Hi everyone, sorry in advance for the length of my post but it won't make sense unless I explain everything in detail.
I am currently 36+5 with baby number 6. I had a standard growth scan due to increased BMI on 28th January at 36+3. Baby is estimated to be 6lb 14oz which is great and there are no concerns on the growth. However during the scan baby was very unstable in presentation. She started cephalic, then moved to breech and then finally settled on transverse. However, this is nothing new to me unfortunately.
My 1st child was footling breech back in 2010. For reference I was only 18 years old so I was not very assertive and feel that due to my age I wasn't listened to as much as I would have been had I been older. I had an ECV to try and manually turn him which failed. His head was well and truly wedges under my ribs and he was a big boy, they were convinced he would not turn on his own and booked me in for elective c-section. I turned up to my pre-op assessment a few days before my c-section. They took my MRSA swabs, took my blood, provided me with the antibacterial scrub etc and then decided to scan me and found out that he was actually turning right at that moment and he settled into cephalic presentation where he remained until I was induced at 40+16. The induction was horrendous, my body was not ready for labour at all. I was not effaced at all, my cervix was high and posterior. I had 2 failed pessaries, after this they decided to give me the drip which did start things but very very slowly. Eventually they broke my waters and labour went ahead normally. They examined me at midnight (roughly 40 hours after beginning the induction procedure) and I was 7cm dilated so it had been a slow process. 1 hour later I had intense pressure in my lower back (I had an epidural in) and had a really strong sensation to push. I told the midwife this and she disregarded my concerns and said it was probably just the baby's head pressing down on my cervix and there was no way I would be ready to deliver at that point based on how slow the rest of the process had been. 2 hours went by and I physically couldn't stop the pushing anymore, my body was doing it by itself. The midwife examined me and said nothing, she instead went to get a doctor. The doctor came in and examined me and found that baby's head was oblique and his heart rate was dipping to 45bpm. He asked me to push whilst he had his hand in my cervix and he tried manually turning the head to get him into position. At this point my blood pressure dropped significantly to around 70/45 and they pressed the emergency buzzer and ran us off to theatre. He was too low for c-section at this point so they used 2 sets of forceps and had to yank so hard that I was having to be dragged back up the table with each pull by the other staff in the room. It was extremely traumatic and I ended up with a PPH and was very unwell for weeks. I stayed in hospital for 5 days and it was a long road to recovery.
I had my 2nd child in 2015. During a presentation scan at 38 weeks she was discovered to be an unstable lie. She frequently flipped between transverse and cephalic. The hospital were insistent that I stay in due to the risk of cord prolapse if my waters broke. They assured me that they would check position every day during my stay and induce me as soon as she was head down. On my 2nd day as an inpatient baby was cephalic. However, they had emergencies and labour ward was too busy to safely break my waters so they assured me it would be the next day if she was still head down. This happened every single day and I didn't end up induced until 39+4. I was advised during this time not to discharge myself and go home because even though she was now cephalic they were concerned she would go back to transverse and I wouldn't know until after my waters had gone. I was nil by mouth every single day I was in there until 3pm each day when they would come and tell me that it wasn't happening that day. It had a terrible impact on my mental health. Thankfully when I was induced the procedure went smoothly and established labour was only 2 hours, so it was night and day compared to my first delivery.
Baby number 3 was cephalic the whole time. I woke up at 40+6 with bleeding. I assumed it was my show but it was a flow rather than the typical plug I had seen so I called the labour ward and they asked me to come in for examination to check all was ok. I went in and was examined and they agreed it was just my show and labour was likely to begin soon as I had been having tightening's the day before. During the examination though they discovered my pelvis was empty and on scanning me noticed that he also was transverse. I was booked in for an emergency ECV for a few hours later. Thankfully it was successful but he was small and there was a lot of fluid so they were hoping to induce me as soon as the ECV was completed. Emergencies came in though so understandably they couldn't do the induction. I was advised to go upstairs to the antenatal ward and they would induce the next day. A few hours later I begin to get painful but very irregular tightening's. They hooked me up to a monitor but said they were too irregular to be contractions so said they were BH. I tried to relax but an hour later the pain was almost unbearable. I asked for an examination and I was 6cm dilated! I had to call my husband back and was taken down to labour ward. He was born healthy 3 hours later. However, he looked like a mini version of my first child who I had the traumatic birth with. As soon as I looked at him I had a wave of panic and anxiety hit me. I ended up with extreme postnatal anxiety and was diagnosed with delayed PTSD. I was put on sertraline, amitriptyline, zopiclone (as I didn't sleep for 7 days after he was born!!) and diazepam. I am still on sertraline now from this but no longer require the other medications.
