ELCS after nightmare forceps birth

[Runningupthathill82]

I had a hideous birth with DS and am now pregnant again, terrified of giving birth.

With DS I started out wanting an all-natural water birth. But he was back to back and after 24h of labour, we ended up with failed ventouse and forceps, as we were both in a bad way.

I still have incontinence issues, I think due to the forceps birth.

Am wondering if I could ask for a ELCS this time - or is a second birth likely to be easier? Is the recovery from a section as bad as going through another forceps birth?

I just don't know what to think, and I'm very scared. All advice welcome.

Hi running, you commented on my thread about being scared of giving birth second time round and I meant to respond to you properly on that thread

Really sorry you had such a horrible time. You can definitely make a case for an ELCS if you tell your midwife how terrified you are. I have no experience of recovery afterwards, I'm sure someone else will be able to help on that front.

Are you able to request a formal debrief of your 1st birth? Our trust has a service called birth stories and a lovely midwife ran through my birth notes with me. I found it extremely useful to understand what happened from the medical point of view.

The general consensus is that second births are quicker and easier as your body has done it before. However, it's crap to spend the whole of your pregnancy terrified of giving birth, so do discuss options with your midwife ASAP. Good luck

I really feel for you OP, I spent my entire 2nd pregnancy terrified of labour because my first was so hideous. However, it was a totally different experience and my body just seemed to know what to do.

Statistically, 2nd babies are easier. My first baby was back to back so I have sympathy, my 2nd was back to back until 34 weeks but then he got into the perfect position. Ask to be monitored for positioning, if the baby is back to back again then you need to discuss how this can be managed and it needs to be written into your birth plan, I was refused a section but had a very specific pain relief plan written and the consultant added that I should not be sent home once I'd gone to hospital, regardless of how much progress I'd made. I did this and felt very reassured.

In reality, DS2 arrived very quickly and relatively easily, I didn't need to consult my birth plan because there wasn't time but I went into it feeling more in control which made a huge difference to how I coped.

I had an awful and traumatic birth with DS1 & when I was pregnant with DS2 I made the decision to have an ELCS.

I had to argue my case with the consultant and had to go to an appointment with a specialist midwife to 'discuss my options' but they agreed to do the ELCS after viewing my notes from my first birth experience.

This time the birth was relaxed, calm and I felt in control at all times. The staff at the hospital were fantastic and supportive through the whole experience and I honestly don't think it could've been more positive.

It is such a personal decision though, I have a friend who had a similar first birth experience to me with her DD1 but then with DD2 she had a home birth with only Gas & air and loved it!

I had a similar first birth and spent months recovering. Second time however was so completely different even though DS2 was back to back again.

The whole labour was less than 12 hrs and the vast majority of it was bad period pains. When it came to pushing it seemed like a matter of minutes (from arriving at the hospital to delivering was less than an hour).

I know every birth is different but wanted to share my positive experience as I too was absolutely terrified of history repeating itself.

Sorry forgot to mention, recovery from the ELCS was fine. I had help with things like school run and friends and family were about to help with things around the home.

I think main advice is listen to your body, take recovery at your own pace and don't push yourself to do extra too soon.

Good luck with your decision

I had high forceps in theatre with episiotomy and 3rd degree tear then the whole thing got infected and opened up. Hell!
Second time round I thought I'd like to try for a normal delivery, maybe a water birth but got scared and had an elective section. It was painful afterward but so much better than first time. I just discussed with midwife and then consultant and they were happy. DS was huge in the end so I'm v glad I went down these toon route

I had a similar first birth and asked for a birth de-brief with a senior midwife when pg for the second time to explain it all to me and discuss risks of it happening again. This was very useful and I asked if I could request a c-section, she said that I could probably on psychological if not physical grounds but that final decision lay with consultant. When I saw the cons (on my request, there was no other reason to see her) she was equally helpful and talked to me about pros and cons of both but essentially it was up to me, though she wanted me to reflect on it for a few weeks. Anyway I did and eventually decided to try for natural birth again, which I had last month. It was actually much quicker and more straightforward, no interventions. Only thing was I was advised to have him in the cons-led unit rather than the MLU but it was all fine and never actually saw a doc the whole time.
I was lucky with my 2nd birth but I think you have every right to ask about elcs and don't think you will have any issues getting one if it's what you want.

Btw the reason i decided against elcs in the end was my concern about looking after a toddler and not being able to drive etc, while recovering.

I had a horrible experience with DS1 (5 day labour, episiotomy, forceps, emergency team in twice due to lack of heart beat and my blood pressure disappearing). Was v concerned about DS2, but he arrived quickly and naturally with just gas and air and one midwife.

Good luck with your decision.

I had a very similar birth to you, forceps in theatre, continence issues and episiotomy breakdown and repair Op. Had no problem getting an ELCS agreed, the Cons felt it offered some protection against further continence issues, i didnt even have to convince her. I must admit i found the week after the c-section quite unpleasant, it really is major surgery, but not as bad as a bad episiotomy recovery, and it doesnt seem to have had any long lasting affects unlike my first birth.

Thank you so much for all these responses, they're really helpful. It's particularly reassuring to hear of easy second births after nightmare first ones!

I had a forceps delivery with DS ( he was back to back , and quite big 8 lb 13oz )
Had an epidural , forceps delivery , episiotomy and large blood loss so I needed a blood transfusion and loads of stitches
I had to stay in hospital for 4 days
Was very nervous actually terrified second time around , DD was born an hour after we got to the hospital , just used gas and air and shouting as pain relief
We went home 2 hours later
See if you can talk it over with the midwife ?
Hopefully the positive stories on here will help to reassure you that it's much easier second time around

My birth story with my first DD1 is almost identical to yours, back to back, i too had failed ventouse (x3!!) attempts and finally a very traumatic forceps delivery (so much so DD was rushed to NICU ).

DD2 however (2 years later) was delivered at home by paramedics! :D after 3 pushes and an almost pain free 2.5 hour labour!

DS similar to DD2 3 hour hour labour, but this time i had a planned home birth, with midwives!

I honestly think that the 26 hours (with 3 strong contraction every 10 minutes!) i was in labour with DD1 meant my body was VERY well practised.

I had a horrid first birth and suffered horrible torture for three weeks as my body tried to put itself back together, missing my baby's first days and weeks. The first time I changed her diaper, she was almost a month old

Second time around, I went for an elCS. It was the single best decision of my entire life. Nice calm birth, baby perfectly shaped and not traumatised. Recovery was incredibly quick - 1st day was tough but 2nd day was fine. On the 3rd day, I didn't even need paracetamol and was taking care of my baby all by myself.

Go for it, OP. Get it sorted and enjoy your pregnancy without worrying about the birth.

I had two births ending with nasty, panic assisted delivery so my second was actually worse than my first. I'm currently 31wks and have requested a elcs. Final decisions will be made with consultant at 34 wks.
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Really interesting to read these replies - I'm in the same boat at the mo. 2 day labour with DD1, she was back to back, had to be monitored as she was in distress, I had forceps delivery, episiotomy, tear, blood trans. and 4 nights in hospital.

This contributed massively to severe PND. I'm pregnant again and, despite reassurances from people that the 2nd birth will be difference, I want to have an ELCS. Think I just really need to feel in control of this experience as during my first labour I had no control whatsoever.

Also I don't feel a need to 'prove' I can give birth naturally - I've already done it, and it was horrible!

Have you looked at a fear release session with a hypnotherapist? I havent been in your situation, but have used fear release a few times for something traumatic and it really helped me.