Maternal Request (anxiety) ELCS at Barnet Hospital

[Caneloalvarez]

I have a "birth choices" appointment in early Feb at Barnet to hopefully discuss having an elective c section (due end of March). My request is due to anxiety reasons. Just wondering if anyone has experience of this process at Barnet? There's lots of discussions on here about elcs for anxiety but people rarely say which hospital they are dealing with. So if anyone has any fairly recent info of this at Barnet I would be eternally grateful!

My main questions are - did you find Barnet sympathetic towards anxiety as a reason for elcs or do they make you really fight for it? After the birth choices appointment do I need to go to another consultant appointment for the final approval? How long does the sign off process take (I'm really worried about going into early labour and not having my elcs preference signed off!) So far the midwives haven't exactly tried to put me off but equally haven't expressed much support regarding my early labour fears and said I couldn't have the appointment any sooner, so am not sure what to expect at the choices appointment.

I just wanted to come back and update this in case someone else has this question in future! I've found Barnet hospital to be supportive of my decision for ELCS although they did mention that not all hospitals follow the guidelines on this.. so it definitely depends on the hospital.

I'm glad they were supportive OP! How many weeks were you when you had the birth choices meeting?

I was 34 weeks, they actually said I should have been referred earlier by the midwives (they could see in my notes that I had asked about the ELCS at every appointment) I had written my reasons down, she talked through the risks but I think they could see I was certain so she just referred me for c section straight away as I was so far along.

Ideally you should have the birth choices appt earlier so that you have time for the proper counselling to check that you're sure or if there are any other birth plans that could work for you. So basically just push for the appt as early as possible!

Thanks @Caneloalvarez - I'm 26w now and I can see the request to have the obstetrician appointment in my notes but I haven't got an appointment date yet. I'll follow it up at my next appointment. Wish me luck!

@Caneloalvarez thanks for posting and updating this thread.

I'm 25+2 and have my birth choices meeting tomorrow (not same hospital). Like you, I have requested an ELCS at every midwives appointment due to anxiety. Having done my research into both c-sections and VBs, it's cemented in my mind that a ELCS is the only option for me.

I'm really hoping that the consultant is supportive and doesn't make me jump through hoops as I'm prepared to request a referral to another consultant if they aren't onboard with my decision.

I'm glad they granted you your request without making you fight for it.

@LillianFullStop good luck! Just keep asking when the meeting will be and when will you receive the appointment letter.

@Camouflage I wrote down all my reasons and at the end I put something like "under the Nice guidelines I'm entitled to an ELCS, if my request won't be approved here please refer me to a consultant or hospital that will approve it" it's good to have it all written down to remind yourself to be firm. I'd say the waiting around caused me more anxiety, it's a shame they make you wait before getting an answer! Good luck :)

@Caneloalvarez thanks so much for the advice. I've done exactly that - written down my reasons, shown evidence of my understanding regarding potential risks and made it clear that I know my rights in terms of maternal request (mentioned NICE Guidelines). Hopefully they tell me there and then whether they are granting my request or referring me to another consultant 🤞🏼

Just to update - I'm just back from my meeting with the consultant and she has signed off on the ELCS 👍🏼 just waiting for my date coming through now.

@Camouflage oh that's fantastic news!! It's such a relief isn't it! I'm glad they didn't make it too difficult for you.
I'm still anxious about having a c section but definitely not as anxious as I would be about a natural labour. I'm glad that they offer a choice.
I've been watching a few c section vlogs on you tube which I think has helped me get an idea of what happens on the day!