refusal for c section

[4leafcloverr]

Hi all. I will be 35 weeks pregnant tomorrow with my first baby, due 21.05.19. I am extremely anxious about the birth. I will be 37 years old 4 days after my due date. I am 4 foot 11. I also have gestational diabetes so have regular growth scans. Baby is estimated to be at least 8 and a half pounds at birth based on 5 and a half pounds measurement at 34 weeks. My mother had to have emergency c section to have me, was left a long time in labour , became a life and death situation. Then my sister also had a long labour which didnt progress beyond 8cms and ended in c section (baby was back to back). My consultant wants to induce me on my due date if labour hasnt started by then. I asked her if I can have a c section due to my anxiety and she refused. I am in south wales. Does anyone know if i have any options? Thanks in advance

From www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/livewell/pregnancy/Caesarean/

^Asking for a caesarean

Some women choose to have a caesarean for non-medical reasons. If you ask your midwife or doctor for a caesarean when there aren't medical reasons, they will explain the overall benefits and risks of a caesarean compared with a vaginal birth.

If you're anxious about giving birth, you should be offered the chance to discuss your anxiety with a healthcare professional who can offer support during pregnancy and labour.

If after discussion and support you still feel that a vaginal birth isn't an acceptable option, you're entitled to have a planned caesarean.^

You can definitely refuse induction or any other treatment and you have a right to ask for c-section but they might make you jump through hoops and see specialists.

It's worth looking into risk factors with c-section as well to make sure you understand the risks associated with that, and whether the problems your mother and sister had are likely to also affect you.

It's about weighing up the pros and cons of either option. If you had a firm birth plan and birth partner helping ensure you're not in pain unnecessarily or left unattended, that might help a lot. C-sections are not a walk in the park either.

I'm sorry they don't seem to have taken the time to listen to your anxieties properly and help you come to an informed decision.

You can request a c section... I just did it. The consultant might be scaremongering but if at the end you say you understand and want to go ahead they should schedule you in.

Wishing you all the best 💐💐💐

Severe anxiety IS a medical condition. It also slows down birth, and leads to a greater likelihood of interventions such as EMCS. On top of your baby's size, your size, etc it seems like a very reasonable request.

The consultant is being a bloody pig-headed fool. It's likely she is thinking of the hospital's stats, rather than you. Don't allow her to sacrifice you to make the hospital look good. Push back HARD on this, OP.

Ring tomorrow and say you are unhappy with the decision, and want to see someone else ASAP as the refusal is causing you severe anxiety. Threaten to go straight to PALS if you are not made an urgent appointment to see somebody else in short order.

Read up on the evidence for and against CS, so that you can evidence you are informed and accept the risks. From memory, the risks are different to VB, but roughly comparable, though CS is overwll slightly less risky for the baby, but slightly more risky for you. It does raise risks for subsequent pregnancy, though, but they are still small. Only really an issue if you want more than 3.

You do NOT have to consent to induction. Keep reiterating that you do NOT consent to it, and say you are strongly requesting a CS instead. This will back them into a corner if you start to get near the date they want to induce by, but hopefully they will have agreed to do CS before then.

Good luck and keep posting on here, you will get lots of help.

Sorry you are being out through this.

Thanks all for messages. I'm panicking as I'm so far gone now. I first mentioned this to my midwife around 28 weeks and she said she would refer me to a consultant midwife who I saw at 32 weeks for counselling. She did however say if i still wanted to go the c section route my request would not be refused as they were not in the business of forcing women to give birth one way or the other. She didn't write this down. Mentioned it to my consultant last week and it was a flat refusal. She has referred me to her colleague for a second opinion but I don't see him until next week when I will be 36 weeks. He's in the same hospital and I'm panicking as there's not much time to get this sorted. Thanks for all the support

I saw the consultant at 38 weeks and they agreed at 39 weeks - was so stressful how late they leave it!!!

Hi! It's normal to feel anxious and shared when it's your first time giving birth. However take in consideration all pros and cons of having a c-section. It is a surgery and has lots of risks involved, plus a longer period of recovery and limits the number of children that you can have in the future. I ended up having an emergency c-section after a long birth with no dilation and since then my health just went downhill and that wasn't by choice. Ladies that had a c-section used to stay longer in the hospital but now we're sent home after 2 days. I had 2 c-sections and in both times had to return to the hospital due to post-partum complications. This is not to scare you, I just think that sometimes people don't see a c-section as the big surgery that it actually is.
Hope whatever decision you make it's the best for you and all goes well.

I'm sorry you're going through this OP, I don't think they understand the stress they cause by leaving things this late.

On the plus side, under the NICE guidelines, if your consultant won't agree to a CS they are required to pass you on to a colleague who should/will agree (can't remember the wording) and it sounds like that is what has happened here, even though you won't see them until next week.

You could also contact Birthrights who give advice and campaign for the rights of women in relation to childbirth: www.birthrights.org.uk/about-us/ they should be able to give you help with how to approach the new consultant

Good luck

How did you get on OP? If you have any issues contact Birthrights

Also tell your midwife you will be contacting them ! Xx

You also have the right to be referred to another hospital if the other consultant also refuses due to hospital policy. Going through your GP to do this tends to be fastest. Birthrights are extremely helpful, can definitely recommend contacting them. Good luck!

Hm just saw this is quite old. If you've had your baby by now I hope you got your section!