Any elective C section regrets.

[Bellini28]

I am currently 28 weeks pregnant with my second child. My first was born eight years ago vaginally. I am scared this time around and would very much prefer a c section. I have been reading and researching and I feel that I have weighed up all the risks and definitely have a preference for an elective delivery. I live on the continent and pay private health insurance so will not have to fight for such a delivery. I guess what I am asking is has anyone regretted choosing a Caesarian after having a natural delivery. Obviously I am talking to those who had the choice. Medically there is no reason for my decision, it is my preference after a pretty traumatic delivery eight years ago. Thanks in advance.

[urtwistingmymelonman]

its strange how peoples fears and opinions differ.
im 30 weeks with my second and have been told I may have to have a C-section as baby is tranverse.
im terrified and hope to god I can give birth vaginally.
C-section is my worst nightmare especially as I have a clotting disorder.
first birth was a vb.

[Gatorade]

I am currently 2 weeks post ELCS and I can honestly say I hated the whole experience. I would go as far to I preferred the crash EMCS I had with DD1 to having an ELCS!

However, it proved to be the (accidently) right choice as after the operation the surgeon came to visit me and told us that he had performed over 4,500 sections before and had only once come across the complication he found with DD2 during surgery and in that case the baby was stillborn as a result.

As for why I hated the experience:

-With the EMCS everything happened very quickly (first contraction to waters breaking and being in theatre and baby being delivered was just 20 minutes) so I had no time to think about what was happening. I was just extremely grateful to have an alive baby. I found the recovery easy, DD1 had no complications as a result of the EMCS and I only had a newborn to look after post surgery

-With the ELCS I found my fear of blood/surgery etc really spoilt the whole experience. Since it wasn't an emergency everything took a long time to administer (e.g putting canulas in, spinal etc whereas last time I had a GA) and my anxiety levels went up massively to the extent that I started shaking and vomiting in theatre (they did however give me an antiematic (sp?) which quickly resolved this). I am not normally an anxious person so this really took me by surprise. I also found the sensation of feeling the surgeon 'rummaging' in my stomach very disconcerting.

• I'm finding the post surgery recovery more difficult in that despite having great support from my DH and friends I still feel that my 18 month old is missing out as I can't pick her up and interact with her in the same way I did before. I have also unfortunately picked up and infection and my wound had reopened in part as a result.

I hope this doesn't scare anyone too much but I wanted to give an honest account of my ELCS experience as I feel I went into it with the slightly unrealistic expectation that it would be better than my EMCS experience. This isn't always the case.

I am however very grateful I did have the section as I have been told that DD2 would not have come out vaginally and she is certainly worth the hardship! Orignally we were thinking of having 3 or 4 DC but I'm now happy with 2, largely because I don't want to ever have a section again!

[ThreeBecameFour]

First birth was a cat1 emcs after 3 days in labour, dd back to back with cord around neck twice, stuck and distressed. It was horrific and I had ptsd afterwards..i do not regret emcs as we would not be here otherwise.

Ds born 2.5 weeks ago by elcs. Calm and relaxed birth experience at 39 weeks. No issues at all with feeding etc and I am in good shape compared to the emcs which took me months to recover from. Only tired or have tender tummy at end of day and no longer on painkillers. Looking forward to driving and picking up dd at 6 weeks.

I regret nothing.

[Billy11]

My first was natural. Horrible!! Best decision i ever made is an elective!! Having another one

[Chocotrekkie]

1st section was emergency and went fine.

My 2nd section which was elective (but had pre-eclampsia) didn't go well. My womb kind of leaked and I've ended up with endometriosis everywhere especially in the scar which didn't heal. Basically every month pockets of blood were getting trapped which were then getting infected.

Was told I can't have baby no 3 as my womb wasn't strong enough (not really sure if we wanted a third or not but the choice was taken from us).

Have now 7 years later after a multitude if treatments to stop the constant pain had a hysterectomy (and overaries out) aged 38 but am really struggling with balancing hrt so still feel crap. Hopefully my new hormone specialist consultant is going to make it better !

