ELCS due to not wanting to have vaginal pain AFTER birth?

[Dexter77]

I’m currently deciding between an ELCS and a VB with epidural. I don’t believe in enduring pain that’s unnecessary and always assumed I’d have an ELCS as I think it’s a great and safe option, but now wonder whether the latter would be preferable. What’s holding me back from attempting VB is the prospect of weeks/months of pain in vaginal area after birth, as well as the fact that postnatal aftercare of birth injuries seems to be woefully inadequate in the UK with long waiting times and insufficient support.

I’d be fine with temporary pain during birth but find the prospect of having vaginal pain for so long totally unacceptable - not even to mention other potential complications such as prolapse and incontinence.
I suppose I’m asking whether it’ll be a given to have vaginal/perineal pain AFTER the birth with VB of normal sized babies (no reason to assume mine will be big).
Keen also to hear from women who had a pain free birth but pain afterwards and how they found it.

PS: And yes, I know there’ll be pain from having an ELCS after birth, but I just know I’ll cope better with having pain in abdomen than in genital area.

@Catherine709

Crikey OP, calm down. I simply gave my opinion on a thread where you asked for opinions. I know women who have been debilitated by an ELCS, my own mother included, but if you want to dismiss this as a falsehood to make yourself feel better then crack on. You need to accept that sometimes people aren’t going to say what you want to hear, as everybody has differing views on things - life would be very boring if everyone agreed all the time. Grow up a little.

If you RTFT you'll see most of this thread is full of the OP arguing with anyone who mentions a caesarean is risky, she only answers 'nicely' to those who agree with her. She doesn't want opinions, she wants a thread full of people agreeing with her. I wouldn't waste your time.

@tickledtiger

I had an ELCS for breech presentation. I have a positive attitude towards ELCS, it was a great experience and I will ask for a repeat CS if I have another child. However the pain of recovery was quite severe at first. For the six weeks after the delivery I took regular painkillers- I mean that was when I started to forget to take them because the pain wasn’t bothering me any more. There are women who have much much less pain than I did, I don’t think you can predict how painful your recovery will be. I could do everything I needed to for my baby (I think the baby herself was a BIG painkiller).

I don’t think there are guarantees either way. I remember when they first started cutting during my CS and I thought well this is it, major surgery, I hope there aren’t any complications.

Thanks for your input. I am bracing myself for significant pain should I opt for a section, thankfully I won’t need to move much in first few weeks after birth.

In an ideal world I would also prefer a straightforward vaginal birth without any injuries and significant pain afterwards, and would prefer not having a section if this was possible. But since this can’t be guaranteed, I’m just not sure I’d like to gamble.

Have to say the constant stream of news about overwhelmed maternity services due to Covid makes a VB less likely for me, the thought of being stranded on a dangerously understaffed maternity ward while in the throes of labour is the stuff of nightmares for me.

Lol @mummyh2016. Not even remotely true, but tell yourself whatever you want. If you can’t see that it was you and a small handful of „sections are terrible!!!!“-hysterics who started arguing with me and belittling my opinions and choices I can’t help you frankly. Don’t know why you keep coming back to comment?

I've had a CS (though it was an EMCS) and a vaginal birth.

I was in a lot more pain after the CS, and the recovery period was a lot longer - weeks rather days.

I nearly had to have a hysterectomy during my ELCS (due to due breech baby) as they caused (long term) damage to my womb so unfortunately there are risks. I know women with long term numbness beneath their scar and pain whenever they've been quite active. Personally I'd do a bit more research if I was you.

@Dexter77

Lol *@mummyh2016*. Not even remotely true, but tell yourself whatever you want. If you can’t see that it was you and a small handful of „sections are terrible!!!!“-hysterics who started arguing with me and belittling my opinions and choices I can’t help you frankly. Don’t know why you keep coming back to comment?

I wasn't talking to you, my post was to @Catherine709. You're an idiot, my very first post I recommended you had a sodding section. Now DFOD.

I don’t think you can guarantee anything either way to be fair. As a poster above me pointed out, if you’re really unlucky you can end up with a hysterectomy or worse with an ELCS. You can’t eliminate all uncertainty here.

In the end the decision for ELCS was made for me because of breech, but earlier in the pregnancy I did contemplate asking for an ELCS. It appeared to be a safer option for my baby, but it would make future pregnancies slightly riskier.

I think we would all want a straightforward VB with a quick recovery, but nobody can be guaranteed that. You can take some of the uncertainty away by opting for a CS but not all of it.

When I’d had the baby I had lots of help breastfeeding (which was successful) but I didn’t need any help with changing her or anything else. My partner did a lot around the house, got food in etc. the pain didn’t really get me down because I was so happy with the new baby.

There are just no guarantees either way. All you can do is educate yourself about the risks of each option and decide which risks are more acceptable to you. And it sounds like that’s what you’ve done.

For what it’s worth, I think it’s perfectly ok to decide that major vaginal injury isn’t a risk you’re prepared to take - provided you appreciate that ELCSs aren’t risk-free either. I found having surgery to my vagina (and I needed a lot of it) a very painful, dehumanising and demeaning experience. I think it’s fine to say actually, my vagina really matters to me.

That said, I’m in the position of having to choose between CS and vaginal birth for my second birth (due to a nasty tear and some other complications the first time round) and I’m finding it a really difficult decision. I don’t want a repeat - or worse - of my first birth but I don’t fancy some of the more unpleasant risks of a caesarean one bit.

I think I might of posted on this earlier. I wanted to let you know how my C-section went.

Don’t do it!!

