To ask those of you who have had an elective c section...

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Everything about your experience?

I'm 30+4w with my 2nd and during this pregnancy I developed an autoimmune disease that, without going into unpleasant details, has made me be opting towards an elective c section.

I don't want to Google research my choice as I'm sure there'll be a lot online to put me off, as with most things.

WIBU to ask the lovely people of mumsnet your experiences with having an elective c section?

I'm interested in everything. How far along you were when it occurred, how the plan was put into action, what it was like before, during and after, recovery time. I'll have a 15mo when this baby is due - is it feasible to look after 2 babies while recovering or will I be likely to not be able to move about much? We're you awake through the procedure? And literally any other info you think might be helpful.

Thanks so much! I know it's cheeky to not put this in Parenting but I'd like to get as many responses as possible

I was awake,
she was breech.
um, another mum who was due her 3rd or 4th C section told me to walk tall after the section, which i did.
pillow for breastfeeding.
large knickers after section
no heavy lifting
no driving.

Thanks Erica. Did she say why to walk tall? How long couldn't you drive for?

39 weeks due to baby being breech, it was absolutely fine. Awake during the procedure, The theatre staff were very Chatty and friendly. It’s worth familiarising yourself with how many medical staff will be in the room, mentally preparing for the set up. I would really recommend having someone around for any lifting for the first 6 weeks, can your partner take extended leave? In that respect looking after a 15 month old would be difficult as you want to avoid any over exertion for those 6 weeks.

Good experience for me. I was awake and it was quick. Expect to feel some movement and pressure but no pain. Stayed one night and partner was able to stay with me which saved having to ring the bell every time I needed to lift baby. Keep on top of pain medication for first few weeks even if you feel ok. I’m 9 weeks post op now and recovering well. I also have a 2 year old and I would recommend having some help available for first 4-6 weeks. I assume your toddler is still using cot/high chair/buggy etc and you won’t be able to lift them in and out without risking the wound. Good luck!

I have had 2 elective C-sections and one emergency. With third, I left hospital within 24 hours and had a 19 month old and 3 year old to look after and it was fine.

I recovered very quickly and drove within 3 weeks. You do have to be careful with lifting but realistically I still had to do some due to having a toddler and a DH who worked a lot of hours.

Good luck!

I had an elective section with my daughter as when I had my son I had a 3rd degree tear.
I was awake through the procedure with OH sat near my head, all I felt was a bit of tugging when they took baby out.
I was booked in for 39 weeks. It was the first one in on that day so had her about 10.30am. Was home the next day. They gave me pain killers etc so no pain. OH could only take a week off paternity leave so I had to look after newborn and 2 year old. Didn’t lift my 2 year old for a couple of weeks or do the vacuuming for a while, after 3 weeks I was driving but had to double check with Doctor first that it was ok, he said fine as long as I informed my insurer.
I took it easy for a couple of weeks but didn’t just sit on the sofa, I listened to my body.
All in all it was a great experience for me and I can’t see the scar at all.

I have had one emergency and one elective.

The elective was bliss. Sheer bliss.

I was 39 weeks. I went in the day before for a class with several others on what to expect and I was given a tablet - I can’t remember what it was called. I want to say Ranitidine? Something to do with stomach acid? They told me I was up first the next day and to come back at 7am. Did do and DD2 was born at the back of 10 (section took longer than anticipated due to scar tissue etc inside me from the emergency the first time round).

Hardest part of the process for me was before it, when the doctor put the cannula thing in the back of my hand while I was on the ward. I am not good with needles and it made me feel very faint. They pump stuff into it - antibiotics to prevent infection maybe? - during the process and I found that sore.

The anaesthetist stood at my head the whole time and chatted to me and watched my monitors. He was one of the most attractive men I have ever met. So that was fun.

When they lifted DD out the midwife took DH round the screen so he could see her. They let him cut the cord. Then the midwife brought her to me. She offered to put her on my chest but I said no because my arms were so heavy and I was scared she would fall. She was also absolutely starving when she came out so DH (with my permission) was able to give her a bottle while they stitched me back up.

Then they took me into a small room off the OT and monitored me for half an hour. I just sat up and held DD. I was desperate to get back to the ward so we could phone my mum etc.

Later that afternoon they came to get me up and walked me around. I remember feeling very very sick at that point but it did pass. I was in hospital for one night. Got home the following evening. They took out my catheter and I had to prove I could wee by doing so three times into a cup. Then they let me go.

