!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!elective c section am i just a wimp !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dressedupnowheretogo]

im thinking of going for an elective c section my feelings towards the birth are getting more and more pulled towards petrified than excited

am i being silly or would i be better off

am worried about everyting and this issue is just adding to it

sorry for being a whinge and a wimp

please help

I was worried but really it isn't as bad as all that.
Remember,your body is desighned for a vaginal birth.
It isn't designed to have your stomach slashed open like a watermelon.

Sections really suck. I've had two, and would have loved to have a normal birth.

You are essentially bed-ridden for a few weeks after a section. It really hurts to cough or laugh. It's quite miserable. Please try to have a normal delivery if you can ...

it can be a pretty terrifying prospect. have you gone to any classes nhs/nct/active birth? they might help. btw a section isn't exactly a walk in the park either.

relax, woman have been doing this forever.

ive been to an nhs active birth class and they were not allowed to use the word pain which freaked me out and to be honest i didnt feel very calmed by the prospect the class was over crowed and not very iformative

two of my friends have had c sections and were up and about within three days

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Are you able to request a c-section even if there is no other reason than you're scared though? Don't think we are where I live. You may have to go private...

Hmm, you may be walking about (a bit) after three days, but you can't do serious exercise for weeks, and the less you do in the first few days, the better.

Plus, you have a scar. For life. It's not good, trust me.

With NQC on this. Sections are major surgery, they are very safe, but this is abdominal cavity stuff and things can and do go unpleasantly wrong in the short-term, leaving you with a longer recovery time. Wound infections are common. Not serious, but uncomfortable.
Personally I would disregard the active birth stuff if it has spooked you, giving birth in a hospital means you will have access to appropriate on-demand pain relief if you want it.
I would aim to have an honest chat with your m/w and maybe ask for an appointment with your consultant to discuss your fears, which are totally common and normal.
Also ask about NCT classes locally as these can be very good for all being petrified together and if you are lucky to get a really excellent teacher, she can and will dispel a lot of your concerns.
The other issue is that even if you do go for a c-section I guarantee you will be bricking it on the morning anyway

It's normal to be a bit scared of giving birth, but if you think you are more scared than normal and it becomes a shadow hanging over your pregnancy then I would talk to a midwife/GP about it. Asked to be referred to your consultant as midwives can be very anti sections IME. Do a search on c-sections on MN and you will se there are many of us who have really positive expericences with sections. I have had two sections and the elective sections I had was my best birth experience.

yes it is my first and i live in nottingham and have been asked on several occasions by the mw if i want an elective c section it is no problem she had to have one herself so maybe thats why

I would definately go with the "stomach slashed open like a watermelon". The only compelling reason (in my opinion) not to have a section is if you might want to go on to have another 4+ children. I don't think I'd fancy more than 4 sections.

As for recovery, it's going to hurt in the tummy, or it's going to hurt down below. There are unfortunately no other alternatives.

This is going to explode into a section vs. vaginal birth thread. You might also check out Flum's recent thread on the subject, as well as her birth announcement .

It does hurt. Not mentioning pain is just silly IMO. But it's a different type of pain, and just because you react badly to other sorts of pain, doesn't mean you won't cope with this. Plus if you're in hospital, there will be pain relief available. You don't have to go along the active or natural birth routes if you don't want to. It's not a "natural"/caesarian choice. If you decide you would like to try to deliver vaginally, there will be the various pain relief options available to you. You don't know what you will want until you're there.

Language like "slashed open like a watermelon" isn't helpful I think. As Uwila says - either way is going to hurt. But it really is managable. I was surprised! (I am a wuss)

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This is my experience - 2 emergency sections, the 2nd was after a very long painful labour (3 days). Labour pain is just that - very painful! but the pain relief available is wonderful. If you don't want to do the martyrdom thing I would recommend an epidural - it is amazing.

The recovery after a section is awful. I never found it painful, just uncomfortable. You cant drive or lift aything heavier than your baby for at least 6 weeks. Both times I got wound infections. Not pleasant, and the last thing you want to be dealing with when you've got a newborn to look after.

Breast feeding is more difficult after a section - both times I ended up bottle feeding. I would have given anything to have fed my babies naturally.

I may have been unlucky. I have friends who sailed through labour and other friends who had no problems after their section.

There is no "right" way. The important thing is that you feel comfortable with whatever you decide to do. Don't listen to people who preach at you.

Good luck!

Get your here

If the thought of the pain and the hard work frightens you, then try to think about it this way:

Firstly, the pain stops. It starts, it peaks, it eases, it stops. You get a rest before the next pain. Think of the worst pain you have ever had (for me that is toothache) - labour is nothing like that. You know that each pain will end, and that each pain brings you closer to meeting your baby. Also, you do not have to suffer - there is wonderful pain relief available. You'd be surprised what your body is capable of, and you may find that you don't want complete pain relief, you may find that you want to work with your body.

Which brings me to the second point: in labour your body just gets on with it. You may not know what to do and what to expect, but this is what your body was designed for. Your body does the work and all you have to do is help it along. Sometimes all that's needed is for you to relax. Yes it's exhausting, yes, it's hard work, but you don't have to drive yourself - it's not like running a marathon.

Eeek, forgot to say that labour is less painful than the worst pain you have ever had, mostly because the pain stops, is not continuous.

excellent ppst PC - explaoins how it was for me exactly
I'm surprised at the readiness of your midwife to give you an elective csection tbh. I really thought they didn't unless there was a good reason.

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Well perhaps kayzed. But I think they are in a minority. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have believed it myself.

I had a C-section after contractions stopped after reaching 10 cms. Contrary to people's reactions, none of this was a nightmare.

The pain of contractions should be copable with one way or another, whether that's yoga and lavendar oil, pethidine or epidural. My section was very calm, swift, DS breastfed beautifully, I healed quickly and experienced no complications. The 3 nights in the hospital was the worst thing about it, but at least it gave DH a chance to clean the house.

Its my firm belief that worry and fear considerably contributes to your experience of pain - I would try to get yourself as informed as possible about the processes, choose your birth partner wisely, and then do whatever is right for you.

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