Why are some professionals so against ELCS??

[Writerwannabe83]

I've got an ELCS next week which was decided upon when I was about 20 weeks gestation.

Since that decision was made I had a routine check-up appointment with my Cardiologist and when I said I was having a CS she was very judgemental, told me she didn't think it was necessary and used quite accusatory language towards me and spoke in a tone that implied she thought I was just opting for the 'easy route'. She even wrote to my Obstetrician and said she didn't agree with the decision. I left the appointment quite upset. Thankfully my Obstetrician put me at ease and said the Cardiologist's opinion and her letter had no bearing on anything.

I had my pre-op anaesthetic appointment today and when he asked why I was having a CS (I have epilepsy and a heart condition) he clearly wasn't impressed. He kept probing and basically made me justify myself and the decision - he made me feel like I was a naughty child being 'spoken to' by my parents - it was awful. He didn't try and hide the fact that he didn't think it was a 'good enough reason' and he made me feel very uncomfortable.

I don't understand it??
Why are they so concerned and obviously against me having one?
What's it got to do with them??

Has anyone else came across this kind of attitude from other members of the medical team??

He probably just thought I was being a wimp and trying to avoid labour

And would that make his judgement on you OK then?

What if you were a wimp and wanted to avoid labour....

Is it ok to be a wimp? Is that allowed? Is that OK to be scared and want to avoid this process which incurs the most costs when things go wrong and they have to pay out damages?

Its not right, its archaic and it needs to be stamped out.

The highest costs in anything maternity related are the costs paid out when things have gone wrong.

I would complain to PALS about the cardiologist without a doubt.

I think you have every right to request a section given your problems!

I think women should have a right to chose, it's them going through the process - but that said I think they shouldn't do it because they see it as the 'easy option' because it's not.

Whoever says a c-section is an easy choice is wrong. Don't get me wrong, the getting the baby out is generally easier, but the pain afterwards, not being able to get out of bed, healing, not being able to breastfeed etc etc.

I thing one of the reasons why people are 'against' them is because we're turning a perfectly natural process, that's what giving birth is, into a medical one, and it's something midwife's have tried to combat to give women more holistic care without needless medical intervention.

Nursey I think a good many women on here would argue with you on that one.

Every single one of the ladies in my NCT group was butchered by this natural process!

One of them was still receiving hospital care months later.

Of my personal friends I was the only one who had a so called good birth.

I was extremely happy to have the natural process, controlled and mediclised and turned into a beautiful and wonderful calm joyful one!

One where I could come at the baby, relatively fresh and mentally and emotionally calm, physically fine too!

I was also able to establish BF far more easily as most women with sections do, ( not sure where you got that from?!).

It was far far better

Yes the recovery was hard, but if you do your research you can make it easier for yourself.

I would rather have two weeks knowing what to expect, taking it easy...than labour where I could be left in any number of hideous outcomes and possibly damaged down below for life.

Honestly, in many cases if you are talking consultants I think it is 'consultant superiority complex' rather than a moral position either way. Consultants do like to believe that they are the experts. So they take the snapshot they know and come to an expert decision. Except that they don't acknowledge that there are whole areas that they don't know about and also that they aren't experts in all of them.

You see it in lawyers too (I am one!). Questioning the opinions of other specialisms because it overlaps with theirs in some way and they are 'in the know'.

It is very, very bad practice. Glad your Ob's consultant is on side.

What's a cardiologist doing commenting anyway, beyond saying procedure X will/won't impact on any heart problem you may have?

Next it'll be the Finance Director at your work - stick to what you know Mr/s and nose out

Birth may be a natural process but you are very lucky if you come out the other side without at least one injury.

I had a traumatic first birth and I am convinced that the constant interruptions from scissor happy, drug denying medwives didn't help the natural flow of my labour. My DS had to be dragged out with forceps as a consequence of "failure to progress".

OP, you do not need to explain your choices to anyone. HCP must learn to keep their unsolicited comments to themselves.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your comments - all very interesting.

My Cardiologist was saying that she didn't think the heart condition I have is a risk in natural labour so didn't see why it was being used as one of the reasons for having a CS. I suppose she's entitled to her opinion but I just felt uncomfortable about the way she expressed it.

I completely agree about CS not being the 'easy option' as because like a poster above said, getting the baby out may be 'easier' but the recovery isn't when compared to a problem free VB - I know some VB's can cause horrific injuries though and probably be a worse recovery than a CS!!

Ah well - like I said, my Obstetrician is 100% behind me and that is what's keeping me sane

mydarling I was speaking theoretically from
evidence based research and in general from my time on a post-labour ward.

Of course you can breastfeed (as long as you're not taking the 'wrong' sort of painkillers) but from experience I found a lot of women who couldn't.

they probably just want to get the stats down

(this was years ago BTW) The midwife was dead snotty with me when I casually mentioned I would need a section with DC2. Despite me then explaining my gynea consultant said natural birth was a risk after a near disaster with DC1.

I just rolled my eyes at her and waited to see my lovely consultant at 20 weeks who said there was no way I was having a natural birth .

Anyway, all the best for this week writer. Take it easy afterwards and you'll be fine.

gamerchick
Saying that a CS costs the NHS more than a natural birth is a very sweeping statement- what statistics/costings do you have to back this up?

I would suggest that "vaginal birth" is much more specific than "natural birth".

I had an ELCS, stayed 2 nights in post natal ward, lost a relatively small amount of blood during operation. No complications or infection followed. Also I breastfed even though it did take a bit of practice.

By comparison, my good friend was in the local birth centre, only gas & air, ended up in theatre with forceps & huge episiotomy due to back to back baby.
She was in hospital for 5 days, could hardly walk for the next month or two and is having ongoing treatment for incontinence and other issues.

It's just 2 cases, but if you compare our births- I wonder which one comes out as more expensive, in purely financial terms...?

Food for thought.

I had the opposit problem, my consultant was happy for me to try a vbac but every registrar and mw i met along the way was incredably nervous about it!

Anyway i had an elcs in the end, had no problems bf, we bf in recovery although ds would have liked some sooner but i had problems with the spinal so he had to wait a while.

I had oramorph, diclafenac (sp) after both cs and was ok to bf

diamondlizard Sun 16-Mar-14 23:05:22
they probably just want to get the stats down

A cardiologist is unlikely to be too arsed about these stats as its not their department.

Likewise GPs being hostile.

Its only those with a vested interest that are particularly bothered about stats.

I had the opposite problem - in retrospect should have gone for ELCS (ended up with emergency), but was persuaded by the happy midwives to go for VBAC.

I was in hospital for a while before, but home in less than 24 hours after my c-section, breastfeeding fine, happy to drive after 2 weeks (although I think they did a rubbish job of sewing me up compared to my first EMCS..).

What cost the NHS more in my case was pushing me for a VBAC, so I spent 2 days in hospital before the CS with various people trying to persuade my body to play ball. If I'd gone straight to ELCS I would have been much cheaper.