C sections pros and cons

[Mummapenguin20]

This is my 4th baby, I’ve had 3 natural labours my last one was eventfully in lockdown and now I’m petrified of delivering this baby at all….

im leaning towards a c-section anybody that has had one please can you give me pros and cons 😢😢 as I say I’m terrified either way xx

Ah bless you. I’ve had 1 vaginal birth and 1 semi-planned c-section (planned in that it was decided the day before that I was going to have one).
Personally, I preferred my vaginal birth to my c-section.
I will add the caveat that my vaginal birth was free of any complications and interventions and I gave birth in a midwife led unit, in a birthing pool.
The most succinct way I can describe it is that with a vaginal birth you have all the pain during the birth and once your baby’s here that pain is gone. It is literally the opposite with a c-section. A pain free birth, then all the pain once your baby has arrived.

c-section: lots of people in the room, firing lots of questions at you - I found this quite overwhelming.
vaginal: just myself, husband and midwife.

C-section: overnight stay in hospital with other people, who do not care that you are exhausted and in agony, they will FaceTime their family with the speaker on full volume at 2am. Husband restricted to visiting hours only.
vaginal: back at home with baby, husband and a domino’s pizza less than 9 hours after birth 😂

c-section: catheter
vaginal: no catheter

c-section: you know the date you’re going in and can plan childcare around it
vaginal: it’s in the hands of the gods!

C-section: blood thinning injections for 10 days after birth that you do yourself at home
vaginal: none of this

c-section: stitches from surgery that you can only have paracetamol and ibuprofen for
vaginal: stitches and haemorrhoids that have their own gravitational pull that you only have paracetamol, ibuprofen and anusol for

c-section: can’t drive for 6 weeks
vaginal: can drive when you feel ready

those are all the things I can think off the top of my head but I hope it’s somewhat helpful! Best of luck OP!

I’ve only had sections and obviously some of these might go to shit if you go into labour early or if you’re cancelled due to emergencies but for me the positives are:
-You can plan childcare
-It’s quick- wake up, go to hospital, baby within a few hours
-Guaranteed a doctor attended birth
-They give you the good drugs: morphine in hospital, coedine to take home
-No pain (see above), sure the recovery is sore and you have to take it easy but at no point was it ever painful
-Much kinder on your pelvic floor
-Still got to make a birth plan like did I want the screen down for delivery (no!!) or did I want baby cleaned (yes!!)

As to PP’s points:
-Do check with your insurance co but usually you can drive as soon as you feel up to it and are confident you could do an emergency stop. That’s likely to be 3-4 weeks.
-The catheter isn’t a big deal, I had my babies early morning and had it out after lunch. Besides you could have one anyway for a vaginal if you go for the epidural.
-I hate the injections too but again a vaginal doesn’t necessarily mean you escape as age, blood loss and BMI are also all risk factors.

I went to a private wing of an NHS hospital so my post natal care experiences probably aren’t relevant so I’ll stop there!

Good luck with your decision OP.

I've also had one of each - an emergency section after a long labour and an unplanned vaginal birth after I went into labour ahead of my planned section and everything progressed too quickly for an emergency one. We'd love a third and I'm in a real quandary about what I'd do next time, there are pros and cons of each.

In favour of the section is no pain during, and fairly manageable pain after so long as you stay on top of painkillers (I set timers rather than waiting until I was sore again!), plus you can plan the date with more certainty - though of course sometimes babies have other ideas! However I agree that the injections afterwards are no fun, and it was a real pain not driving for weeks, and would be more so with older kids.

For vaginal birth, it was lovely being up and about, and out of hospital quicker, and driving much sooner too. For me the disadvantages are it's harder to arrange childcare and the main one is the risk of childbirth injuries - with a section you know what you're getting! I had a fairly deep second degree tear with my second and it was so sore for a couple of weeks after, even with painkillers, and probably worse than my section (though partly it's also a more recent memory so might have rose tinted specs on for the section...).

There's really no right/wrong answer annoyingly - could you ask for an appointment with the birth choices clinic to talk through the options?

Hi OP, i ended up with an EMCS also because of the horrific care in lockdown. I’ve never had a vaginal birth but also don’t trust the staff to help me through a vbac, so having ELCS this time.

Might it worth be asking for a referral to perinatal mental health. I’m with them because i’m terrified of going back into hospital and they will make a birth plan with you so that the staff are aware of requests but also triggers.

