Assisted delivery (forceps) or planned c section?

[gettingrealnow]

I had one emergency caesarean for DC1 (breech presentation discovered almost too late... very quick progression) and one forceps-assisted "VBAC" for DC2.

Am pregnant again and have the following options now:

• If I go for VBAC again, I will need "help" getting the baby out (forceps). This is for medical reasons. Can they pull the baby out of the womb without me pushing at all? That sounds a bit crazy... I think this is what happened with DC2. It took me about a month to heal from that delivery.

• I have a date booked for a planned caesarean.... but am having second thoughts now though because I feel I am tampering with the "real" due date by just getting a random date assigned..

In terms of births I much more preferred my emergency cesarean to the forceps delivery... and I healed from the section in about a week...

I would love some advice from you on what option you think is better, your experiences etc.

I had a forceps delivery with my ds - it was a sort of last ditch attempt before doing a c-section. At the time I was glad to avoid the c-section as I healed quite quickly, but ds was injured and it seemed like a pretty brutal birth experience for him.

I think if/when I have another one I will specify no forceps and request they go straight to a c-section if necessary.

I don't think you can compare a planned cs with an emergency cs.

I've only got the one DD who was a forceps delivery, and if I ever got pregnant again, I would definitely go for a planned cs over a forceps delivery.

I've had a planned CS and forceps and I would go for the planned CS every time. I found the recovery much quicker and I was more mobile after the CS than I was after the forceps birth. I had the planned section due to complications from the forceps birth.

I had a forceps delivery for my dd1 awful took me ages to recover, longer and more painful than my planned c-section with dd2!

I had to fight for my planned section by I'm glad I did! My dd1 got stuck and the damage to her face was awful, bruising where they had tried the ventouse first, my poor baby - also she has damage to her eye in when she is tired she gets a lazy eye (cosmetic) - through my private medical we got her seen and they said it is most likely because of the forceps damage.

Like above I was initially grateful to avoid a c-section after attending nct classes and them putting fear in about them, they didn't go through the risks with forceps. Neither did the mw's or surgeon (I had a spinal block and was prep'd for a section anyway!). I wish I had know more and refused forceps.

There are different types of forceps, the ones where they can turn babies if facing incorrectly are the ones that can cause the most damage (most hospitals in the uk won't use them these days).

In you position I would go through both births with the mw at the hospital and make an informed decision knowing all the risks.

Ds was delivered by forceps and judging by the state of his poor head and my poor undercarriage, I imagine that a plannned cs would have been easier on both of us.

I would definitely go for a planned CS over forceps, no contest.

I agree with backtosleep. I think a c-section may be kinder on both of you.

Is there no way you could go for a trial of labour?