How to get an elective c-section?

[islabonita]

Hello there Ladies.
Is it really possible to get an elective c-section without any "medical reasons" such as placenta previa etc. Is total panic towards childbirth good enough reason to get one?
Is there anyone who got a c-section just because they felt like it was right option for them?
How did you get it and how difficult it was to persuade the consultants?
thanks

[kittywits]

Sm, I know it's late and all that but what are you talking about?

[Klaw]

Me too Lulu!

I find it very interesting to note that the number of women who had a traumatic birth, and so want an elCS, had their labours induced, augmented and generally interfered with.... It's not often you see a traumatic labour that had nothing to do with the Medical Profession's 'help' is it?

and that a lot of the 'help' was not for good medical reasons without which mum and/or baby would have surely died, but because baby didn't arrive by a time stipulated on a graph, or mum was fed up and wanted baby out at 38wks, or many of the other non-essential reasons that tend to come up.....

But I'm generalising, I admit...

I regret, bitterly, not researching normal birth before my first baby but it seems to me that many women out there can't be bothered and then complain when it all goes wrong for them. I put my hand up and admit my part in my emCS, but wrongly assumed that the maternity services know what to do for normal birth. The truth is that a lot of them don't or else can't provide it within the 'system' that they work in.

There are many frustrated mws out there who witness the fiasco and end up burnt out , some even before completing their training....

sorry, I'd better stop now...

[ScottishMummy]

evidence based medicine and clinical efficacy as outcome rather than narrative explanations and BTA

[kittywits]

Klaw, that's what I was trying to express in my very clumsy post yesterday. Thanks for explaining so that the point can actuall be understood

[lulumama]

SM, i accept that you are approaching this in an academic way, as that is your job

in my job , i do things in a more empirical way

i think my 'data' is just as valid.

it is a real , persona;, true reflection of womens' experience in birth

i would rather discuss birth trauma with me than someone fixed on statistics & percentages

am also totally losing sight of what point you are making?

that what i know cannot be true or relevant or indicative of anything important as it has not been gathered in a formal way?

or have i missed the point?

[ScottishMummy]

lulumama - maybe i have not made it clear enough i think BTA work is very worthy and enriching and supportive post BTA. an invaluable resource

i do bauk at generalisations and sweeping statements

as long as an opinion is clearly stated as that. and not representative of all CSEction, then absolutley state your case

i value sound empirical evidence based practice

[lulumama]

"and i have never ever said that elective section or in fact c.section per se is a bad thing, it can be a life saving procedure for mother and baby"


so, i am not absolutely saying c.s is a Bad Thing

but i will not refrain from posting generalisations based on my personal experience, my work as a doula , and my work with the BTA.

every woman's experience of birth will be different, but some things stand firm
most importantly, that babies are supposed to be born out of their mother's vagina

it bothers me greatly that women are so afraid of birth that they will go to great lenghts to get a surgical delivery, and the reasons for that are manifold and will not be solved overnight, especially whislt birthing centres are being closed and labour wards are short staffed

i am doing all i can to change things, being a doula, a volunteer, chair of MSLC and attending monthly labour ward forums..

so i am entitled to post my generalisations a s a true reflection of my experiences

[blueshoes]

lulu, with due respect to your profession (and I mean that sincerely), if you say: "as a doula and volunteer for the BTA, i can tell you that there can be birth trauma with c.s and v.b , but on the whole, the majority of women i have had contact with have been traumatised by c.s", you would by definition been contacted by women who want to have a natural birth.

If I had decided VBAC, rather than elective, I would have seriously considered a doula myself, given the grim state of maternity services.

Like Scottishmummy, to me, it was not a big deal not to have given birth naturally. Mind you, I read up extensively on natural birth, active birth and how best to ensure a drug-free nirvana of a birth, but I ended up with a cs, and realised, hey, it isn't so bad. Quite proud of my bits too.

And klaw, I don't agree that an infection is "likely" with a cs. Mine were absolutely fine. I don't know anyone in RL who had an infection. The risk is there - sure, with any major surgery. But I disagree it is likely.

[lulumama]

thank you blueshoes

yes on the whole, they want to go for VBAC, but there are some who do want an elective, and want to know if they can, and if they can write a birth plan etc

[sazzybee]

I got an infection following my CS and several massive haematomas which meant I had to take huge amounts of drugs for weeks, not days. And mine was elective (as in planned, rather than what I wanted).

I don't think my experience was very unusual.

[lulumama]

i had an infection in my c.s scar

anyhoo, i think i need to step away, as i am getting cross and posting quite sharply, which is not my intention.

[ScottishMummy]

lulumama yes you are discussing anecdotal reflections.qualitative data

[lulumama]

i am educated to post grad level and finding this difficult !

[blueshoes]

lulu, before you go away, do you come across a lot of women who had decided to go for an elective fully aware of the risks(without being pressured by medical circumstances, like breech or twins), and come out traumatised?

[lulumama]

a couple so far blueshoes, but as i said most of the women i support are wanting a VBAC...

but yes, a couple have found an elCS to be as traumatic as their emergency c.s

[eleusis]

Kitty, what part of the OP did you see as an invitation to persuade her that a vaginal birth (in your opinion) is the better option?

Your posts are really not helpful to the OP, whom I dare say you have not helped in the least.

[eleusis]

Okay, I just said the same thing twice in one sentence. Time for bed, perhaps.

[kittywits]

Lulu I had my last 2 births filmed because i wanted to show that birth can be good, that it doesn't have to be medicalised, full of harsh lights, intervention, monitors, screaming, intolerable pain etc.
It's taken a lot of births for me to know how I want to have my babies!!

[kittywits]

A godd vaginal birth is always better. No one in their right mind would refute that. It is how babies are supposed to be born. I don't understand what you are getting at. She has not had some trauma which is influencing her decision making. To deny yourself the chance to have a good vaginal birth is wrong on many levels, imo.

[blueshoes]

I don't think the OP cares about denying herself the chance of a good vb. More like avoiding the risk of a bad vb, which is IMO worse than a bad cs.

[lulumama]

problem is, that you cannot make a fully informed decision about how to give birth, before you have ever given birth before .

[kittywits]

Do you think an elective section for a first birth, becaue you don't want to give birth vaginally is acceptable? I think it's awful.
Women need to be supported so that they feel confident both emotonally and physically to give birth vaginally, or at least give it a go