Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

What did you think when you were told you needed an emergency c-section?

43 replies

beansprout · 01/10/2005 20:17

My immediate thought was that I was going to meet ds 10 hours sooner than planned and I was very excited as I had waited so long to see him.

(Every other aspect of it was a bummer though!)

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

WigWamBam · 01/10/2005 20:19

I was terrified and I cried my eyes out ... although I'd been in labour for nearly 24 hours by that point so too tired to know how I felt really, and I wasn't exactly thinking straight!

trefusis · 01/10/2005 20:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

MarsLady · 01/10/2005 20:21

I thought that I would rather have a live baby than fight for a vaginal birth and lose him. Still do. In the end the most important thing for me was DS1, not how he came into the world!

Kaz33 · 01/10/2005 20:21

Get the little blighter out, don't care how. By then i had been in labour in 35 hours with pain relief only in the last hour.

LeahE · 01/10/2005 20:44

Similar to Kaz33 -- get him out by any means possible. Plus excotement that it was going to be over soon and we'd get to see DS.

They were initially going to try a ventiuse and only do a c-sec if that didn't work, but once they got me into theatre with the epidural turned up to 11 and the doctor re-examined me she said it was too risky both for me and for DS to even try a ventouse given his size and position. So I was pretty confident that the c-sec was the only sensible option (DS was a big baby, had never engaged, it had been 40 hours since my waters broke, and with 2 hours of pushing I'd only managed to get him to 0 station).

saadia · 01/10/2005 21:13

I was relieved when they told me as the midwife had said they were going to let the epidural wear off so I would be able to push and I was terrified of the pain.

eidsvold · 01/10/2005 22:15

I did not labour but was having a scan ten days before dd1 was due when they told me she would be born that day.... I thought they would induce me and send me home - had not even thought I would be taken straight upstairs for a c-section.

As they are prepping me the thoughts that ran through my head were:

But I have nothing but a handbag with me.....

I can't have a baby today .... I need to go to the bank and do some shopping, there is no food in the house, I have bills to pay etc... ( sure that was the shock!!)

After the operation - dh and I just looked at each other whilst I was in recovery and said - wow we are parents now.... took a while to really feel like parents as dd1 was in ICU/SCBU.

FOr a big wuss like me( terrified of needles, never been in hospital etc) - suprised how calm I was.. only had a fleeting moment of panic as they wheeled me into theatre when I couldn't find dh - he was right beside me but I did not recognise him in the scrubs.

sansouci · 01/10/2005 22:18

I was thrilled that my unproductive, extremely long & tiring labour was over. I couldn't wait to see my baby. Little did I know what I was in for!

ghosty · 01/10/2005 22:21

Devastated as I felt that all that hard work (55 hours!) had been for nothing. I felt that I had failed as a mother for not being able to give birth naturally. I also felt robbed of my right to give birth.

Got over it eventually though when I realised there was much more to motherhood than pushing a baby out!

Earlybird · 01/10/2005 22:25

I was induced, and had laboured for 12 hours when they told me a c-section was needed. Mostly, I trusted them to make that judgement, and was ready to comply. But, a small part of me thought that maybe it was suggested as it was early Friday evening and my doctor/everyone else just wanted to get home for the weekend!

sansouci · 01/10/2005 22:34

Earlybird! You are too right! My gyn/ob actually planned my second birth (scheduled c-section after near disaster first time) around his golf games!

henshake · 01/10/2005 22:38

Scared as my DH is useless with blood so I knew he wouldn't be coming in with me.

Asked the midwife if she would stay with me in the the theatre.

I'd failed delivery after 40 hours & failed forceps. We knew DD was beginning to get stressed & myconium in her waters.

I didn't know what to expect really, however, I too also felt the feeling of inadequacy at failing to deliver. However, a couple of days later I'd discussed this feeling of failure with a midwife & then felt that one further question needed to be answered. The question was if a section had not been available, could DD have died or could we both have died? Extreme I know, but she answered that that is a possibility. So now no calms about it.

