Chelsea & Westminster elective c-section, how difficult to get one?

[ConnectedtoMS]

Just that really, how difficult is to get an elective cs in C&W hospital please (first pregnancy)? I know that most likely midwife will refer me to a consultant. Does it has to be a C&W one? How long in advance should the cs be booked please? Could my DH stand with me in a private room though the night?

I have a midwife appointment soon and me and my DH decided we’d like a cs. (loads of reasons really, one of them is a large fibroid. NHS radiologist advised us it shouldn’t complicate the natural birth but private gynecologist straight away said it will be a cs). Our mind is set. We want cs but I’ve read that it’s not so easy to get an elective one. Is that true? How the process of booking one looks like please? I start to worry..

Were you planning on going privately?

only the additional ultrasound scan has been done privately, apart from that all NHS

Hi,
I see this old post. What happened? Did you manage to get ELCS? How should one request it? I will have my 12week scan in 2 weeks and wonder if it’s the time to request it or it’s too early?

Would be interested to know how this went too @JaneMirage
I’m 30 weeks just now and have known all my life if I was ever to have a baby I’d need a section due to an overwhelming fear of birth, just no other possible way I could do it. I mentioned it from my booking appointment at 6 weeks! Didn’t mention it at scans because it wasn’t my own midwife but saw her again at 16 weeks so said the same thing again. She reassured me for a second time that I would be able to get one and she’d refer me to the birth reflections service at the next appointment. At my 22 week appointment it was with a different midwife so I had to tell her the full story and by then I was getting worried that time was getting on and I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. She could see the birth reflections service would be a waste of time because there’s no way they could change my mind with a bit of hypnobirthing etc. so she referred me straight to a consultant. I was physically shaking waiting on my consultant appointment just thinking I was going to have to be really argumentative about it. I had 5 pages of typed notes on the nice guidelines, birth rights facts, my anxiety over this decision and how I thought I’d have post natal depression etc if I couldn’t give birth the only way I could see possible. Turned out I didn’t need any of it, she could obviously tell id done a lot of reading into it all and my mind would not be changed. She said it’s not her job to tell me I can’t have one. So she approved it and said I was to bring my consent form to the next appointment at 33 weeks where she will give me my date 😊 couldn’t have gone any better! Just wish I’d known that at the start when I was 6 weeks and just about having a panic attack trying to tell the midwife 🤦🏼‍♀️

C&W is famously easy to get a CS. Hence why lots of people self refer there from across London and their CA rates are crazily high.

Thanks @sarah13xx! This is wonderful news! Due to my circumstances, I can only have a planned c-section....
I wish you good luck with the birth and have a fast recovery!

@Cheshirewife, very helpful fact. I hope nothing changes in the future! I will share my experience when I progress with the appointments.