Second ELCS: how was it for you?

[MolotovCocktail]

Yikes, I think I may well be starting to feel that twinge of broodiness again

We have 2 dcs: one born narurally in 2009 and one by ELCS in 2012. Any more children would also be ELCS.

Had a good experience with the ELCS and must admit that I got away with nothing more than the scar - no overhang, no issues relating to the CS. Great! So far, so good

What im wondering is: would I be so lucky if I was to have another ELCS?

For those of you who have had 2+ ELCS, how did the recovery compare to the first? How did your healing compare? How was your body after both births?

If we did decide to have another baby, there would be an almost 3yr gap at least between DC2 and the potential DC3.

TIA!

Shall I be honest? It was far worse than my first. I had alot of scar tissue and lost alot of blood. Saying all that I still feel I made the correct choice.

Second time for me I healed a lot faster than first time, two weeks to feel normal again compared to months first time. The old scar tissue was removed and new scar is much neater and with less discomfort. I'm now 8 weeks since second section and my stomach is still shrinking but I've had no issues with it.

My second one was fine and also had scar neatened up. A bit of shoulder discomfort from wind. Might need another if dc3 stays breech!

Ah, sorry to read that, Plenty. Was the blood loss expected, or just 'one of those things'? Did it happen in theatre, or afterwards?

For those of you whose second section was better, why do you think this was?

And, knowing what to expect second time, did you feel more or less nervous than first time? (I was nervous about it and keep imagining going through it again, which isn't helping!)

Maybe second time as the wound was already made before going through the old scar tissue there wasn't much new trauma to the body if that makes sense, it also depends on how good the surgeon is on tidying the wound up I guess.

I was very nervous second time but I think that's because I had a long time to think about it and it's still surgery at the end of the day it's natural to worry about it, first time I had about an hour to think about it.

Thanks, Planet

If we have another dc, I would like to have the same OB, if I could.

I elected to have the CS due to damaging my tailbone during labour with dc1. I knew from about 32 weeks that it was going to be CS as mode of delivery, so had time to get used to it. I didn't know exactly what would happen, but I would with any more deliveries; it just feels weird to think of it like this, if that makes sense?

Well it felt weird to me that it was all planned and organised and knowing what will happen when normally most things are unexpected in childbirth. At the end of the day your second section will be like your first really and I find it weird to think I've had two, I don't feel like I've done it twice.

That's good to hear Thank-you for that.

I'm pretty sure that I don't want to become pg before dd2 turns 2yo (springtime); probably the later into this year, the better for us as a family. But I don't become pg quickly (dd2 took 2 years and six cycles of clomid to conceive)..

DH has made it clear that he would like another baby over the last few months, and I am thinking about it a lot more lately. Probably due to dd2 soon-to-turn 2yo and the fact that 3 friends have had babies in the last month!

Second planned first emergency - planned was one of the most positive exp of my life and I will never regret making that choice. It was calm, recovery was fine (albeit harder with a two year old) but I tried to limit myself for first two weeks.

My first was an emergency, 2nd and 3rd were planned. Healing after my 2nd was much better and quicker, possibly because I had not endured 30 gruelling hours of labour beforehand. 3rd no different really (took a bit longer to stitch me up that time as uterus wall had become pretty thin). I healed well after all of them and scar looks no different after 3rd than it did after 2nd (they cut away the old scar tissue so you don't end up with a build up)

That's interesting, Nelly, thank-you for sharing that. If I do become pg again, the issue od cutting away old scar tissue is something that I would raise at a meeting with the OB.

I requested the CS last time because of coccydynia that I developed during the birth of dd1: a long labour followed by 2 hours of pushing, for her to then be delivered by ventouse (so, an episiotomy for me). I was advised by a chiropractor that I was likely to incur the same injury/exacerbate the existing one, so I chose to have the ELCS.

So, I wouldn't likely chose to go for a VBAC if I became pg again.
I got away without an overhang and just have a scar that is neatly hidden within my pubic hair 21m later (prob been like thia since 6m or so post-CS): any overhangs as a result of second/subsequent CSs? What about sensation around the scar? Mine was hypersensitive for about 12-18m, but has since settled.