Why is everyone so anti elective c-section?

[Gangle]

I'm only 7 weeks pregnant but am sure I want an elective c-section. I've read extensively around the subject and think I'm well informed on the pros and cons of elective c-section v VBAC but it seems there is so much stigma attached to elective c-sections and that people will do/say anything to attempt to dissuade you from having one. Just wondering why there isn't more respect for your wishes about how you want to give birth.

gangle - by the time u have sat in a packed waiting room with other pregasauraus, pissed in a pot on demand, watched your previously slim ankles swell like pork sausages, have hooters that swell to Jordan proportions, wretch/puke your way to work, lose sight of your (swollen) ankles - u will stop worrying and learn to wadde gracefully

its the joy of pregnancy, and if u had considered it in job description terms and conditions noone..but we do

... ?

is it rhyming slang for your fanny adams

Yes, Scottish. Jack'n'Danny is rhyming slang for fanny.

But on MN, it should perhaps be banjo

If its privacy you want then why not try getting a doula, as someone else suggested. Try a home birth where you only have 2 midwives.
As someone who worked in operating theatres I can assure you that in a theatre team for a section the people present will be:-
1.anaesthetist
2. obstetrician
3. scrub practitioner
4.midwife x 2
5.operating department practitioner
6.theatre support worker
7 possibly a peadiatrician.
Oh and DP/DH
They don't call it theatre for no reason!!!

I personally couldn't drive safely for 4 weeks.
The knock on implications were that I had to push the pram everywhere, which was bad because where I live you have hills in every direction.
It also hindered me getting advice from BFC in the difficult early days. Couldn't get to groups to meet friends and was completely isolated after DH went back to work, as all my family and close friends live 5 hours North of me.

Drugs used in anaesthetics can cause drowsiness in the baby, especially opiates used in some epidurals. This hinders bf as I found out.

I was terrified of the birth but chose to ignore it, unfortunately I had a c section anyway.

LOL

I think that a paediatrician always has to be present at a C-section because the risk of breathing difficulties with the baby is greater then with a vaginal birth.

tori - I agree - for privacy and dignity you can't beat a homebirth.

Crazybabs soooo glad you brought up the sleep deprivation.....
meds 0600 and obs..
breakfast 0800
obs 1000 and drugs
lunch 1200
drugs 1400
evening meal 1630
1800 obs and drugs
2200 obs and drugs
oh and the cleaner comes round at some point.
deliveries of flowers!
Baby feeding 2 hourly all night and interuptions all day, takes me back!!! Don't you just love hospitals.

Belgo I think you are right when the baby is in distress, Ididn't though because dd wasn't distressed, just stuck!

Pregnancy hormones make everything go lax so the uterus can expand, so things are going to change no matter what.

And as my mum pointed out, coughing or laughing after a csection = ouch.

ouch, i forgot about the coughing after a section and u have to learn to blow yr nose in a different so yr stitches dont feel like they about 2 burst

Ditto the last 2 posts!
Oh forgot theres actually 2 obstetricians, 1 operates and 1 assists.

as everyone has said your body and physiology change when up the duff

i used to work with a wee bachle (stoic scottish wifie) her take on pregnancy was

gain a stone Lose a tooth
lol they dont show u that in okay mag do they

Ha ha LOL expat - don't have kids and don't get old!

Why are you all up at 3 am.....?

I wanted an elective with number 3, just couldn't face it all again.. Obviously, midwife said NO!, and had 25 min labour, was fine, and felt quite smug afterwards.

Birth is never fun, but it is so true you forget all the HELL the minute they put babba/ cup of tea in your hands. And so many women are unable to deliver naturally, and would love to, so it seems a shame not to give it a go. Go on go on go on go on etc

When you are pregnant for the first time all you can think about is the birth - when you have kids you realise that's the least of your worries!

I have had to vaginal births and in no way was there any writhing or screaming. First birth I slept through (thanks to hypnobirthing) I only remember the last 10 minutes of the birth. My dh tells me I woke up to push and went back to sleep.

ds2 was a little more rushed because he was becoming distressed so there was a little more urgency to push him out, but still it was calm.

Gangle I'm sorry if you feel that people are scaremongering (sp) you in this thread, but people are just sharing their stories.

But if you do decide to go have a C-section here are some words of advice from experiences from my friends and family, not to scare you just being practical.

1. Meet with the anestisiologist (sp?) before hand reasons being: --my sister had a bad reaction to her anestisia and starting vomiting on the operating table and continued throughout the afternoon. Not fun after having your abdomen cut open. --my best friend got a spinal headache due to misplacement of the epidural. She got home from her surgery and went right back to the emergency room.

2. Make sure you have an experienced person put in your catheter. My friend had an inexperienced person try and it took a long time before she had to call someone else to help. Meanwhile my friend was left spread eagle.

3. Make a birth plan specifiying what happens after the baby is born. If you want the baby given to you immediately write it down, not all hospitals do that. If you want to breastfeed immediately write it down, if not they may give formula during the first 24 hours (standard procedure at my hospital in the US, they want the painkillers and anestesia to leave your system before breastfeeding).

The above was in no way meant to scare you, but to inform you on things you can do to ensure a better experience.

One thing about C-sections, IMHO, is that you give all the power to the people around you, while you have none during the process. You can have more power if you do your best to make sure that you are surrounded by the best people possible.

Sorry for the long post.

some good pratical advice there MKG. I would second that about the spinal headache -it's no small headache, apparently it can last for weeks.

Difers have to disagree. Fear of childbirth is caleed tokophobia, and is a genuine fear, not a trumped up middle class thing. It is that sort of attitude amongst health professionals which makes it much worse for people who do have a genuine fear.

I was scared stiff all through my first pregnancy, and was too scared to say anything. I had a dreadful labour and birth, which made me even more scared the second time round. Plus in my second prenancy my mum died when I was 28 weeks pregnant which triggered massive out of control anxiety which couldn't be treated properly because of being pregnant. I spent the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy terrified out of my mind.

Fortunately all the health professionals I met were very sympathetic, but if I had met someone with your attitude it would just about have finished me off

fizzbuzz, I think yours is a rare case, fortunately. However, the op, from what I can gather is not phobic, she would simply rather not do it because of a couple of bad stories. that is a very different matter.

There is a difference between anxiety though and a phobia. I was extremely anxious about giving birth, and did discuss having DS1 by CS with both a midwife and the consultant.

Fortunately for me, once I went into labour (sooner than expected) I became quite laidback and everything went fairly well, given the nightmares I'd been having throughout the stressful pregnancy.