However, DS had to be elective and I don't like the fact that I don't know the day he should have been born.

fishie · 01/10/2005 22:39

i laughed. it was 3 days after induction started and i'd been on a drip waiting for an epidural for 10 hours. was so happy that it would finish.

skinnycow · 01/10/2005 22:41

I said to the doc "does this mean I can sleep now?" having been awake for 74 hours with only an hour's nap on the friday night (dd born 12.30 on the monday). There are parts of the op i dont actually remember so must have nodded off

muppet73 · 01/10/2005 22:43

same as everyone here - at the time was too exhausted after over 24 hours of labour and pushing to no avail. Only now feeling that I have missed out on the first few hours of dds life as it feels like a blur. Actually got upset about this last night and dh went through the whole thing how he remembered it and it triggered my memory and made me feel better.

Said this before - if a trained monkey came in to do the c-section I would have said "ok then go ahead!!"

nooka · 01/10/2005 23:12

Sort of "Oh, well OK then" first time - waters broke 2 weeks early, and planned home birth never happened. We were not expecting ds for two or three weeks (I was sure he'd be late). We arrived at the hospital to be poked and prodded, and talked over (I had meconium stained waters, hence cancellation of home birth). Then the consultant appeared and said "c-section now" and about half an hour later there was ds. We were in shock for days, and completely unprepared! He was transverse oblique and would never have come out, so I guess we could have both died without it. But I did feel that I had missed out, as I had no labour at all.

Second time round, I was the one who said "give me a c-section now!!!" hellish induced labour (after three days with my waters leaking everywhere in the hope that labour would start naturally - again 12 days early).

MeerkatsUnite · 02/10/2005 18:51

After 17 hours of labour and baby now showing fetal distress I remember the cons coming in to the delivery suite and saying, "emergency caesarian now!". She then handed the consent form to me (I'd love to see that signature of mine!). Mine was done under a general anaesthetic.

Did not worry about it too much mainly because I had previously had surgery in that area before and sort of knew what to expect recovery wise.

I was glad that my DH had a camera to take photos of DS's moments in the incubator post delivery and
being weighed. It filled in the gaps.

Witchycat · 02/10/2005 18:58

I was relieved someone was taking control and I'd see my baby soon (the Consultant actually said "I want that baby out in 10 minutes - and he was).

Has been on syntocin drip after 4 failed induction attempts over past 3 days so was emotionally exhausted and glad it would soon be over and I'd have my baby.

Not what I'd have wanted originally though.

My mind was ok about it but my body started shaking all over though - couldn't sign the consent forms in anything like my own handwriting.

happymerryberries · 02/10/2005 18:59

I though....thank god, I've been having contractions for over two days, I'm only 5 cm dilated after 12 hours of contractions every three minutes, and if I don't have a section this will end up as a forceps delivery.

kid · 02/10/2005 19:00

I was just relieved that it would all soon be over, I'd been in labour for 22 hours.
I also felt quite relieved that I didn't have to push the baby out after all!

CarolinaMoon · 02/10/2005 19:05

same as ghosty and others - I'd been having contractions for 52hrs so it should have been a relief that it was going to be over, but I felt absolutely gutted that I hadn't managed to give birth "properly". It tooks months to get over that.

OTOH, if a c-section hadn't been available, we'd probably both have died, because ds certainly wasn't coming out any other way.

merrygoround · 02/10/2005 19:35

Terrified, thought dd was going to die. Was crying and couldn't stop shaking. Got to the operating theatre (on bed which was wheeled at running pace) and heard the doc saying "where is everyone?" - just what I needed to reassure me. The disgusting sock things seem to stick in my mind too.

nzshar · 02/10/2005 20:25

when they finally told me the theatre was ready just though about time!!

Was 4 weeks early with ds....the day after waters broke was due to have a major conference meeting about elective c section....ds was breech also had platelet condition so haematology lot were invovled.

Anyway waters broke so that all went out the door....lots of more needed emergency c sections happening so was left to it for a while. Wasnt till 7 hours later that someone finally asked how long my first labour took(only 8 hors from waters breaking till birth...my boys like to come in a hurry ) Anyhow i was already 8cm so they finally decided to take me into theatre....they all seemed in a bit of a hurry after that LOL

pjsmum · 02/10/2005 21:14

I initially thought get it out, i've had enough (34 hours)Did also feel like id failed at giving birth, still gets to me now that we didn't get immediate photos etc on occasions

CarolinaMoon · 03/10/2005 13:34

we don't have immediate photos cos the camera wasn't working . I was lying there on the operating table trying to get it to work while DP was cooing over ds on the resuscitaire.

Flip

1 2

Swipe left for the next trending thread