Induction VS Elective C Section

[Moomin1234]

Hi there. I'm pregnant for the first time age 42 and had discussion yesterday with midwife who said they are likely to induce me at 40 weeks. I have had a few friends with induction horror stories and I feel that given this baby is a bit of a miracle (5 years IVF then conceived naturally!) I want the birth to be as calm as possible and so am thinking about an elective c section. This will be our only baby so I'm not concerned with subsequent pregnancies. Help!

Congratulations!

I've had 2 births, first one (DD) was an induction, second (DS) was an elective CS. So I'm happy to answer questions about both.

My personal experience of induction was really bad. I found the whole process of induction (with gel on the cervix, followed by manually breaking waters and the drip) painful and invasive. I ended up with an episiotomy, tearing, ventouse delivery and haemorrhage. Recovery was awful and very painful over quite a long time.

Elective CS was so much better. Very calm and in control. A few scary moments - the spinal made me shake uncontrollably and I didn't like the tugging/pushing. But overall so much easier to cope with. This was 4 months ago and recovery has been great. I was up walking the next day. As long as I stayed on top of the pain with the drugs it was very maneagable and the worst of it was gone in about ten days I think.

I'm not having any more babies but if I had gone back for a third I would have chosen another CS with no hesitation. But I'm sure some people have had a bad CS or a great induction! It varies so much.

Congratulations on your miracle baby!

DC1 was delivered by EMCS after a failed induction. The EMCS was great - lovely and calm. DC2 was ELCS - also a wonderful birth. Both in my late 30s. My only regret with either is that I didn't realise I could refuse an induction as I could have saved myself a lot of difficulty.

If you're after a calm birth, my experience is to avoid induction. There are pros and cons to both methods though and, ultimately, you need to be happy with your choice.

Good luck