I’ve had three natural labours, a second degree tear, first degree tear and mild prolapse. I would take all of that over c section recovery. I’ll be 4 weeks post c section on Saturday and it’s awful. Pain, not being able to sleep lying down, constant worry your scar is infected (mine has opened slightly), shit after care and complete loss of independence.

I regret every day that I didn’t give my induction another day. This is the worst thing I’ve ever experienced and I have I very high pain threshold.

@Bennetgirl oh gosh that sounds awful. I had one a couple of months ago and it wasn’t like that at all. The first week wasn’t great mobility-wise but I wasn’t in any actual ‘pain’ at any point and I could sleep, I just had to prop myself up a bit so it was easier when I tried getting up. I think it’s just completely the luck of the draw with a c-section recovery. Hope you’re better soon

I had a 2nd degree tear with no pain relief with my first. I had no pain at all post-birth, as soon as she was out, I felt just like normal

But also I do believe that women should have the right to choose and be supported in their choices. Birth is hard physically and mentally, and I suppose the difference between post VB pain and post C section pain is that c sections are controlled and pretty predictable whereas you just don’t know if your VB will result in horrific injuries or whether it’ll be a walk in the park.

@Saoirsesersha

But also I do believe that women should have the right to choose and be supported in their choices. Birth is hard physically and mentally, and I suppose the difference between post VB pain and post C section pain is that c sections are controlled and pretty predictable whereas you just don’t know if your VB will result in horrific injuries or whether it’ll be a walk in the park.

No, csections can also end with horrific injuries.

I had two VBs. the first one was traumatic enough that I seriously considered ELCS for my second but I ended up going for a VB and that turned out to be a good decision on that occasion. I discussed ELCS with my OB though and she was very supportive. Outcomes for mums and babies are very good with ELCS and I don’t think you can compare them to EMCS.

In terms of pain following a VB, I wouldn’t even really say it’s vaginal pain that’s the issue. I had an episiotomy with my first and a superficial tear with my second, but neither really caused me any bother or hurt me. I was obviously stitched up both times but there was no pain beyond mild stinging.

The worst things about recovery for me were pelvic girdle pain, which was bad both times but much shorter lived the second time and which I think is linked to my hypermobility, and constipation! I also felt muscle pain in my whole body from pushing - it was like the most intense workout ever.

[quote Dexter77]@EgonSpengler2020 A CS is a 10-20 minute routine surgery that happens every day in a calm controlled manner and perfectly safe. I’d prefer not to have a scar on my abdomen but would rather have abdominal surgery than major vaginal injury.[/quote]
10-20 mins? Give over

Hello, thought I’d post an update.
I did have an ELCS in the end, my baby ended up measuring big (over 4 kilo mark by 40 weeks), and that sealed the deal for me.
In a nutshell, I’m extremely happy I went for a planned section.
The actual day, including pre OP, the birth and aftercare on the ward (private), was just great, calm, and enjoyable.
I felt rested when the baby was born, we had immediate skin to skin and bonded (which had been a concern of mine), she latched on instantly and 3 months later I’m still exclusively BFing, which I never thought would work out this way (had loads of problems last time after VB, so much for that).

I was up and showered a few hours after the birth, almost pain free at that point thanks to strong painkillers - which I took for 2.5 weeks.
The only downside was that after 5 days of feeling fantastic (went for short walks, did light housework and held baby all day), I developed a stabbing pain on one side due to an internal, externally invisible haematoma that became infected. I stupidly didn’t flag this pain for a week thinking this was normal, and was in a lot of discomfort for some time. When I did flag it however I was swiftly diagnosed, put on antibiotics and the pain was gone later that evening, just wish I’d requested to be seen sooner!

My abdomen was swollen for perhaps 3 weeks, but the scar looked great 5 days after the OP when the dressing was removed, I couldn’t believe how well it had healed already, ( though the incision is longer than I expected - friends and family members have had significantly smaller ones of just a few cm, mine is about 10-11cm long).

There have been no other complications - I’ve been working out at the gym twice a week since 6 weeks post-OP with no issues, don’t have an overhang now, look back on the birth fondly, am extremely happy that my genital area is intact and will probably do it all again at some point. Thoroughly recommended!

Oh, PS: My baby was born after about 7 minutes, and had the cord tightly wrapped around her neck, an attempted VB would have ended in a section my consultant said. So it was as quick a birth as I expected.

After she was born it took about 30 minutes until I was finished and lifted onto a bed and wheeled off to postnatal, all in all definitely under an hour in theatre.

Forgot to mention had a mild case of bladder retention the day after, but that was quickly resolved. Stayed in hospital two nights and enjoyed being looked after by wonderful nurses - I’d definitely go private for postnatal again in future, worth every penny.

OP I could have written this myself. In fact, I can’t even use tampons! You don’t have to justify your ELCS to anyone, and YANBU to want one. I have looked at the stats too, and I feel ELCS is the safest option. Best of luck to you x

Not read through the posts but iv heard c sections are more painful in terms of aftercare. Iv had 2 VBs and revovery was fine. Didn't feel much pain just a bit sore for first couple of days.

Thanks for the update OP. So glad to hear it all went well and you had a positive experience.

I've had both. Pain after vaginal births lasted a couple of days. Pain after c-sections lasted about 4 months.

Thank you @ThunderSocks ! :)

Congratulations @Dexter77 I had my C-section in October and it was the best decision I've made - even thinking of having one more. So happy for you that you were able to have the birth you wanted and that it all went well!

@Labyrinth86 thank you, really glad you also had such a good experience!

My VB was hideous and I suffered enduring vaginal pain for more than 2 years following.