If you had a c section

[GarnetsandRubies]

Do you suffer with incontinence / weak pelvic floor? Could you jump on a trampoline without leaking?

YABU = I have incontinence after a c section

YANBU = I don't have any continence issues

@JanetPondersley

Calm down! You really would have rather dealt with ANYTHING than stress incontinence??

What about spinal damage and paralysis from a c-section / epidural? death from general anaesthetic? infections in wound? sepsis?

A woman I know has been left fecally incontinent after spinal damage from the epidural for her csection.

You are being over dramatic. And I am saying that as someone who feels their life has been pretty much ruined by the incontinence left from a traumatic birth, and is 6 surgeries down. But this wasn't caused by anyone not telling me the risks of csection vs vaginal delivery. As an adult, I was able to do all my own research while pregnant. What actually needs to happen is for medical professionals to stress incontinence a lot more seriously, and provide ALL women with post natal pelvic floor physio in the first 3 months post birth.

You can do all the research you like, but there are still so many challenges in the way of electing for a csection.

Read the barriers I faced and that was with the experiences I had.

And some women aren't able/strong enough to advocate for themselves when faced with such strong opposition. And/or they believe in the superior knowledge and advice given to them by medical professionals who are the 'experts'.

I have a weak pelvic floor after 2 sections so I will leak after a coughing fit. I might not have delivered vaginally but I did carry big babies and that has had an impact. You are less likely I have been told to have this kind of issue after a section but it still does happen for some of us and yes I did my exercises. I could go on a trampoline but will sometimes feel a tugging type of pain at mu incision site when I have overdone it and my mum has mentioned similar and her one and only section was 25 years ago.

Whilst there is no doubt that a traumatic vaginal delivery can cause complications so can a traumatic csection and I would not wish my experiences on anyone. An uncomplicated vaginal birth is easier to recover from than an uncomplicated section as a section is major abdominal surgery. The wonder of birth though is that we don't know how it is going to go for us, how many, if any interventions we will need. It really is luck of the draw.

I can't find rigorous research but the last mortality figures I saw had a mortality rate from CS of three times vaginal birth mortality though as many decisions about CS relate to risk factors, I think the comparison is generally contested. The mothers who died don't suffer from incontinence.

Two c-sections. I tried a trampoline exercise class. Wore a pad and changed it half way through. Didn't drink much before and made sure I was empty at the start of the class. Still soaked through both pads and had soggy trousers. Not trying that again!

@Zilla1

I can't find rigorous research but the last mortality figures I saw had a mortality rate from CS of three times vaginal birth mortality though as many decisions about CS relate to risk factors, I think the comparison is generally contested. The mothers who died don't suffer from incontinence.

That’s quite an odd post. The reason the mortality rates differ is because women being rushed for an emergency c section are often in a life or death situation and the emergency section th last chance to attempt to save them, so of course th mortality rate is higher.

And making flippant comments about women who died in child birth isn’t funny,

Op I think you asked the wrong question. You should have asked has anyone got continence issues as a direct result of their section (and not from other issues like weight, pregnancy etc).

@Zilla1

I can't find rigorous research but the last mortality figures I saw had a mortality rate from CS of three times vaginal birth mortality though as many decisions about CS relate to risk factors, I think the comparison is generally contested. The mothers who died don't suffer from incontinence.

FFS - how many women would die during a vagina birth if c sections weren't available?!

I have slight issues if I sneeze, cough or laugh a lot, but not from jumping (not that I jump very often).
But also, I'm 46, so that's probably a factor.

well, @Bluntness100 FFS - how many women would die during a vagina birth if c sections weren't available?! - what do you think I meant when I said
'many decisions about CS relate to risk factors, I think the comparison is generally contested'? That would be the comparison between CS and vaginal birth.

And the point about mothers dying from CS wasn't intended to be flippant which you might realise if you'd treated any patients who had. It was to try and highlight that it is easier to focus on the negatives of one treatment and to ignore the negatives of the alternatives.

I have had a c section with no problems what so ever.

@Zilla1

well, *@Bluntness100* FFS - how many women would die during a vagina birth if c sections weren't available?! - what do you think I meant when I said 'many decisions about CS relate to risk factors, I think the comparison is generally contested'? That would be the comparison between CS and vaginal birth.

And the point about mothers dying from CS wasn't intended to be flippant which you might realise if you'd treated any patients who had. It was to try and highlight that it is easier to focus on the negatives of one treatment and to ignore the negatives of the alternatives.

Well if you’d treated women who had died following sections I’d have expected you to quantify your statement. Because it was ludicrous to post as stand alone with a one liner of “I think it might be contested”. You’d not have to think. You’d know.

@Bluntness100, Your expectations of what I should have posted and what you find ludicrous don't dictate reality.

Based on what you've posted, I think I'd be more worried if you agreed with me so I'll not reply further.

