2nd c-section, would you.......

[bubblepop]

calling all mums who have had any experience of this..if you had a planned c-section with your 1st baby,would you have the same again with your 2nd baby if there was no medical reasons for it? im really interested in those people who would answer 'yes' to this question, those who would rather go under the knife than have a vbac., and why?

i wanted a vbac but opted at 41 1/2 weeks for a c-section. It looked like dd2 had no intention of coming out, she was quite a big baby as well and so decided that having a c-section suited all of us more in the end. Dd1 - who has special needs was then able to be cared for by family as the arrangements could then be made. None of my close family are non workers and dh was due to start a new job around dd2's due date which was then pushed back to the date that we decided for the c-section and so he had no time owing.... meant my sil ( who lives a distance away) could come and care for dd1 during the week I was in hospital.

I was not aiming for a vbac for some experience - in that I did not feel ( as some women do) that I missed anything by never labouring or having a vaginal birth. I simply wanted a vbac in order to be able to care for dd1 at home more effectively. But the c-section ended up being the better choice in the end.

However dd1 was an emergency c-section 10 days early. With dd2 there was no real medical emergency/situation that meant she needed to be born my c-section - jsut worked out that way.

yes - having one in Sept. Can I be nosey and ask why you want to know? I don't really want to explain my reasons and be told..well, y'know how these CS vs VBAC threads can go.

I agree with Highlander - it can make women feel a bit inferior with some of their choices on MN if your opinion or ways of doing things are not seen as the "norm". Best not to get into the c-section/vbac or bottle breastfeeding arguements as they have been known to become personal and insulting.

Some people may want to share it with you though.

Well, I don't mind sharing. I had an emergency section with DD in 2003 due to cord being wrapped around her neck, went 2 weeks over due, was induced, fetal distress, crash section a day and half later at 3:00am. So when I was pregnant with number 2, I made it very clear that I wanted a nice calm PLANNED section and I wasn't going to take no for answer. My reasons were 1- it was the only guaranteed method of avoiding an emergency section, and 2- after reading some very sad stories here on mumsnet, I frankly don't trust the NHs to take action when necessary. I simply don't have much faith in the NHS. And asking for a section guaranteed that I'd be in a room full of doctors paying lots of attention to me.

Also, I think that whichever way you have it comes with it's set of side effects (for example itchy scar with a section and increased incontinence with VBAC). And I already had the section side effects, so couldn't see adding the others.

bubblepop - I had what they call a trial of labour - as I had a previous section they would not let me labour for more than an hour at full dilation. Sadly my dd turned when they broke my waters - so I had a second c-section. It took some weeks untill I was fully operational. It was much slower recovery than my first and I had a child to look after too. Best wishes xxx

I will be going for an elective C-section for no 2 (if I'm lucky enough to get pregnant again), after an emergency C-section for ds1.

I know you asked about planned C-sections for first baby, which mine wasn't, but some of the reasons would have been the same: (a) better the devil you know - C-section was fine for me and wouldn't mind doing it again, (b) can plan childcare in advance as will know the date, (c) having avoided getting vagina ripped to shreds first time round, don't want to risk it now and (d) am actually allowed to have a C-section now, whereas for a first birth NHS don't let you have one just for maternal preference.

Also, although this wouldn't apply to women who had an elective first C-section, I now know what first stage labour is like and know that I never want to do it again.

elective section for first

and for second (was told I could try but would have to have an assisted delivery .. no pushing .. use of implements ... and would still have 70% chance of having a c-section)

so actually not much choice

Wish Aloha was here. She would have some helpful words to share.

hi everyone, thanks for responding,i was'nt asking for myself,my childbearing days are over now!i was curious because im trying to understand someone else's thoughts on this.i do realise that this can be a very emotional subject for some mums,quite like the bottle/bfeeding debate!at the end of the day,aslong as a mum and babe are fine, thats al that matters is'nt it?

