Elective c section or virginal birth?

[GemmeFatale]

Looking for help deciding what sort of birth I want (assuming things go anywhere close to plan). I have asked my midwife and will get a birth choices clinic at some point but feeling very much like the assumption is I should have as little medical intervention as possible.

In case in matters first baby, ivf, in my mid/late 30s. Some risk factors (mostly age and infertility related) but nothing that should be a showstopper for whichever route I decide).

Congratulations on your pregnancy. Unless you are going privately I think generally the medical opinion would be to go for a natural vaginal birth unless there are any additional risks or you have some form of phobia about trying to have a vaginal birth. Although the NICE guidelines say that maternal choice alone should suffice for a c section some trusts are reluctant to do this.

Is there a reason that you would want a section over a vagonal birth? A section is major surgery.

I am currently expecting DC2. I had a traumatic vaginal birth with DS1 and it hasn't really crossed my mind before his birth about having a c section. I had lots of complications since his birth however and so has been agreed to have an elective section this time. Good luck with.whatever you choose.

Virginal birth. If it was good enough for Jesus...

@maxiflump1 I’ve moved back to the UK but spent years in the states. Most people I know either had an elective c section or (significantly less common) a very hippy type home birth. I’ve been told I won’t be allowed to go overdue and am likely to be given an induction in week 39 if I don’t go in labour myself by then but a decision on c section/induction for medical reasons won’t be taken until week 36.

@mikeuniformmike I’m not Christian. I’m also hoping for the best possible birth option for now, not 2000 years ago. I even hope a hospital and doctor will feature and a stable, farm animals and some nosy visitors won’t.

Are you going private or having your baby in the NHS system?
Many congratulations by the way!

@GemmeFatale I think it's very different on the NHS here. I think the vast majority of first births here at least start of as vaginal births in hospital although lots end up with intervention or emergency c section. It's quite uncommon for woman to have c sections without medical or psychological complications. I guess that shows the difference between private medical insurance and a nationalised service

Virginal birth now that would be a miracle.

Whilst recovery from a straightforward vaginal birth is quicker and easier than a c section, I think you are more likely to have complications with a vaginal birth than a c section which means you could end up having a longer and more painful recovery. I feel that usually a c section recovery is more predictable than a vaginal one but your views about what you would prefer are the most important bit.

Definitely an elective c. A walk in the park. So much more can go wrong with a vaginal birth, including life-long incontenence. Plus, with an elective c, you skip labour and have a pain-free birth.

I think basically my issue is I can’t separate out the statistics on c sections as emergency and elective appear to be lumped together when the nhs talks about risks and likelihoods. I also can’t seem to work out how likely it is if I try for a natural birth that I’ll end up with intervention anyway.

So basically as I see it I can try for an amazing natural birth experience and I’ll either get that or a scary emergency procedure. Or I can plump for a c-section and I definitely won’t get that amazing natural birth thing, but I also won’t get the scary emergency either. I just can’t work out the likely odds of these scenarios because of the way the stats are published. (Or maybe I’m being stupid and just missing the information).

Also just realised autocorrect hates me. Although, no sex was involved in the creation of this baby so...

I had an elective section with my first ivf baby in my mid 30s. Statistically the safest way for the baby and after everything we’d been through I wasn’t prepared to risk a vaginal delivery. It was brilliant and I’m having another in 3 weeks for my second.

Is that you Mary?

Even with an elective it may not happen like you planned it. I went into labour before my elective and ended up having an emergency without even my hospital bag! Babies first outfit was a tiny hospital gown. (I hadn't got my bag ready in advance because I knew what day I was having baby).

I am similar, first baby, debating elective over VB. leaning towards elective even though very scared! As have ibs and am concerned of chance of 3/4 degree tear or forceps which could cause future issues for me. I'm deciding at 36 weeks when they measure baby but at the mo leaning towards elective c section.

As have ibs and am concerned of chance of 3/4 degree tear or forceps which could cause future issues for me.

An Elective could cause issues too. I have severe adhesions following my c-section. My uterus, bowl, and bladder are all fused together. This causes lots of pain especially if I get constipated.

I'm not trying to put you off. Personally I'd rather have a section even with the complications I have over a 3/4 degree tear. But I am saying a section could also cause further problems.

