Elective after EMCS - scared of what to expect.

[Inneedofsanity]

I would really like to hear some positive experiences,
DS birth was a total nightmare, we nearly lost him and spent a month in NICU before coming home. (meconium aspiration, cord around neck, Hypoxic Brain Injury (HIE), near kidney failure, pulmonary hypertension, fitting, ventilated etc.)
I am due at the end of June and am feeling more anxious daily of going back to hospital,the op, and staying there.
VBAC is not an option as trialling labour is what added to the problems last time.
I am really happy about having the elective, just want to hear more about how the ELCS 'journey' works, and that it can be the calm healing experience I need.
DS is doing great now by the way, he is an almost 2 year old bundle of loving energy! A true miracle according to his paediatrician.
Sorry for the incoherent rambling, its hard to write it all down, and Im still a bit of a mess.

I had an ELCS a couple of weeks ago. I was already in hospital, the anaesthetist came and spoke to me the day before and I was given gowns to wear that morning and a pill to take the night before and the morning of the op. We were taken down to the gyny ward, shown into a room with a couple of midwives who took my bp, baby's heart rate etc, and filled in all the paperwork - it was much more relaxed and chatty than that sounds! The consultant came in and said hi, DH was taken out to change into scrubs, then we were both taken to a waiting room. After a few minutes (while we took 'before' photos!) we were taken into the operating room. DH sat out of the way while I was prepped - canulars, monitors stuck to chest, spinal block put in (was expecting this to be awful, but everyone was so relaxed and confident that it was really straightforward). They laid me down, put up the screen, sorted a few things out. I chatted to the anaesthetist while he tortured me with a cold spray to find out where I was numb. The op started, the anaesthetist kept talking to me to make sure I was okay, then warn me that the baby was about to come out and I would feel pressure just below my rib cage (it was like they were pushing it out), then baby was out, a midwife brought her round to show us and DH and I burst into tears.

It was another half an hourish before I was taken though to recovery, had skin to skin and breastfed. All in all, it was very relaxed and a happy environment.

Hope that helps.

I also had an EMCS (under general) for DS1 and was traumatised afterwards.

For DS2 I was devastated that I wouldn't have the excitement of a VBAC, but having an ELCS was actually the very best thing. So very calm and NO EMERGENCIES! NO-ONE NEARLY DIED!

as babybouncer said, all the staff were so calm and reassuring, such confident professionals and they completely put me at ease. I also chatted to the anaesthetist and he gave me something extra at one point when I felt a bit odd - that was lovely!

It really was a great experience, particularly when compared with the trauma of nearly losing DS1.

Honestly, it will be straightforward and you won't be exhausted from labouring afterwards.

Good luck OP!

I had two planned caesareans and from what friends have told me about their emergency CS experiences there is a world of difference in terms of experience.

My planned caesareans were very positive, I held my babies in theatre and I breast fed them in the recovery room. While I was sore for about a week I have had no long term problems with recovery and both my children are absolutely fine.

There is a good book which decribes the differences between the two on a practical, emotional, risk and recovery point of view. It also talks a lot about how to preprare effectively for a planned caesarean.

Check out 'Caesarean Birth: A positive approach to preparation and recovery' by Leigh East www.csections.org

Best of luck

Thanks, have ordered the book so will look forward to reading it.
Just want to know it will be calmer all round this time.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Hypothetical question (as my DD is only 11 weeks old!) - if you are having an ELCS how is it decided what date they will do it on? Do they do it at exactly 40 weeks ie your due date?

Just interested as I had an EMCS and if I have another child would potentially be considering an ELCS. Apologies for hijacking!

Dawn, I will be having my ELCS at 39 weeks (due to history of pre-eclampsia and two previous CS). I was told they wouldn't want me to go any further as the chances of me going into labour after that would increase.

I don't know if that just applies to my hospital or if similar across the board though.

Thanks for this post, am glad I read it. I am going for ELCS after 1 EMCS and one VBAC that ended up in theatre being prepped for an EMCS. It has made me feel alot better about the elective now. Will have a look at that book too.