Do you think a c-section affects bonding?

[Needaholidayplease]

I had an emergency section with my first, and had terrible PND and difficulty bonding- probably for all sorts of reasons.

But one thing I struggled with was the 'clinical' nature of the section, and it took me ages to get my head around the fact that he was my baby and that he had come from me. I always felt like maybe I would have bonded better and felt more like his mum if I'd seen him physically come out of me.

Fast forward to now and I'm trying to decide whether to have vbac or elective section. Part of me is worried about having the same bonding issues/lack of 'rush of love' if I had a c section.

I know that a vaginal birth can be just as traumatic as a section, but in terms of the role hormones etc play, does anyone know if it is objectively harder to bond with a c section baby? I had no 'high' after his birth, it just felt like I'd been passed some random baby from somewhere.

Would be good to hear about other people's experiences - I'm probably attributing the lack of bonding to a section when actually it was just the trauma/PND

Not at all and I had one vaginal and one section under GA.

OP, from what I’ve heard elective sections are very calm and you can hold baby straight away, it’s not an emergency where everyone is running around etc. I had a traumatic birth which included theatre and instrument delivery, I then couldn’t hold her till the next day as I was just too tired after a 4 day labour, they tried propping her up on me but I physically couldn’t lift my arms to snuggle her or anything and then they sent my husband home so had no one to hold her on me/pass her to me, I was then in enormous amounts of pain from the stitches from episiotomy and tear that I couldn’t even sit to give her a cuddle/feed her or pick her up from her crib for 2 weeks so my DH had to do it, it really ruined the whole experience for me and I didn’t feel that rush of love and bond straight away, breast feeding failed dramatically which just made it worse. If I have another I’ll be having an elective section.

I wasn't allowed to hold my baby during my elective c-section. He was checked over, weighed, measured, wrapped in a towel and given to dh who was sat behind my head where I couldn't see him. I remember talking and dh telling me that ds was turning his face towards me when he heard my voice. Just as they were finishing sewing me up, ds started to struggle with his breathing and had to be taken to nicu. I sailed that I hadn't held him yet so they let me have a quick cuddle. I didn't get to see him for another 6 hours. With my next one I was desperate to have a vaginal birth so that it he ended up in nicu again I could be with him as much as I wanted without having to worry about pain or not being able to feel my legs afterwards.

@Namechangedforspooky

My VB was way more traumatic than my section (it was an elective section because of it). No difference in bonding between either of them from memory

Exactly the same scenario for me. No bonding issues with either birth, despite my first (VB) being extremely traumatic. The elective C for 2nd was a very welcome experience after the first

I think “bonding” is something that varies enormously between women, regardless of mode of delivery.
I remember a nurse coming back to work after maty leave, saying she had been amazed by the instant “rush of love” she felt towards the baby at birth. My other nurse and I (I’m a retired hospital doc) looked at each other after she left the room, and simultaneously asked “What rush?!” - neither of us had felt any “bonding” at all, but gradually grew to love our babies as we got to know them! And we had both had vaginal deliveries for all our DC.