The recovery is quite tough. I found the painkillers very good at first but I had a terrible pain on around day 3 in my scar. Really blindingly sore. It was like it was too tight. When the midwife came to take out the stitches (can’t remember what day that was) the relief was immense. It stopped hurting almost immediately. I did have to phone my GP for a top up of one of the painkillers. Got a prescription over the phone with no difficulties.

I had a two and a half year old and it was difficult to be honest but DH (and my mum) did most of the running after her and I just stayed on the couch really. I think I was really properly up and around and functioning by two weeks.

We are so lucky to have the NHS.

My first was emergency and my second elective.

The elective was a breeze! I walked into theatre at 9.30, they did all the anaesthetic magic, he was born at 10 and I had my tea and toast an hour later!
Home next morning.
The three days after were the most painful but paracetamol was adequate pain relief.
Drove after two weeks and no probs looking after two year old.
Get big knickers that will go past the wound.

I was over five months can pregnant when I found out I was having twins (yes, really!). I decided immediately I was having a c-section, even though I was told I should have no trouble having a vaginal birth. I was told I would be having an epidural, but on the day the anaesthetist came to speak with me and check my spine and I started to panic, so he offered me to have a delivery under general anaesthetic. This was the right choice for me, they knocked me out, my babies were born, checked over and then passed to my husband who had to wait outside of the theatre, because it was a general anaesthetic. My babies were born in the afternoon and the next morning the nurse made me get out bed and have a shower and it was the best thing she did. I was in hospital 8 days (private) and after four days I was skipping some pain relief as I was managing fine and only took maybe one or two doses of paracetamol once I was home.

A c-section under general anaesthetic isn’t common but was the best option for me, as I don’t think I would have coped feeling the tugging as they remove your baby and then spend 50 minutes sewing you up. I used to get asked why I had a c-section - was it because it was twins - and I always reply “I’m too posh to push” 😁
I also made it to 38 + 5 that everyone said would never happen.

Elective at 37 weeks due to a previous traumatic birth. Very straightforward and stress free. Best birth I had out all of them. No pain relief needed apart from paracetamol for a few days. No infection. Had a very skilled female consultant perform the section. My advice would be if you’re going elective then choose. Ask who is the best with a knife and ask to please be put in for their day. I was up and standing within a day. Try and get up on your feet as soon as you can. You will feel heavy. Stand tall. Took it really easy, no heavy lifting or driving for 6 weeks. A friend of mine decided she’d be back to cooking, hoovering and she even hoovered the stairs! She ended up back in hospital with a rupture and infection so respect the surgery you’ve just had and take it easy!

Elective at 38 weeks with 2nd child
Baby upside down, back to front every which way wrong
I was 38, 1st birth was labour followed by emergency section.
Elective was a day out in the sunshine in comparison
Quick recovery, tiny scar, breastfeeding went MUCH better. I wish my first had been like that.
Good luck OP

OP I've had 3 DC's all by c section.
1st emergency - recovery was difficult having had a long labour and it was the only way to go recovery was tricky
2nd - elective and stayed awake wonderful great recovery
3rd - elective but I had sedation as my marriage was breaking down nerves weren't good not such a great recovery

This is amazing thank you all for your replies! So helpful!!

I had an emergency section after a long labour. Even though the section was difficult (she was partially in the birth canal), it was the best bit of the whole thing. First few days were tough, but after 3 weeks I’d say I felt pretty much normal. No lasting issues.

Having an elective section for DD2 at the end of August and looking forward to it!

I had one 6 months ago - it was great! Elective so very calm, no complications. Baby is out really quickly and he didn't leave my side once he'd been born. Established breastfeeding easily. Home the next day. No painkillers at all needed by day 10. Husband back to work after 3 weeks and I was absolutely fine looking after newborn and toddler. Good luck!

Two elective c sections for me due to arthritic hips.

Both absolutely fine though initially painful to try to twist round to pick up the baby, so help would be good here. My husband was present and, despite the number of people in the operating theatre, it was a relaxing experience. I'd heard various stories of huge epidural needles but it wasn't and felt like a normal injection. A bit of tugging to remove the baby but not painful. Probably the only surprise was how quickly the baby comes out (maybe 5-10 minutes) and most of the time is spent closing the incision.