[racingheart]

Definitely no regrets. Was pain free and quick recovery time. I enjoyed it, even. BUt I owuld have wanted some advice which never came:

with C-sections it's far slower for milk to come in, which can put babies off b-feeding. Take milk thistle and fenugreek tablets before hand and get an electric pump if you want to bf the baby as all these can stimulate milk flow.

Think that's the only thing that I regretted. Everything else was lovely.

[Floralnomad]

I had an ELCS ,7 yrs after a traumatic first VB , it was brilliant and if I could go back and have my time again I would have 2 sections .

[drwitch]

Great post from poppy above, love the analogy of wedding and marriage. Have had two sections one emergency one elective don't regret either x

[schmee]

No regrets as I have three healthy children. However, I would allow them to cook for as long as possible. One of my DTS had no sucking reflex at 37 weeks which made feeding really difficult.

Second section - everything that could go wrong for me did - bp crash, heavy bleeding, uterine infection (3 days on IV antibiotics), paralytic ileus (so no BM for three weeks and issues afterwards), adhesions, overhang, I think some damage to pelvic nerves causing continence issues. Scar still sore 2 years on. Milk slow to come in.

BUT - my baby was safe - no brain damage, no broken collarbone from shoulder distocia, etc.

Weigh up the risks and imagine if all the bad things happened (they won't but look at worst case scenario)... Which situation would you feel was better? For me it was the ELCS, so I am happy with my decision despite some permanent damage and some transitory difficulties.

[Orianne]

No regrets. 1st was an Emergency and the difference was huge. I felt I had more control.

[Sahmof3]

No regrets whatsoever (1 EMCS and 2 ELCS).

[MunchkinJess]

ive done alot of research into ELCS and ive spoken to the midwife several times..baby is considered full term at 37 weeks and can come any time from 37 weeks to 42 weeks they count a 5 week window , from what my midwife told me.

my obstetrician said they normally perform ELECS at 39 weeks. im having mine at 38 weeks and 6 days no regrets or concerns about having it booked slightly early.

[evelynj]

Dd is 7 weeks today. No regrets but some possible issues that I wasn't aware of:

Elcs is usually 1 week before due date-sometimes early for baby. My dd had posterior tongue tie which had a bad effect on bf & apparently their sucking reflex develops a lot in the womb in the last week+

Also from not travelling through the birth canal they miss. Out on good bacteria from mum developing in the gut. This may have caused issues with digestive problems dd has had, (who knows, it's all guesswork with babies). Something that has helped with this is infant probiotics & dr browns bottles when we moved to ff with wind

Another thing they miss out on is the head squeezing through which can be beneficial? Anyway my dd was colicky but this was magically remedied by going to a cranial osteopath.

I recovered quickly but wish I'd known about the above so please do some research on those bits & do very little for 6 weeks after birth.

Good luck!

[Pocket1]

Congrats!

[georgie22]

I posted a few weeks ago about my request for a caesarean following a previous 3b tear with dd and my concerns that I had been discouraged from this by a registrar and midwife. I did stick to my original wish for a section and actually had a beautiful son last week. The section itself was extremely calm and a positive experience; yes it was a weird sensation feeling no pain but lots of pulling etc. but ds cried immediately on delivery and I lay looking at him being held by dh whilst they completed the surgery. In contrast to last time I had skin to skin immediately in recovery as last time I was taken to theatre and was away from dd for several hours.
I was assisted out of bed within a few hours and walking to the toilet that evening after delivery at lunchtime. I was discharged home the following day which has been brilliant. Yes my wound is sore but not as bad as my previous tear. I could do my pelvic floor exercises immediately. All in all a positive experience which I have no regrets about.

[Pocket1]

I've just had an elective csection as my daughter was in breech position (I'd always been fearful of v birth anyway do this suited me). The whole experience was calm and pretty relaxed - within 18 mins of getting to theatre my dd was born without baby complications. And I was in the recovery room shortly after . My post op recovery has been absolutely fine - yeah I had to take it easy for a few weeks and I have a big scar but I didn't experience any pain at all.

