ELCS vs Vaginal *please help*

[chocitychoc19]

Please someone help me with my decision

My first birth was very traumatic.. ending with spinal & forceps. Baby didnt breath for almost 9mins. Lost 1200ltrs of blood. Also prem baby at 36wks

I am 33 weeks with no2.. I was so set on an ELCS.. so many people are putting me off regarding the recovery. I don't have a great pain tolerance for anything. So I obviously know it will be a long road of recovery compared to my vaginal birth.
I am also worrying about the pain of the csection along with the uterus contractions after birth. Mine were like labour all over again the first time. Apparently after number 1 those pains get worse with each baby (so I've been told)

I am terrified of going through the same as the first time. Is a cSection really as bad as they say & can anyone tell me what it was like having the uterus pains with your section Vs having them with a vaginal birth.

I need to make a decision and I don't know what to do for the best 😢

Thanks in advance if you got this far 🙏 xo

That’s uncanny similar to my childbirth experiences except I had a third degree tear instead of a second. Although I escaped having to inject myself as I was just shy of 35.

Yes @chocitychoc19 I had a “gold star” water birth with just gas and air and felt absolutely battered by the whole experience. I truly felt cheated by everyone who said it would be a beautiful and empowering experience, because it wasn’t 😂 Obviously the birth injury massively clouded things, which is why I wasn’t going to risk my already damaged pelvic floor second time around.

Anyway, glad you’ve made a decision you’re happy with, and good luck!

I had similar decision to make 9 months ago. I also had extremely difficult delivery of first child - resulting in sever pelvic issues and trauma.
I remember when I was researching- I found it difficult as there often seemed to be such polar opposite recoveries- with some people doing school runs within a week and others struggling for months. I also was scared of severe pain- as after my last birth I seem to have lower pain threshold and almost panic now.
I choose c-section and even though there were some complications in the theatre- it was just such a different positive experience.
Physically I was on slower end of recovery, struggling greatly to move position in bed, had to walk v slowly initially- really I was not moving hundred percent to 5 weeks. But despite length of recovery I would choose it in a heartbeat- I found the pain manageable - partially as I was controlling my movements/ the pain.

I had been worried about relying on husband to help with baby. First 3 nights I was in hospital- so electric bed helped me immensely, then night 4 &5 at home I did ask Husband to pass baby to me during night/ help me out of bed but after that I was able to care for baby completely independently. Hubby did cook for me first few weeks and took lead role with our 1st child - so this made a big difference. Probably having that practical support makes a big difference to the experience of c- section recovery

Prior to making the decision- I reminded myself it was impossible to know the outcome. I went with my gut. My sister would suggest your body subconsciously knows how it will cope, your gut instinct might be informed by your body’s intuition of how it will cope with surgery or cope with labour.

I don’t mean to encourage you either way but just wanted to share my experience, encourage you to trust yourself and say congratulations