Second time around I went home the next day. Pretty sore for maybe a week or two then fine and able to drive fairly shortly thereafter. They cut out the first scar during the second one if that makes sense.

So I'd say not something to dread, I'm sure it will all go smoothly.

I’ve had two - one emergency, one elective and they were brilliant. I went in with the positive mindset that the goal was to have a healthy baby and mum and everything else was just details. I recovered quickly - my DH at the time had 2 weeks paternity leave and everything went very smoothly. One of my nursing team described a c-section as feeling that someone was doing the washing up in your tummy, and that was pretty accurate!

I've had one emergency c-section and two elective c sections all within just over two and half a years.

I was awake for all three, recovery from the emergency was by far the worst out of the three.

I was up and out of the hospital within 36 hours after both electives. Managed to deal with the other DC's just fine!

Dc 1 (my emergency section) had just turned one (literally weeks) after my first elective section baby and it was a struggle at time's, but I was ok!

DC1 & 2 were 2 and a half and 18 months old when I had my second elective section, and again, I was ok! By one week post partum I was basically back to normal!

I’ve had two elective caesareans. First was such a positive experience. I’m going to give you all the detail because I remember trying to find this kind of stuff out before as well!

First was at 41 weeks. I put on a hospital gown and was led into theatre, then sat up on the table. Was told to lean over a cushion while anaesthetist did the spinal block. I felt a cold spray then a prick and then they helped me to lay down while the spinal started to work. They test this by asking you to move your legs and using a cold spray on your upper body. My husband was with me the whole time and I listened to relaxing music on my phone. The anaesthetist kept me calm by talking to me throughout. There was a point where I started to panic and feel sick so they administered some anti sickness through the cannula and I did deep breathing till it passed. I didn’t feel a thing throughout, except a lifting of pressure when he was born. They lifted him over the screen so I could see, weighed him, wrapped him up, then placed him on my chest. After I’d been stitched up, I was wheeled into recovery and was lucky enough to get my own room. In recovery they’ll check your bleeding and I did skin to skin. Few hours later was moved onto the ward. The spinal wears off after a few hours which gave me really itchy skin but this was probably worse because we were in a heatwave and the ward was like a furnace. I was dying to get up and have a shower but couldn’t get out of bed till they removed my catheter first thing the next morning. I was able to walk and move about slowly without too much discomfort. That said it was painful getting in and out of car, and I had to sleep sitting up in bed surrounded by pillows for 2 weeks. Recovery was straightforward though. Just try to keep your wound clean and dry.

Second elective caesearean two years later wasn’t as positive. It was at 40 weeks. The anaesthetist took ages to get the spinal in and it was painful. The spinal block went up too high so my arms and upper chest felt a bit numb so when baby was born it was difficult to hold her so I struggled to breastfeed. The actual surgery was also really uncomfortable. While it wasn’t painful, I felt like I was being rocked all over the place. It was rough. I also didn’t like my recovery midwife, who was abrupt and made me feel embarrassed when I bled all over the sheets because they hadn’t put the pad down properly. Recovery was also much harder. It was extremely painful standing up for the first time and walking about. But once I was home I coped ok (bear in mind I also had 2.5 year old then!)

Feel free to ask any questions. Hope this was helpful.

First one - emergency C, nearly died, horrendous.
2nd - planned, calm, amazing. In a lot of pain for the first few days at home and yes, carefully on lifting anything heavier than baby and moving around too much. No driving for 6 weeks.

I also have an autoimmune condition (MS) which took 2 years after diagnosis to get under control. When I fell pregnant I knew from the start I wanted a section, I didn't want to go through traumatic labour where I'd possibly be hindered by fatigue due to my condition, so asked for one and consultant agreed.

I'm now pregnant with my second and will be having another planned section- and I am not concerned one bit about it. It was a truly lovely experience first time around, calm and was awake for the whole thing.

The spinal was fine, a little sting. It's a weird experience for sure, but I felt absolutely nothing- no tugging etc it was like someone had just cut off the bottom half of my body.

I went home the next day, one night in hospital. No issues with breastfeeding etc. I was advised to keep moving as much as possible (don't go mad obviously, but if you can avoid laying in bed for days then you will likely recover much quicker) and drove again, with Drs blessing after 2 weeks.

