby are safe, so my birth plan could go out the window! :)

C sections are riskier and vaginal birth exposes the baby to some useful bacteria on its way out which scientists think is useful for their immune systems.

Also, I woke up at 6am, gave birth just before 9am and went home at 2pm.

I’ve had both and I would choose a vaginal birth any day! I was so upset I had to have a C-section would two of mine and it’s another reason why I won’t have any more children as they don’t like you to have too many so there’s that ok if you only want 1/2 kids I suppose but more than that is a risk.

Yes, this. Until there's a need I wouldn't opt for anything unnecessarily.

Why vaginal birth?

Serious design fault.

I am very short. They said after 18 hours in labour that my pelvis was too small and it was a big rush job to theatre because baby was in trouble. Baby was 7 pounds 8. I did give it a good go though. They booked me in for sections after that but I always went before the date so they were emergency.

The thought of having a c section terrified me. I went into labour quickly and delivered my baby breech vaginally at 5.3lbs. I did have gas and air and an epidural though thank god. They offered c section but I wanted to just go with what my body was doing. I was already 7cm dilated anyway when they offered so there wasn't really much time anyway.

That's a good point.

Because of all the things that went wrong with my sections I was in 5 days with my first and 10 days with my second.

I had an elective c section for various reasons.

Beforehand a very dynamic and energetic female consultant/dr introduced herself as my surgeon and talked enthusiastically about how it would go; I didn't see her again lol.

I presumed she was called elsewhere for something more urgent and since she seemed shit hot, I was glad she was on the emergencies.

Another gynae I recognised from the ward and some juniors did the c section, I could hear her training & teaching the juniors.

I think that having those planned, unpressured, non emergency c sections are absolutely invaluable opportunities for the medical staff to gain experience and practice for the emergency sections.

I'm surprised that c-sections are now being spoken about in the same terms as breastfeeding v bottle feeding.

I think vaginal births are the default, it is never discussed that you would request a c-section. Its normally only elected if you have a risk factor.

I'm currently 31 weeks pregnant and c-sections havent been spoken about. Neither were they in my 3 previous pregnancies.

So I wouldn't say that I 'chose' VB. And if I'm honest I don't want it to be like Brazil, where most people have c-sections. There would be a stigma of having a vagina that has passed through a child.

I'm actually scared of needing a c-section. My last birth was in a birthing centre and I loved it compared to my other births with epidurals.

I don't want to be on the postnatal ward with other people bumping into my cot and playing loud music, snoring and having my curtain closed because of other people's visitors.

The Birthing Centre is like a spa, with my own double bed, bathroom, TV...

I don't think that option would be available to me if I 'chose' or even had an emergency c-section.

I think it helped with my postnatal mental health vs my other two births and I had to go on the postnatal ward.

I’ve had two inductions, second time I had no pain relief as none of it sat well with me. It was fine. I probably could have had a c section if I’d wanted but natural is best for me.

I’m all for Electives, should they be funded by the NHS if no medical need though…?

you can just choose a c section in the UK

Can you?!

1. Your baby will receive beneficial bacteria.
2. You’ll squeeze fluid out of your baby’s lungs.
3. Your hospital stay will be shorter and your recovery time will be faster.
4. You’ll avoid the risks of major surgery.
5. You’ll be more likely to engage in early breastfeeding.
6. You’ll be less likely to have complications in future pregnancies.
7. You’ll decrease your child’s risk of childhood asthma and obesity.
8. You’ll be less likely to suffer from subsequent fertility problems.

ELCS is more expensive than a VB with no complications, yes. However, attempting VB also means there's a possibility of EMCS or instrumental, both of which are more expensive than a straightforward ELCS. Theatre capacity also has to be factored in for those: if you know eg a third of women attempting VB in a particular area each year end up with some surgical intervention, you have to plan for that which of course isn't free. Additionally, the litigation costs are greater with attempted VB, as mentioned in the NICE guidance upthread... so basically, there isn't good evidence that attempted VB is cheaper than ELCS.

However, some of the costs of attempted VB come out of different funding pots. If you're in charge of the budget for an obstetrics ward, things that happen years later aren't your problem.

I had vaginal delivery with both my children. At one point I was threatened (because that’s how it felt to me - a threat) with a c-section (baby was breech) but sought a second opinion from a consultant who turned the baby with ECV and I went on to have a normal delivery at 41 weeks. I was walking the mile each way to and from my elder child’s school when my youngest was two days old - I doubt that would have been doable after a section.

A friend had a planned c-section due to position of placenta for her first but her two subsequent babies were vaginal deliveries. She has always said that the vaginal deliveries were better experiences especially for recovery.

I have always understood that the process of coming down the birth canal is actually good for the baby in terms of its lungs but this MAY just be natural birthing propaganda.