Going into labour before date of scheduled C-section — what happens?

[caomei]

Does anyone have any personal experience with going into labour before the date of a scheduled (repeat) elective C-section or could advise on what happens?

I lost my son halfway through the pregnancy and had to be induced to deliver him. While I was fine physically, I knew that, mentally and emotionally, I could not go through that again and opted for an elective C-section at 38 weeks (for personal medical reasons) with my rainbow baby.

With baby number 3, I know I want a repeat elective C-section, as I had a positive experience and also know I want to remember my labour and delivery with my angel baby without other memories of active labour. For medical reasons, I would need to deliver sometime around 37 weeks, no later than 38 weeks. Obviously, at that gestation, it would be unlikely for labour to start on its own, but I get waves of anxiety at the thought I could end up having a vaginal delivery.

What would happen if I went into labour? Is there a chance I’d have to deliver naturally? Everything I’ve read is that they’ll squeeze you into the surgery schedule, but I would be reassured if I heard from women who’ve been in a similar situation.

It happened to me, 3 days before my scheduled CS, they did it as an emergency section instead

So sorry for the loss of your first baby 💐
Whilst I have no personal experience, I am an obstetric theatre/recovery nurse. If you think you are in labour, call triage sooner rather than later and come into hospital. If you are in labour, you will be prioritised to go to theatre, but any emergency cases (threat to baby or mum) will be of a higher clinical need. So if no one else on delivery suite needs to go to theatre urgently then you will go for your c section, you would bump any electives as you are labouring already.

The only time you would have to have a vaginal delivery is if you came to hospital and you were fully dilated or if there was emergency after emergency and they couldn't get you into theatre in time. I have only seen the latter happen once in the time I've worked on delivery suite, it can happen more often that women have gone too far in labour to have a section safely (baby too far down birth canal) but much less likely if your c section will be booked at 37-38 week gestation.

Really hope all goes well for you ❤️

This happened to me this week! It just becomes an EMCS. I had an ELCS booked for early November, both my previous DC were almost 2 weeks late - this one my waters went and I started labouring 2 weeks before the booked CS date, of course!

I went into the MAU, and as I wanted to keep the CS not try for a natural delivery (unstable lie, big baby, previous EMCS) it is an EMCS and they find you a spot/push the ELCS on the list back. I went into MAU at 6pm, he was born by 5am. If Labour had been moving faster it would have been earlier - they prioritise on the fly and the woman with GD went before me as my contractions were still further apart- if they'd been closer I'd have gone ahead of her and he'd have been born about 1am.

They were absolutely rammed as well, lots of women needing beds everywhere, so I have every confidence they'd find you a spot. Its not like it was super quiet and they had empty rooms to fill.

This happened to me last Wednesday early hours! my section was scheduled for Thursday AM and my waters broke Wednesday around 3.30am 🤦🏻‍♀️ I called delivery suite & explained my waters had gone but I was booked for ELCS the following day. They said to come in, they'd check its waters and then discuss plan to have section earlier. I am also GBS positive so needed to be put on a drip for antibiotics straight away.
Went in early hours Wednesday & confirmed waters. Contractions hadn't started at this point so after waiting to see it a slot would come free, it was decided that I would stay in until the following day and have my ELCS on Thurs AM as planned. However, contractions did then start during the evening on Thursday so was taken for EMCS a couple of hours later.
I had the exact same concerns, I was terrified. You will still get your section x
Also, I was booked in for 40 weeks exactly, so unlikely to happen to you at 37 weeks unless you labour extremely quickly and baby is out before there is time to think about a section!

You have a cat 3

I had contractions the day before my elcs (no waters breaking). I travelled to the labour ward and they slotted me in - I turned up around 4pm and delivered about 8.30pm. It was categorised as an emergency c-section but it was calm and as expected. There was never any question of not having a c-section as I had gynae issues and my gynaecologist had insisted that I needed one for medical reasons.