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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Choosing GA for elcs

70 replies

wingingit33 · 14/02/2022 20:30

I spent today on the antenatal ward due to start/stop tightenings (I'm 37+3). I'm having a section due to previous 3rd degree tear. My elcs is booked for next week but today I was prepped for theatre just in case it needed to be today which included meeting the anaesthetist. It all sounds terrifying. The chance of anti emetic drugs causing visual disturbances, the chance of dizziness from low bp, the paralysing feeling of the numbness which can go too high. I know he had to explain all the risks but Jesus Christ I've gone from anxious to full blown panic. I asked for a GA and he said it is always an option/my choice but that only 2% take it up. My anxiety is honestly through the roof. The thought of lying on that table totally out of control of my own body and unable to run away from it all is just utterly petrifying. I now feel confident I want my section under GA - all the problems I'll sleep through and be none the wiser. Has anyone else had one and can share experiences?

OP posts:

mummyh2016 · 15/02/2022 11:23

Out of interest is it a fairly new thing them doing ELCS via GA due to maternal request? I thought they only did they via GA if it is an emergency or there is a medical need due to the effects being passed onto baby?
A relative had to have one via GA a couple of years ago, whilst it was the right thing to do as it saved her and babies life it did really upset her and took her a while to get over it.

Goooglebox · 15/02/2022 11:27

It really isn't like that. It sounds like he explained the risks in far too much detail!

I think you should put it to one side and have the epidural because it will be nothing like what's been described. However if that's not possible due to your anxiety then give yourself a break and have the ga. It doesn't matter how baby comes out. You need to be the best shape possible going forward.

Goooglebox · 15/02/2022 11:30

By the way, I felt very sick for about three seconds during mine. Someone said "You feel sick, we're sorting that out for you now" and two seconds later it was gone. It was a non issue. They're really really on the ball.

BellatrixOnABadDay · 15/02/2022 12:22

@mummyh2016

Out of interest is it a fairly new thing them doing ELCS via GA due to maternal request? I thought they only did they via GA if it is an emergency or there is a medical need due to the effects being passed onto baby? A relative had to have one via GA a couple of years ago, whilst it was the right thing to do as it saved her and babies life it did really upset her and took her a while to get over it.

My first was nearly 10 years ago, second 7 years ago. First time they agreed to it due to the severity of my tokophobia- the anaesthetist wasn't best pleased with the consultant who had agreed to it without speaking to him but he agreed to do it. I was as healthy as you could hope to be in terms of age/weight/no medical conditions etc.

The second time, they agreed to it as the first had basically set the precedent.

It was literally the best option in my own personal circumstances and it may be that it is the best option for the OP too. We are all completely different and the best option for each of us is different. The choice I made allowed me to begin motherhood in the best physical and mental state possible.

Morechocmorechoc · 15/02/2022 12:30

Sorry yoh ucan't deliver vaginally and you have to decide on this. Just remember the impact can be baby needing support breathing for a while, being sleepy etc which causes other issues. These things are scary, but you know the safest choice for baby is spinal.

Morechocmorechoc · 15/02/2022 12:31

I dont post this to guilt you, I post it as someone who made a bad couple of choices and wish I could change things. The harder choices are often the right ones.

INeedNewShoes · 15/02/2022 12:47

The anaesthetists in theatre monitor you constantly and adjust the dose and delivery speed of meds to keep you comfortable. They are highly skilled at doing this.

I've had a variety of procedures including CS without GA and felt absolutely fine through all of them. The after effects of the spinal (and other nerve blocks I've had) are minimal whereas when I wake up from GA I feel sick, shivery and confused.

I have a need to be in control, to the extent that I don't even like lying down at the dentist or medical appointments. I had to exercise some mind over matter before my C section because the thought of being unable to move my legs was terrifying. I talked this through with the anaesthetist and midwife (even down to saying 'but what if there's a fire and I can't get myself to safety?)!' and basically was reassurred that they have protocols in place to deal with anything that might crop up.

My C section is probably the easiest operation I've had in many respects. I actually remember it fondly!

JustWonderingIfYou · 15/02/2022 12:51

I think I'd find it very disturbing being put under 40 weeks pregnant and then wake up and be handed a baby that I'm told is mine.

Very removed from the whole process! Even more meat on the table than a standard C-sec, at least you can hear everything that's happening then.

BellatrixOnABadDay · 15/02/2022 12:59

@Morechocmorechoc

I dont post this to guilt you, I post it as someone who made a bad couple of choices and wish I could change things. The harder choices are often the right ones.

Well that post is designed to guilt OP (and anyone else) who has chosen a GA. The implication being that it is the 'wrong choice'.

And it perhaps would be for the majority of people. There are circumstances where for a small number of women, GA may be a far far better option. There are risks but even those are absolutely minimal.

I'm not saying it isn't ever necessary, but neither of my babies needed help breathing , both were breastfeeding really quickly. I think it's good for OP to see positive experiences as well as negative.