Full recovery does take a few weeks, I was tender for a good 2 months but not in pain. I've got a 2 year old to contend with this time around so envisage a trickier recovery, I plan on enlisting plenty of help with my first child for the first 2-3 weeks, assuming COVID doesn't scupper that! Otherwise, will muddle through

My sis in law had 2 electives, and also absolutely loved the experience both times

Out through the sunroof is fantastic in my experience!

My DC1 was born through emergency CS and DC2 was a planned CS. Awake through out, very quick and painless. Very positive experience. Had my music playing in operating theatre and everyone was chatting away!

Afterwards took a day or two to recover but was up and about pretty quick. Didn't pick up DC1 for a while but at that point he was nearly 3 so happy to snuggle up on the sofa for cuddles.

The only bit I didnt like was giving myself the injections afterwards.

If I had another child, would definitely choose CS.

39 weeks for multiple reasons (baby was big, they had concerns for shoulder dystocia, I have keloid scarring and they needed to reduce the risk of tears leading to severe scars)

The section itself was a lot easier than I thought it would be!! Only thing I struggled with was being hungry all day as I was the last elective section of the day.

The spinal was fine, they sprays a freezing numbing agent on my back beforehand - honestly it was fine I didn't feel a thing. Strange sensation when you're legs go numb, you feel like they have pains and needles and then they just feel heavy. Not painful, just an odd feeling.

So many people told me to have peppermint capsules and peppermint tea to help with trapped wind as it's supposed to be really difficult to deal with after a csection but I was fine and didn't need it! But handy to have just incase

I showered the following morning and was sent home that afternoon.

As pp have said, walk tall! I didn't for a few days but once you do it really helps the recovery. Hunching yourself over like I did makes it SO much worse to stand from sitting etc

Big, huge knickers!! I was a 12 but asked DH to buy me size 16 so they'd go right over my belly.

I bled for 10 weeks and for the first 4 it was SO heavy, so the big knickers and maternity pads are a life saver. I stupidly bought two packs beforehand and thought that would be enough like a normal period. Stock up!!

Batch cook, if you can? And try keep your appetite up. I barely ate for a week I had no appetite but once I ate more and more it helps recovery. Even soups, anything you can just to keep appetite up.

Keep taking the painkillers even if you have a burst of feeling okay.

I used a body pillow to help with breastfeeding as my DS was really heavy and leaning on my scar was so unbearable.

I was up and went the shops 6 days after, though walking very slowly. Trying to stay normal was the best for me. Go at your own pace but please try to keep moving, it really does speed up recovery.

I didn't exercise for about 6 weeks.

My insurance said I couldn't drive for 12 weeks? Not sure why, but I haven't actually drove at all since and DS is 7mo so I'm not sure how it would of felt to get back driving.

My scar was fine, no infection following section it healed really nicely.

I had an ELCS at 39+1. My reasons were primarily mental health related and I was incredibly well supported both in the lead up and during the section. I was first on the list so we got to the hospital at about 7.30am and DS was born just before 10am. I was awake the whole time and chatting with DH and the doctors. He was a little unresponsive when he was first born which is not unusual but soon worked up (and wee'd over multiple doctors to prove it). I was reassured that there was nothing serious to worry about on the basis that the consultant and junior doctor were discussing house prices in south London throughout.

We were in recovery feeding him by about 10.30 and up to post natal just after lunch (the only reason it took so long was because my consultant wanted me to have a private room and I had to wait for that). I would have been happy to walk there but they insisted I went in a wheel chair; I was walking around that afternoon though albeit attached to a catheter. We were both checked every couple of hours throughout the night and my catheter came out early the next morning. I went and had a shower (bliss!) and we went home just after lunch. I was given strong painkillers the day of the section but just discharged with paracetamol and ibuprofen which was all I needed. Went out for a walk two days after DS was born and started running 8 weeks pp. I had a very easy recovery - it never really felt any worse than when you've done a lot of sit ups and your stomach muscles are a bit sore.

Some great advice here, but I wanted to say something that I wish somebody had told me. Make sure you wax around the area they will be cutting. I didn't, so they shaved pre-op. Then, the hairs started growing back pretty quickly- through my scar! I ended up with an infection in the hair follicles which was blindingly painful!! It prolonged the road to recovery and caused SO much pain, I can't even begin to describe it. The nurse who checked my wound was horrified to see it in one of my check ups.
Apart from that, all was well and a positive experience. Good luck!