Bottom line, many people had tried to scare me by telling me awful stories about a csection and focussing on the risks. My experience has been very positive - I knew it was the right choice for me.

Good luck and go with what you feel is right for you

[Mutley77]

It is very difficult. I had a lovely ELCS with DC2 and so opted for the same again with DC3 (my obs was not at all keen on VBA2C anyway).

However DC 3 did have a lot of fluid in her lungs and had to be resuscitated for several mins after birth. It was horrible. She is absolutely fine and they maintained her oxygen levels through a mask so there is no risk of future damage but it did make me think twice about my decision.

I suppose it is a balance though as at least with a C/S you are in a theatre with millions of HCP's including a Paed. If there had been a problem with a VBAC I wouldn't have had the same professionals on standby and therefore more risk potentially with any arising problem?

It's a million dollar question but in terms of myself and the op/recovery - no question it was fine. I just wanted to highlight my experience for you as I know it is a known risk with C/S and is therefore perhaps not totally unexpected.

[Billy11]

NO, HAVING ANOHTER ONE ONE IN A MONTH
I DO REGRET AVOIDING ONE THE FIRST TIME ROUND...THE NATURAL BIRTH LEFT MY JOINTS DISLOCATED AND MY TAILBONE BROKEN DUE TO LONG LABOUR....NOTHING NATURAL ABOUT THE NATURAL BIRTH FOR ME AT ALL...!!!

[Wingdingdong]

EMCS first time, absolutely horrendous (for a start, there wasn't enough time for the anaesthetic before they started cutting). I woke up most nights for two years after the birth, shaking and crying as the aneasthetist's words replayed in my head.

Second time round (different hospital!) the ob was fantastic, gave me the choice. I asked her to make the decision for me, and she advised ELCS, as she thought that it was extremely likely that any attempted vaginal delivery was likely to end in EMCS anyway. She said that although it would be under very different circs, and at the earliest sign rather than the last, she felt that a) I would have the thought at the back of my mind throughout labour, which may hinder progress, and b) there was a real possibility that I'd lose the plot entirely (she didn't use those words!) if wheeled down to theatre, and that the risk to my mental health and the baby's well being was high.

I think she was absolutely right. The ELCS was a completely different experience and although I still get upset remembering DC1's birth (or rather the fear, the shouting, and the pain), having such a controlled experience the second time round stopped all the nightmares and helped me immensely. As it turned out, she was also totally right about the need
for intervention, the same circumstances arose but at least there was a plan for a CS which then went ahead at 38w.

You have to do what's right for you, but in my case in retrospect I feel that the ob's instinct that the fear of a repeat experience would slow down a natural labour/delivery and thus increase the chances of a repeat, was spot on, despite my willing it otherwise. Good luck!

[bishboschone]

I have 'tried ' both and I would say if I had another child I would have a c section but the recovery is much much worse . With vbac I was up within hours despite a traumatic birth and ventouse / episiotomy , however after the c section the pain was horrendous . Remember it's major surgery ( it really really is ) .. There are pros and cons for both but I put off having more dc for 7 years because I was too afraid to give birth again so I understand your fears .

[Oblomov]

Both my ELC 's turned I to emergencies. But both were more calm than hysterical. No regrets at all and am happy with my births.

[noblegiraffe]

EMCS first time, absolutely no regrets about my ELCS which went swimmingly.

[Xalla]

I think this thread just convinced me to go for a third section after all!

[motownmover]

Tore badly and lost blood first time.

Second time I still had a natural delivery - which I very much regret as it was brutal to my body.

I wish I had been stronger and pushed for a C section.

Nearly 7 months on and I am not recovered.

[Mozzamum47]

Had two ELC's for serious medical condition - both were a lot less stressful for me and saved my DS1's life as I had an internal haemorrhage which the clinical staff didn't pick up until the big day. Had I tried the natural way the result would probably have been neither of us would have made it. I was fine when I finally woke up, DS1 was small but fantastic and husband had passed out on the floor. Having DS2 was amazing went to sleep 30 minutes later I held him in my arms and out of hospital in 48 hours.

What ever you decide good luck. I don't think I missed out at all.