Blossom64265 · 15/02/2022 13:06

You can end up with all sorts of awful side effects from GA as well and you won’t be sleeping through them. They can last for hours and even days after the procedure. If you have had good experiences with ga in the past that is one thing, but if you haven’t, don’t assume you won’t be one of the unlucky few who get bad side effects.

My C-section was a dream in comparison. They modified it a bit based upon my GA reactions, so it wasn’t the standard cocktail, but it was great.

Blossom64265 · 15/02/2022 13:24

I did have nausea start to come on several times during my c-section. I would just tell the anesthesiologist and she added a quick acting medication and it was gone in seconds. The only reason it happened so many times was that my C-section was a couple of hours long which is really unusual, but I was a really complicated case.

mummyh2016 · 15/02/2022 13:24

@BellatrixOnABadDay I didn't say the OP shouldn't, and neither had the other poster whose throat you've also jumped down. I simply asked the question as I genuinely didn't know they did it other than when they had to, ie in an emergency when there isn't time for a spinal or if the patient cannot have a spinal due to other conditions. OP asked for people's experiences and that is what people are giving. In fact there is only you from what I can see who has said she should opt for it. The other how many posts aren't telling her not to for the fun of it. At the end of the day it's up to her, not how I would choose to deliver though.

BellatrixOnABadDay · 15/02/2022 13:34

[quote mummyh2016]@BellatrixOnABadDay I didn't say the OP shouldn't, and neither had the other poster whose throat you've also jumped down. I simply asked the question as I genuinely didn't know they did it other than when they had to, ie in an emergency when there isn't time for a spinal or if the patient cannot have a spinal due to other conditions. OP asked for people's experiences and that is what people are giving. In fact there is only you from what I can see who has said she should opt for it. The other how many posts aren't telling her not to for the fun of it. At the end of the day it's up to her, not how I would choose to deliver though. [/quote]

And all I did in response to your post was give an answer about whether they did do GA for an ELCS- and also pointed out that for some women it really is the best option and that we are all different with different reasons.

I haven't jumped down anyone's throat either- just pointed out that comments like 'the right choice is often the harder choice' are quite judgemental and appear to be designed to make anyone willingly choosing a GA feel guilty, as though it's the wrong choice. When you are in a situation like mine, all of the choices available were very very difficult to make and because it was so extreme, I chose the (tiny) risks of a GA. And I'm not saying that a GA isn't a grim experience for lots of women. But wanted to add my positive experience for the OP to see a different POV.

Morechocmorechoc · 15/02/2022 14:14

But Bellatrix, OP doesn't Need the GA it is due to how scared she is. Fear is real I get that, my post isn't to make anyone feel bad, sometime facing your fears is better though. And I stand by my comment, giving your baby medicine they don't need is not the right choice when you dint have to. There I said it.

BellatrixOnABadDay · 15/02/2022 14:24

@Morechocmorechoc I can't speak for the OP and the level of fear she has. I can only speak for myself and the knowledge I have about tokophobia. Fear is real, fear can be extreme, and luckily the consultants I saw actually understand that extreme fear and mental health considerations are valid reasons for choosing a GA.

FindingMeno · 15/02/2022 14:27

I had an emergency c section under GA.
It was fine but I don't remember the first 24 hours.
Even so, it wasn't a major issue all things considered.

GraciousPiglet · 15/02/2022 14:33

I too felt similar before my ELCS which I had for the same reasons.

I had never had an operation before so never considered a general.

I absolutely hate the feeling of being out of control at all. I don't ever drink, done drugs etc. So I was scared.

Honestly I loved it 🤣. It took all the pressure off. It didn't feel strange at all, it just felt nothingy. The whole thing felt so calm and peaceful and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The feeling comes back gradually and normally. It didn't feel strange at all really. Just like having a dead leg that you've slept on.

There will be risks of course but there are risks to absolutely everything, including as you well know, vaginal 'normal' births. The risks from a GA will be higher than both of course.

You can do it OP you will be fine ❤️❤️

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 15/02/2022 20:58

@FindingMeno

I had an emergency c section under GA. It was fine but I don't remember the first 24 hours. Even so, it wasn't a major issue all things considered.

It still burgers me about that DD was born at 11.45pm, but I didn’t come round til 4am.

Crunchyapp · 15/02/2022 21:01

I had to as I have a spine issue making epidural/spinal impossible.

It was fine but the pain afterwards is worse than if you’d had a spinal (I had this for my first)

Hireeed · 16/02/2022 09:39

So sorry it's causing you such stress. Just wanted to say anaesthetist sits next to you at your head so you can talk to them all the time. Mine was really wonderful, so kind and calm, he asked me at the start how much I'd like to know about what was going on and I said everything so he talked me through each stage. But he said some people prefer to know nothing until it's over so he'd be guided by me. There's a screen so you and your partner see nothing at all unless you want to. Handed baby straight away on chest and that distracted me from everything else. No pain or any weird feelings.

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