Blood-injection-injury phobia & elective c-sections

[Michal5763]

Hi,

Are there any other blood-injection-injury phobics out there? I am 12 wks pregnant and this would be my reason for wanting an elective c-section (lesser of 2 evils). However I'd be interested in hearing whether other women with the same phobia also came to the same decision regarding a c-section.

Also, no office but whilst everybody is entitled to an opinion on vaginal birth I'm really only interested in hearing opinions from people with the same phobia or psychologists who have treated people with the same phobia. Otherwise I think it's very hard to relate to this issue.

Thanks

Sorry meant to say "no offence, but..."

I don't have any experience of that phobia, however I have had an EMCS and an ELCS. An ELCS will definitely involve more intervention than a straightforward vaginal birth, extra blood tests, cannula insertion, spinal/epidural, and of course abdominal surgery. However, if you go for a vaginal birth there is a risk of things going wrong and ending up that way anyway. At least with an ELCS you know it is coming and can prepare for it. Part of the reason I went for an ELCS was to remove that fear of the unknown and what ifs.

Thanks....that's the thing with ELCS - at least I'll know what to expect. As far as my phobia is concerned, knowing what to expect and trying to come up with ways to somehow make it a bit better beforehand, is half the battle.

With this sort of phobia your maternity hospital might be able to refer you to a psychologist, possibly as part of a specialised perinatal team. This can be very helpful in making you feel that staff take it seriously, giving you some control and maybe even lessening it as an issue to improve your birth experience.

Ask for it soon as sometimes the referral process is slow.Make sure the mw understands this is a big issue for you.