To think good on her ?

[bluelollipop99]

I have a lovely friend who is 36 weeks pregnant, ( her first baby ) , and she mentioned she was having an ELCS.

I asked if the baby was breech, and she said "no medical reason, but I didn't want hours of absolute agony, being told too short staffed for an epidural, tearing , never being the same down there again , feeling tearing with a 25% risk of an EMCS anyway. The NHS will never tell you this , but the NICE guidelines say if you request an ELCS they have to give you one, even if the midwives fuss about it."

I had a great fear of giving birth, but went ahead with vaginal birth as there was the clear pressure at the hospital that having an ELCS for non medical reasons made you "less of a women."

But thinking about it , my cousin had an ELCS at the same time and her recovery was not significantly longer than mine; to make up for the agony I went through.

I also think it's a bit bad that you only get this of you are literate enough to check the NICE guidelines.

AIBU unreasonable to think ELCS is often the best option for some people, and good on her for not being shamed / guilted out of this ?

Then why do more obgyns choose c section?

because they see more of the bad birth scenarios?

why do midwives prefer VBs?

My SIL (surgeon) is pretty militant about heart health due to her specialism. She had VBs

I don't believe for a second that a c section is riskier for baby then the majority vbacs on wards in current NHS conditions. Women left alone to labour, inadequately supervised, nurses too busy to engage properly. They take c sections much more seriously.

A leading obgyn said recently that the risks of c section are so negligible that maternal choice must be allowed to decide as medically there wasn't a clear case against c section.

what obsgyns choose csection?

@Meandfour I felt fine around day 6 of mine & after 2 weeks back to normal. I didn't start exercising until later though but then I've only had one.

I don't believe for a second that a c section is riskier for baby then the majority vbacs on wards in current NHS conditions. Women left alone to labour, inadequately supervised, nurses too busy to engage properly. They take c sections much more seriously.

I do agree with this.

Yes the exercising is definitely waiting. I’m soaking up my last newborn cuddles ❤️

I'd want whatever the obgyns are having. The worst outcome scenario needs to be kept at the forefront when making a decision about risk.

Personally I don’t think ELCS should be available on the NHS unless it’s medically indicated. If women want the choice then that’s what private healthcare is for. People with genuine medical need and illness don’t get given choices of more expensive treatments or procedures as standard on the NHS so it makes no sense that perfectly healthy people are given that, especially at a time when maternity resources are stretched to the bone.

I had vaginal births, 1st one 4 hours, 2nd 2 hours. I would have loved a caesarean both times, but am really glad I didn't now.
I really believe you should be allowed to decide what is best for you.
But, remember, it isn't your legal right to decide.

The majority of them. There was a thread about it not long ago, too.

I had one emergency CS and one elective.

the emergency one was after about two days of labour and a blessed relief. The elective was just a lovely experience from start to finish.

i didn’t find the recovery too bad to be honest. Was back on my feet in a couple of days and once the big long stitch came out it was no bother at all. I didn’t breastfeed (never wanted to) so I can’t comment on that.

five years on and my stomach is a mess though. Very misshapen. Endometriosis. The scar isn’t too bad though I can barely see it.

Parenting is not like being awake for major surgery. How unpleasant of you.

I found this article which looked at data from 15 studies from around the world covering more than 1.2 million births supervised by female and male doctors which concluded that "Female physicians are less likely to perform cesarean delivery and less likely to prefer it. This was observed across different health systems and populations."

https://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Citation/2020/12000/CesareanDeliveryyandGenderrof_Delivering.16.aspx

I think the tummy bum thing is more if you have a few extra pounds. My scar had overhang when I was overweight but not now I've lost weight it isn't an issue

I’m soaking up my last newborn cuddles

they are the best!

Having done both, recovery from c section took weeks and left my body in a worse state than a vaginal birth. The vaginal birth was very painful and I ended up with a ventouse but I was in a lot of pain after the c section and have a horrible scar now to boot.

As a general observation however, I feel like almost every single birth story I hear these days is an utter fiasco from start to finish. Almost all of my friends laboured for ages then ended up with either a section or a brutal forceps birth.

i wonder if it’s about age. My friends wee sister was 24 and popped her baby out no problem. This is all anecdotal however so who knows.

@ShimmeringShirts mmm... not sure about that.

So after my second vaginal birth I had;

Bleeding - standard when you give birth not due to my VB

Afterpains - standard with any birth. Worse than after pains from DC1 but that's also standard and not due to the type of birth.

That was it. No stitches, no soreness, no heaviness nothing. I was feeling very physically well almost immediately.

I have to say my scar annoys me a bit, no overhang but obviously scarred skin is not the same as non scarred skin. For vanity reasons I prefer no CS but it was definitely the best option for my child

I had an ELCS after an extremely traumatic birth. The vaginal delivery involved induction, episiotomy and loss of a lot of blood. I felt like I was sitting on shards of glass for days. It was a punishment for being a woman. ELCS was a breeze. I recommend every woman request one if that is her choice.

anyway i hope she wont regret her choice.

Wow, what a nasty, ill-informed and spiteful post. Breathtaking that people describe a woman opting for the best choice for her delivery as “scared”.

No wonder people feel anxious about these decisions with people like you around.

I'd want whatever the obgyns are having.

I can't find anything that says the majority of doctors have CS. Anecdotally I know but of the medical people I know (1 consultant, 2 surgeons, 3 doctors) only 1 had a CS due to twins.

I'd want whatever the obgyns are having.

I can't find anything that says the majority of doctors have CS. Anecdotally I know but of the medical people I know (1 consultant, 2 surgeons, 3 doctors) only 1 had a CS due to twins.

Yep sounds a sketchy 'fact' to me.

All these poor bewildered women not able to understand why other women choose the method of delivery they do. Must be so confusing for them.

I am all for women choosing the delivery they want, if professionals feel it is safe. It is a huge deal and whatever gives women a sense of control is what should happen.

I had two vaginal deliveries. No regrets but staff shortages made things stressful at times. It must be even worse now.