Statically a c-section is the safest way for your baby to be delivered (for the baby). A section is harder recovery than an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, in most cases. At an age of 35+ your chances of pelvic floor trauma is increased (I'm not simply talking about perineal tearing, but actual tearing of the pelvic floor muscles themselves). If you have an instrumental intervention those risks increase again, significantly. Of course c-sections have risks, but so does vaginal birth. I had an easy, uncomplicated water birth and found it overwhelming and assaulting. I am having an ELCS for my second as I don't want to deal with the uncertainty of another vaginal delivery.

Thanks @WalnutWalrus for me it is the other way so I need the muscles in tact! Was your EMCS or ELCS?

I've had three @LittleDoveLove 1 emergency,1 semi-emergency and 1 elective. The elective was by far the easiest and least painful.

I didn't want a elcs the first time as im very paranoid about getting ashermans. A "final" baby i might consider elcs, i was also v paranoid about something going wrong during vb but felt Ashermans was more scary.

I have heard ivf babies you are more likely to have a CS as doctors can see it as the "only chance"

Vain note- do c sections give you a tummy "shelf"? I had a vb so tummy went back down- that may or may not be a consideration!!

I wish I’d had an elective c-section. I had my first baby 2.5 weeks ago. He was measuring in the 90th percentile the whole time but I was constantly reassured that small women can give birth to big babies and my concerns were always dismissed.

Pre-pregnancy I was quite a petite size 6 and my baby was born 8lb 10oz. I was induced 8 days overdue (they would have let me go 14 days over because of their ‘policy’ but I noticed that his growth had tailed a lot in the final growth scan and so demanded to be induced). The intensity of the contractions made me vomit continuously for hours and I couldn’t sit down to pee because of them, let alone walk to the toilet. I became dangerously dehydrated, put on a drip and suffered temporary kidney failure (40% capacity) along with dangerously high blood pressure. I started pushing at 12am, forceps were then used unsuccessfully at 5:30am where it was acknowledged that he was well and truely stuck (though my partner could see his head). I ended up giving birth via an emergency c-section 25 hours after my waters had broken and I’d gone into active labour. As soon as he was taken out of me I started vomiting violently while being stitched up- I’ve never felt more weak and unwell in my life and genuinely thought I was going to die in that moment. I didn’t really get to experience anything to do with his birth.

I don’t want to scare anyone or suggest that induced birth is always like this but I’d like to be honest as I feel the midwives sugar coated my concerns as me being nervous. If I could choose again then I’d skip induction and have an elective section. Yes, I did feel extremely weak for the first two weeks but I can’t say for sure that recovery has been made more difficult due to the exhaustion I was put through before the section. I’d never have another child if I couldn’t elect to have a section!

I will be having an elective c section - potentially privately .

I’ve done my own research and have a close friend who is an OB GYN, and have gone into a lot of research with her guidance .

Not only do I have primary tokophobia, I just don’t want to do a VB for so many reasons, fear of pain, birth injuries , complications , lack of control etc .

So yes I’m biased but based on my research - yes best for baby and more straight forward for you as you know exactly what you are in for to a greater extent .

I was induced and had a vaginal birth with DD1. DD2 was breech so I had a planned csection. I’d chose a csection any day. My induction experience was not a pleasant one to put it mildly.

You're older so that makes a straightforward VB less likely and your risk of complications is greater. However, that's only one of a number of factors. How much do you weigh? Do you have any health complications? Is your DH much bigger than you, any family history of very big babies? The positioning of the baby can make a significant difference to the likelihood of a straightforward VB but obviously you won't know that until nearer the time.

In your shoes I would also factor in the likelihood of any future pregnancy. If you know you don't want or are unlikely to conceive again in the future, that makes one of the biggest disadvantages of CS, risk of future pregnancy loss, irrelevant. If I were in a position where I only wanted or was likely to have one child, it'd be CS. Whereas if you think you might like another and it may be a realistic possibility, then it becomes one of the relevant factors to consider.

I do not think I'd choose induction at 39 weeks as a late 30s primip unless my cervix was ripe as fuck though. So if it got to that stage I think I would go ELCS.