Caesarean for "stupid" reasons?

[GloriaInEleusis]

Following on from this thread, I just wondered how many people have caesareans for stupid reasons?

I've had two, one crash and one planned. Neither was for a stupid reason.

i think that for a number of women who elect for c.s due to fear of childbirth would benefit from some sort of counselling, as in no way is c.s an easy option. it carries risks as does a vaginal birth. if a woman has made an informed choice and weighed up all the pros and cons and addressed all her fears then should she be 'allowed' to elect for c.s? i think the answer should be yes. but it makes me quite sad that childbirth that is a normal physiological part of a womans' life has become so feared .

a proportion of that fear is possibly due to the amount of horror stories that we hear that tend to drown out the more positive birth stories . on a thread on here about positive birth experiences, there were accusations of smuggery... so women feel unable to share their stories for fear of rubbing it in other mothers' faces.

it is more complicated than 'i want a c,s and i am allowed one'. there are risks and benefits to both types of birth, having experienced both, i would pick vaginal birth every time.

Gloria, if you are going to make a thread out of my comments, why not ask me why I said it instead of dragging it aroudnt he board???
Maybe you didnt understand the fact that
having a VBA2C this time meant I have had 2 cs's myself????

A cs is major surgery, which is given for good reasons, ie medical reasons (for shich I included mental health issues, as I;m sure you saw)

What is not a good reason and IMO 'stupid' is that you want your bf to think your fanjo is as nice and tight as when you were a virgin, so decide to push fo5r a cs, when the consultants and the NHS have enough to deal with with genuine reasons for cs's.

Also many of these cs's that celebrities ahve are only available because they can afford it, many consultants will not give you a cs simply because you want one, so I think you'll find the medical profession agrees with me here.

Another is because you want your DP to be
home from the world cup or qualifiers or whatever it was Alex Curran did it for (I bet LOTS of women whose partners work away or are in the army etc give birth without their partners being there)

AQnother stupid reason, is because you don't want to have to push, or because you have absolutely no flippin idea exactly what a CS entails but saw Victoria Beckham and her crew had one so think it must be better.
There are plenty of 'stupid' reasons.

Just as there are 'stupid' reasons to post threads rather than ask someone out right.

Why do we do this to each other? 'I make my choice, therefore yours are wrong, and furthermore, you are rubbish.' If it's not how you gave birth, it's how you feed, whether you work, there doesn't seem to be an end to the criteria one must meet in order to not fail at being a mother. I don't ever recall hearing any father being himself up/being pilloried in the media as being inadequate because of his parenting choices, especially when there was no real choice to make. The whole thing seems a misogynistic sham, and it is sad to see women scrabbling over who gets to be the good mummy acording to these rules. NO ONE can win at that game, it's best not to play it.

Not that it matters but I planned a hippie water birth with candles and music. I got an increasingly medicalised birth, starting with an epidural, through to forceps and finally an emergency c-section because her head was stuck in my pelvis. Had I known, I would have gone for an elective cs and saved myself the pointless pain. I could give a toss how she was born, it is the least important thing about me, my dd or our bond. I have never felt inadequate or less of a mother - I have a healthy child.

Oh, are we can talk about all of the NHS treatments that should and shouldn't be paid for by the tax payers? I mean don't stop with childbirth... actualy, don't START with maternity services.

Hip replacements aren't really medically necessary are they? I mean you can always get a wheelchair. What about all those antnatal tests? I mean really let's just let them go because after all they are not natural. Oh, and abortions, those are certainly not natural. Let stop that practise right here and now. Oh, and your baby haas a cleft lip... well he'll ;learn to live with it, really.

Now, I am all for the NHS learning to operate more efficiently. But, I am not for the cuts starting at maternity services.

i don't think the costing issue holds up. A single cycle of IVF will cost more than the difference between electing to have a CS and having a VB. Unless we don't think IVF should be available on the NHS. And IVF is about patient choice

agree with you totally ctc, it also makes me sad that 'normal' childbirth isn't normalised in society.

Am reading ina may gaskin at the moment and she is just wonderful. really wish women could be more confident of what their bodies can acheive.

i think margo, that part of the reason birth has become more expensive and more risky is becuase women giving birth in obstetric led units, rather than birth centres or home , which is the rarity.. are expected to labour under textbook conditions, that go against many natural principles of birth.

the c.s rate on Ina May gaskin;s The Farm birth commune is around 2 % compared to averages of 25 % upwards in other parts of the USA. Ok, the numbers that deliver there are small, but it is still noteworthy.. women who labour according to their own bodies needs, with one to one support from someone they know and trust, who can move, sit in the bath, lie down, stand , eat and drink as they wish to labour much more effectively.

being in a brightly lit delivery room with no lock on the door, a shared bathroom, noise, etc can be enough to stall labour

and then if you are not progressing as fast as you 'ought', then you are given drugs to make you contract more or your waters are broken and you are hurried along.

not ideal circumstances at all

I am not saying that intervention is never necessary, of course it is ,but probably not as often as it is done.