With my 4th baby she was also cephalic the whole time. At the same gestation as baby number 3 (40+6) I woke to bleeding. I assumed it was my bloody show again but decided it was sensible to get checked just in case. They confirmed it was just my show but, again, noticed she was transverse! I was offered an ECV, which failed. They waited a while and offered to try another, which also failed. The doctor then suggested a c-section that evening as I was so far along and the ECV's had failed and they didn't want me going home. I had refused to stay in due to my mental health issues and my previous experience of being an inpatient. I was told in no uncertain terms that if I went home and my baby died then it would be my fault. However, the doctor came back not long after and said they were not going to perform a c-section and I had only 2 options. They said I could try an ECV one more time with a doctor who was more experienced at performing them or they leave me and 'see what happens'. I decided to try the ECV. Surprisingly, it was successful and they immediately popped my waters and put me on the drip. Unfortunately, baby kept trying to turn back to transverse during the labour so they had to turn the drip up high to speed contractions and 2 midwives had to hold her in place on the outside of my stomach for the duration. I laboured for 90 minutes, thankfully all went well with both of us.
Baby number 5 was always cephalic. At 40+0 I had a sweep and was told it was 50/50 whether it would work or not because I was a little bit favourable but not hugely so. I woke 2 days later with blood again and strong tightening's. I went in to be checked out as labour ward recommended and was told it was my show and I was in early labour. The midwife examined me and I was now 3cm, very stretchy and favourable. She could feel the baby's head and said it was almost fully engaged. She gave me a good sweep and said due to the speed of my previous labours and that they weren't busy I could stay in the hospital if I wanted and she would check me in 4 hours. I walked around a lot, bounced on the ball and felt the tightening's getting stronger. 4 hours later she examined me and said my waters were now bulging but she could no longer feel the head. On palpating my tummy she said it felt as if he was head down still but high. They decided to scan me and discovered that the cord had dropped below his head. The doctor said there were 2 options. Either a c-section or they could try and do a controlled rupture of membranes and try and push the cord out of the way and plug the cervix with his head. They prepared me for theatre as if I was going to have a c-section just in case. Once in there they decided upon examination that it would be too risky and they performed the c-section there and then. After delivery they said that it was a good job they didn't try and move the cord out of the way because too much of it was down below the head and it likely would have ended in a crash c-section under GA.
Fast forward to now. I am planning an elective c-section as, although it was an emergency, it was my calmest and most anxious free delivery! I also wanted to avoid all the stress and anxiety from the positioning issues I have had previously. I naively thought that having an elective c-section would mean they wouldn't pay much attention to positioning but they are concerned. They decided that due to the fact I haven't gone into labour early before, they were happy for me to go home after the scan on the 28th and come back for another on 8th February when I will be exactly 38 weeks. Their plan is that if baby is still unstable lie then I will be admitted. I am expecting baby will still be unstable as they all have been up until delivery.
I haven't yet received my elective c-section date. However, I have a telephone consultation with my doctor tomorrow so I am hoping to receive it then as I am due on 22nd February. My concern is it may not be until i'm almost 40 weeks rather than earlier in the 39th week, especially as they have left it so late to book it.
I have severe anxiety over being in the hospital before birth again due to my history and my mental health. I also have 5 children at home, 4 of which have quite complex additional needs. My husband has a business to run and can't have loads of time off work before the birth as then he won't be around as much to help afterwards, which i'll need due to having a c-section.
I am unsure what to do for the best. A concern of mine is that if I were to be an inpatient then if they couldn't fit all the electives in on the day then mine would be the one cancelled as I am already in the hospital so less of a risk to them. I worry this will happen repeatedly if they are busy as it happened every day for over a week when I had my second baby.
Sorry again for the lengthy message but I had to get it all out and I don't have anybody to give me advice IRL so this is the only place. Please give me honest opinions what I should do given my circumstances or what you would do in my circumstance.