Would another birth be as traumatic?

[mrsnec]

Hi all,

I'm 38. I have one dd. She is 8 months old. She was my 3rd pregnancy and took 5 years and one mc to conceive.

During that pregnancy I was very sick, borderline gd and was monitored for pe.I also had cpd.

I'm not in the UK. I was under consultant care and saw a different one at nearly every appointment. During the last few weeks of my pregnancy I was at the hospital nearly every day for tests but they didn't really explain why. One of the consultants had told me my placenta was a bit low but nothing to worry about. I booked an elcs because I couldn't decide if I wanted to try for a natural birth because the consultants had all told me different things. I booked the cs as close to my due date as possible thinking I'd try for a natural birth if anything happened sooner. When I went in for my pre op assessment I saw the most senior consultant who said 'i want an end to this story ' whipped me into theatre and dd was born by the time dh had gone home to collect my bag! I lost a lot of blood in surgery and had transfusions but I wasn't told how much. I remember being very shaky and cold and back on the ward I had to lie flat on oxygen for 8 hours. When I asked what happened they just kept telling me it's ok don't worry. They kept me nil by mouth for 3 days. I was very weak. But I went home after 5 days and made an excellent recovery. Dd is doing very well and was born with an apgar score of 9.

I didn't go back to the hospital so haven't had a debrief. I didn't like the pediatrician in the hospital because dd got jaundice and they blamed me because of how I was feeding her which contradicted what the midwives were doing. I got a very good private pediatrician who asked a lot of questions about me too.

I also have other issues about having another which I have addressed on another thread but now I would just like to know if anyone had a similar experience for a first birth and if so what happened the next time round.

Thanks for reading!

That sounds awful and it's no wonder your wondering if the same will happen again.
I had a a difficult first pregnancy, saw a different mw nearly every appt. I'm now 39+3 with DC2 and second time round has been much better. Saw same 2 mw's consistently, I felt a lot better about pg and was much more confident and vocal in decision making.
No one can predict what will happen, something's are out of our control. But for things you can have input into e.g elcs vs natural birth then you should voice concerns and discuss it. requesting the same consultant each appt is a must, gives you chance to build up a rapport and gain trust in them

Thanks,

The thing is, consistency isn't something I'm going to get here. My local general hospital where I had dd is spotless and modern and has a fairly good reputation but it's small. It's been earmarked for closure of its maternity and gynaecological facilities but remains open due to public outcry but with no permanent staff. They get people over from other hospitals and private clinics and even other countries. The guidelines aren't as strict as the nhs so each consultant you see is giving their own opinion.

There is another general hospital about 40 minutes away but it has fewer english speaking stuff and very long waiting times.

The private clinics refer emergency patients to the general hospital anyway so that's why I stuck with the general and it turned out that was the right choice given that I needed transfusions.

I always knew in the back of my mind that I was going to have a section. I don't know why and I'd be ok about having another if I thought there was a chance of it going more smoothly the next time round.

I definitely would be more vocal though I agree with that. Eg.I wouldn't just struggle on with the sickness again. Hope everything goes ok for you .Not long now !