eleusis, that was absolutely not my point about costs at all.

well said chibi, that's what I meant but it came out all flippant-like by mistake!
For what it's worth, I guess I am slightly phobic of childbirth, and, indeed, pregnancy, but that's just based on my own abysmal experiences. I simply meant having had an emergency CS I wish I could have cut out the unnecessary pain etc and just gone for an elective one. Had no idea either that it was the riskiest form of birth... and me, a pain-phobic drama queen!
(do I get a medal?)

i went for option 1 and went on to no3 ending with no4 and nearly a dead baby at the end of a 24hr labour, ds was 9lb 2oz and got stuck in my pelvis he was resuccitated and is now a healthy 8yr old, my second baby i laboured again for 16hrs and had a very successful vb (my choice) and i have a healthy 4yr old girl. Women need to be allowed to choose whatever method they want, if i had my time again knowing that i was having a bigger than average baby i would of had an elective cs first time round, as for celebs most of the time they have an elective c/section becaue of complications not just cause they want one

unfortunately for a lot of women who have a c.s, they do not come out of feeling positive. i was one of those women. it affected me very deeply for a long time. i know a small number of women who have been upset and traumatised by a planned c.s , so it concerns me when a woman wants to choose a c.s first, when the ramifcations can be quite life changing. but then of course a traumatic v.b can have the same effect.

what is needed is more midwives, so women feel confident in the care that will be received, more education and support for women before and after the birth and more faith in our own bodies

competitive birthing. So stupid.

I say given the appalling state of the NHS maternity services, elective cs is the clever option. Like buying insurance - you know the risks, take a controlled hit (surgery), hedge your bets, outcome is more certain.

First time, I plumped for natural glowing birth, ended up emergency cs. Second time round, I insisted on elective. I did not get a tummy tuck, but got the surgeon to excise the scar from my emergency cs, which did not heal nicely. Yes, happy I am quite sorted now.

I have had one CS and would like a VBAC.

But frankly 'militant vbacers and breastfeeders really are scarey'

where are the militant VBACers? being passionate about womens' birth experience is not the same as being militant surely..?

weeeeell some folk and i mean some make out that if you have not given birth squatting and chanting an incantation, whilst swaying gently to native music, and of course declining all medical intervention and absolutley no ananlgesia that you are somehow inadequate/weak/vain/fooish/stupid/selfish.

I have seen MN thread along lines of "i think C-Sections are wrong and i feel sorry for any inadequate woman who has one". of course i am paraphrashing but that has been the jist.

what matters is a live birth

Mode of arrival does not necessarily make you a better or not mum, imo there is no birthing hierarchy. no one would argue that adopotive mothers are inadequate mothers because they did not give birth to a child.

we are all mums after all. lets celebrate the commonalities

oops - was bad timing to start a VBAC thread then......

nah - just no incantations please

Did also hear that Ribena, that Stars book their C-sections about 6 weeks before due date, so, that they don't suffer stretchmarks, as those are very likely to devellop in that time due to the growth of the Baby at that late stage....and that WOULD be a stupid reason....because it's risking your childs wellbeing and health.

i would love a cesaerian
i have had a number of vb's and am increasingly petrified of the whole experience

i would love a section i admit it

GloriaInEleusis - I'll have to ask DH to rate mine and let you know where it ranks - considering "rank" to me means particularly smelly or odourous, that's quite a funny post!

Before I gave birth to ds I was terrified at the idea of a vaginal birth and wanted to opt for a caesarian. After having a vb I'm terrified at the idea of having a caesarian, and I certainly wouldn't opt for one unless the health/life of my unborn baby was at stake. It's a major operation with the possibility of quite serious complications and not something I would willingly put myself through if I could deliver a baby vaginally.

Did also hear that Ribena, that "" book their C-sections about 6 weeks before due date, so, that they don't suffer stretchmarks, as those are very likely to devellop in that time due to the growth of the Baby at that late stage....and that WOULD be a stupid reason....because it's risking your childs wellbeing and health.

ooops...not sure what happened there, lol

I planned a CS DS1 for stupid reasons. I really, really wanted to go to the loo whenever I wanted following his birth. I really, really wanted him to be born without having been in foetal distress first. I really, really wanted to focus on breast feeding and parenting without the trauma of labour.

DS1 was oblique, with a huge head (head size I predicted) and we would have been advised to have a CS anway.

Camillachicken said:

'it is an issue because a c.s costs the NHS a lot more than a vaginal birth'

I'm a afraid that is incorrect. An elective c/s is cheaper than e.g. a homebirth with two midwives attending, an instrumental vb after a long labour, or an emergency c/s after a long labour. After a straight-forward and very quick (less than 12 hours after that it starts costing more) vb without any intervention (that includes no painkillers or sewing up of vaginal tears) an elective c/s is actually the cheapest option for the NHS. If you give me half an hour I'll look up the exact numbers for you.

For me the reason to choose a c/s would be predictability. An elective c/s is the only option where I am guaranteed to get no emergency c/s, no instrumental delivery and no vaginal tears.