And, the NHs does give sections for first babies based solely on maternal preference. They will try to talk you out of it, but if you persist you can have it. In my antenatal class in Epsom three years ago, there were two first timers who asked for a section just because they wanted them. One was just terrified of giving birth vaginally, and they other wanted some control over when it was born so ahe could ensure her DH would be there. The second one is soon to have her second child, also be elective section.

I had an 'emergency' section the first time....quite a calm on, failure to progress.

I was given the option of an elective the next time and went for it. As it happend it was a good decision since ds was a footling breach, on the large side 9 2 , 2 weeks early, I had pre eclampsia and the doc told me that my first scar was very thin, and would have been a risk of rupturing.

Why did I go for the elective? Labout didn't 'work' first time, I wasn't confident it would work the second time. As it happens I couldn;t have delived ds safely anyways.

I have no regrets at all and made a good recovery, faster than the first time when I had spent 2 daus having contractions before the section.

I had an emergency c-section for my first, and although I'm not pregnant again yet, I am definitely considering going the elective route next time, for all the reasons mentioned by Uwila and TuttiFrutti.

There is no way I am going through an "assisted" labour again. I found recovery from the c-section not too bad, and it didn't affect bonding with my DD or my ability to breastfeed. I am still recovering from the mental trauma of the labour though!!

I'm not pregnant again yet, but I've been having the c-section / vbac debate with myself. I laboured for 72 hours at home with the first one, but she had turned and wasn't going anywhere. When I had the c-section, I had the recovery from the operation plus the exhaustion of a long labour and the aching from the contractions. I'm not afraid to do that again, if I thought it would end successfully, however.

But... to some extent, now, a c-section is a known quantity and would be less stressful for all concerned.

There is the issue of increased mortality and hysterectomy though, interference with breastfeeding (i.e. milk coming in), the timing of the section (i.e. I know that my daughter put on a lot of weight in the fortnight post-dates and she wasn't a big baby then - so I would be reluctant to do one at 38 or 39 weeks as many knife-happy consultants want to do), risk of DVT. Angela Horn's Homebirth website has some interesting research links regarding VBAC (relevant regardless of where you choose to have your birth).

Also - the only way I would attempt VBAC is at home with an independent midwife, same as my first labour. There is no way in hell that I would labour on a main hospital ward with no birthing pool and extra monitoring restricting movement.

I had a planned cs with dd, although only planned from the day before when we found out she was feet-first, and a couple of other probs - up till then I'd planned a homebirth. I planned another homebirth with ds for the reasons RedZ has said. But I had placenta praevia - emergency cs at 34 weeks. If there is a next time, I think I'll plan a cs. Can't face another 8 months of wondering what labour is like, frankly. Plus every time I plan a homebirth, I get a cs. So if I plan a cs, maybe...

i had an emergency c/s with ds1 as failure to progree after induction. i had an elective c/s with ds2 as he was breech, but thinking long and hard about it i doubt i would have gone for a vbac anyway, as my body obviously 'failed' to go into labour either time (ds2 was born at 40 wks + 1day) and probably wouldn't have done, so this time i am again having an elective c/s on 16th march, vbac isn't an option within the trust that my care is in, for those who have had 2 or more previous c/s, but i can't say that i would have particularly wanted to try! also this one has decided to be breech as well so def no option for this one.
i actually enjoyed my elective c/s and recovered well afterwards, so if anything i have high expectations for this time around.

no way. I really hope for a vbac (need to get pg first of course ). It took me ages to recover from the cs (my scar opened up and got infected) and I dread to think what it's like caring for a newborn and a toddler while recovering from a cs.

lol fruitful

My cs was for failure to progress - ds was tired but not yet distressed, but he showed no signs of budging after 17hrs active labour - and I did feel my body had "failed" to give birth.

I genuinely would like another go at it, if that makes sense - I'm not afraid of the pain and I know there's a limit to how long it would last next time. That's almost as important to me as the recovery issue tbh.