There’s no requirement that prevents you from driving for six weeks post section. If you have an uncomplicated recovery, feel physically ok to drive and have stopped any strong pain relief you’re generally good to go when you feel ready. Most insurers simply require that you are able to safely perform an emergency stop. I was fit to drive at about 3 weeks pp with my first section, and about 4 weeks pp with my second. With no. 1 I believed the “6 week rule” and called my Insurers to tell them I’d had a section and they were like, “eh, ok…congratulations?”.

Also the threshold for being prescribed blood thinner injections pp is really quite low in a lot of trusts regardless of how you deliver, so don’t go for a vaginal on that basis alone.

I was also sent home with decent pain relief (diclofenac and paracetamol) so no complaints about being in pain at any stage with either birth.

My scar with no. 1 was very neat, but after no. 2 it’s much less tidy and I now have The Overhang. My second was a longer recovery but I’m not sure whether this was to do with my increased age, the fact I was also caring for DD (3yo) or because they had to cut through scar tissue this time- probably all three!

I have no regrets re. my sections but make no bones about the fact that it’s major surgery. You’ve done it naturally three times before so if I were you that would be my preference. However I don’t know the details of your last birth and it may well be that the certainties of a section would be better for your MH and care afterwards (eg being able to plan childcare etc).

Thanks all so far…

my last labour, I went in 7cm and was told she was doing paper work and would be back, I was telling her this baby’s coming now, I was right 7 mins of being in a bed my boy was born hands on his face head and shoulders in one push no midwife to be seen. My placenta was manually removed I had a 3rd degree tear and lost 4 liters of blood in total I guess it scared me so scared to do it again

Also had a traumatic assisted vaginal first birth with post partum haemorrhage and significant damage. Had an elective c section for my second and honestly one of the the best decisions I've made.

It was calm, I remember it. I wasn't exhausted from labour and my recovery has been significantly easier. Took nothing stronger than paracetamol after, was discharged about 22 hours later (as opposed to 3 nights after vaginal birth) and was feeling very well and fully mobile at 2 weeks post partum. Could happily drive etc. I did adhere to the not lifting anything heavier than the baby for 6 weeks rule though as didn't want to cause any damage. A pain when you have a toddler but I literally haven't thought about my c section wound since about week 5 so I'm glad I did.

Also, my trust no longer use gas and air for pain relief in labour, that’s all I used with the others 🙈

Have they talked you through the precautions they can take for women who’ve had PPH’s before (cannula in, x-matched blood, actively managed 3rd stage, lower threshold for going to theatre eg if the placenta’s not behaving/to e’s a problem, etc.). Re. the pain relief, it may be worth exploring whether they’ve replaced the nitrous with anything else (?remifentanil PCA for example).

I’ve had my 16 week appointment today. I didn’t think it would be replaced. I have constant appointments so will raise this at the next one thank you x

I had a vaginal birth with my first which was long but uncomplicated with easy recovery and recently had an emergency c-section with my second following a horrendous and long labour. The c-section itself was fine. Recovery has been really tough though but I think mainly that's due to me being unprepared for a c-section. I've spoken to loads of people who had a planned section mostly following emergency section and they have all said recovery is better for planned.

Regarding pain relief I was given oral morphine in hospital and then just paracetamol/ibuprofen at home. I was breastfeeding so not allowed codeine but SIL was given codeine after hers as was bottle feeding. So I think pain relief might depend on how you're planning to feed. Definitely alternate paracetamol/ibuprofen every 2 hours though and don't wait for it to wear off.

I did find I was sent home with no info on anything though, I didn't even get told how to look after the scar properly and had multiple infections.

I'm planning on another child so this is my pro/con list for having an elective section (currently undecided but leaning towards section as the cons could happen after vaginal birth anyway):

Pro:
Able to plan childcare
Know what to expect and will be prepared this time
Actual labour part quick and no labour drama

Con:
Definitely have to stay in hospital overnight
Possible harder recovery - can't lift older children, can't do much round the house, pain, no driving
Dealing with injections and cleaning scar (super squeamish)

I would say do research into c-sections and the recovery part and as long as your are prepared and have everything you need for recovery you would be fine. But definitely speak to MW etc and go through all your options, maybe a birth debrief would help for your previous traumatic labour as well, I had one after this labour and found it really helpful.