@Popcornriver

Silversun I was also heavily encouraged to try a VBAC. One midwife even asked me why on earth I'd choose another CS. Read my notes and see what happened the first time perhaps

And I also had the warnings that I wouldn't be able to carry out normal daily activities for some time. Which I was well aware of since I'd already been through CS recovery. I worried the whole way through my second pregnancy a second CS would be denied after hearing of the complications at every appointment and nobody could understand why I didn't want to try for a vaginal birth. Luckily I was adamant it wasn't worth the risk and had an elective CS with a good recovery.

Yes, it's fair enough being given the risks/complications, but they should be presented as what they are, rather than as a way to persuade you to go for a VBAC!

And once would definitely been sufficient, I'm sure they could have asked if you'd understood and signed it off.

Also, I understand the need for being presented with the medical risks for a csection and being asked to sign a consent form.

Is this done with other forms of medical intervention (ventouse, episiotomy, forceps)?

It’s more the pregnancy itself than c-section in all likelihood. Some women opt to have c-sections for this reason but actually fail to realise pregnancy weakens your pelvic floor. The weight of the foetus puts an awful lot of strain on your bladder.

I don’t have any incontinence, I have 5 DC and two of them were c-sections. All of them were big babies too.

No, mine has had no impact at all on my pelvic floor.

I had a c section and thought I'd be fine....until I went to a trampoline park with DD 😩

OP I had a 3rd degree tear on my first and no continence issues at first, but in the physio check I had to follow up on the tear (which I wouldn't have had) they basically said my pelvic floor was shot to hell and if I didn't start work on it now I would end up with serious continence issues.

After a long time with that team, I have come to the conclusion that most of the issues were pregnancy-related and probably wouldn't have been picked up till I was menopausal. Apparently its v common for continence issues caused by pregnancy not to turn up till the menopause, esp in women who haven't breastfed, to do with oestrogen levels. So... its possible lots of women who had section will have subsequent issues, with a delay.

I have a total choice of a section, obviously didn't have an ideal first birth, but don't recognise what your'e describing. I know lots of women who tore, and some who had surgery, and all are now pretty much fully recovered. I also know women with nerve damage and patches of numbness from sections that will never go, who had repeat infections, and personally what is putting me off the most is the recovery time.

So... really I think most of the issue are down to inadequate postnatal support. I had the textbook nightmare birth: induction, intervention, episiotomy, tore through episiotomy. (Thankfully also an epidural thrown in late in the day) I still found it ok, and would have chosen it over a 'standard' c-section because I was so quickly back to normal.

@ShowOfHands this is a fairly old article now but it makes it clear in 2016, the advice being given was not balanced. My children are nearly 9 and 7 so I have no idea how things have changed since the article was published:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.newscientist.com/article/mg23130813-000-uk-doctors-may-starting-warning-women-of-childbirth-risks/amp/

It even says: 'This ruling is seen as applying to all births. Although advice is available for those who seek it out, women are not officially warned about common risks such as tearing and incontinence, because vaginal birth is seen as the default outcome of pregnancy.'

You say women have the choice- yes the NICE guidelines were originally changed in 2011 to advise that maternal request c-section be allowed but women have vastly differing experiences as to whether this is actually happening in practice. The John Radcliffe in Oxford for example- up until very recently they were outright refusing to do maternal request ELCS.

Of course women can do their own research, many do. However the average reading age in the UK is 9. A large number of women will struggle with being able to do the required research, to read medical literature. Does that mean they should be denied the opportunity to have the full facts given to them?

I personally think a leaflet should be given with the maternity notes at the booking in appointment, that gives balanced, accurate information about the risks of different kinds of birth. In plain English as much as possible. With a recommendation to speak to the midwife if more information or help is required.

2 sections 1 emergency and 1 planned.
Yes I have been left with incontinence, though I have also had long term spinal issues from the spinal.block and I had a horrific wound infection.
Both types.of delivery come with risks I think these need discussed with women early in pregnancy rather than later. Interestingly my issue arose with the planned section rather than the emergency.

My section is classed as EMCS, but I requested it after x2 days of Labour because I knew I’d be too tired to push and did not want any intervention (forceps etc) at all because I know too many people with lasting damage.

Ive not had any issues at all post EMCS, I’m fully aware it comes with risks but the thought of VB damage terrified me more.

Many countries class forceps as being barbaric.

How many of those deaths were caused by attempted vaginal births that turned into emergency sections? Those statistics are misleading, because they also count complicated emergency c-sections which would have ended in death regardless.

I had an ELCS, and I still have mild continence issues. DD was delivered at 39 weeks and was a healthy size (but not large). I haven't done pelvic floor exercises regularly; they'd probably help. I suspect I'm not unusual, so a c-section wouldn't have guaranteed that you'd have had no continence issues.

I have problems, but I think they’re more related to the fact that my baby got stuck, rather than from the C-section itself. If it’s an elective section, I should imagine it might create fewer problems than a vaginal birth.

I've had 2 c-sections. I don't have too much problem jumping on bouncy castles etc but I do have urgency issues that I never had before having the children.

I haven't done pelvic floor exercises regularly; they'd probably help

There’s no ‘probably’ about it! I’m shocked by how few people actually do their kegels. It will absolutely help prevent us pissing ourselves!