Extreme phobia of vomit. Labour vs c-section?

[Helpmeoutt]

Can anyone give me their honest experiences of vomiting during labour / delivery or during a C-section please?

What caused the vomiting?
Can anything be done to stop or prevent it?
Which birthing option is more likely to experience vomiting?

I’m not scared of birth, needles, blood or pain but the idea of vomit fills me with the worst anxiety and dread. I can’t stress enough how bad my phobia is.

I vomited all the way through my c section, I think it was the medication for the epidural that caused it which I'd had in for 24 hours by that point. My second c section was elective and I wasn't sick at all. They did give me some anti sickness medication that helped though!

are you receiving any therapy for this OP?

babies tend to vomit. a lot.

I vomited during my emergency c-section, after the baby was out and while they were putting me back together. I think it's because you're meant to fast 6 hours before, but as it was an emergency they couldn't wait.

No vomit, three c sections

I completely understand. I turned down all pain relief in labour out of concern it might cause nausea or vomiting.

I very very nearly vomited during my labour with DD1 - if I didn't have this phobia I probably would have vomited but I basically stopped myself. I asked for antisickness tablets which they gave me no problem and it solved the problem. I think it would have been fairly short lived nausea anyway. However, this was pretty early in my labour and I was only in hospital because there was a concern there meconium in my waters. Otherwise I'd have been at home and wouldn't have had the tablets (although could probably have taken the morning sickness tablets I had).

With DD2 I was induced and wanted an antisickness injection before they gave me any drugs. Again, not a problem at all once I explained the issue, and they gave me another one later in the labour once the first had work off. I had no nausea or vomiting during that labour.

I don’t think I have as much of an aversion as you do, but having children is definitely desensitising me.
I didn’t feel sick at all during my natural labour. I did start to feel nauseous during my elective c-section but I told the anaesthetist and he immediately put some anti sickness stuff into the epidural and it went away.

Vomited after c section and felt extremely nauseous throughout. Combination of medication, shock and anxiety maybe.

@fruity81 thank you for the insight. Yes i know. My phobia strictly relates to myself vomiting, if that makes any difference to the questions I asked!

Maybe speak to your midwife about what pain relief is in danger of causing you to vomit and anti sickness is a great idea. Try and find out which are ok for birthing mothers and how accessible they are if you need them. Can a doc prescribe in advance on a PRN (as needed) basis which might mean less of a wait? Maybe try and make it part of your birth plan

Also threw up during my C-section, all anaesthetics make me sick, but as per pp could also have been nerves and adrenaline.

I also understand your fear. Life long sufferer here. I can't speak about c sections as I haven't had one but I have given birth 4 times, and over those 4 births have experienced gas and air, pethidine, meptid, and an epidural. Never even felt sick once.

I wasn't sick nor felt it once I had a vaginal birth and gas and air. The women in the ward who had c sections were often vomiting due to the pain medication (I think) so I'd guess it's more likely with a C section.

The standard cocktail of drugs given for a c section wil include one tht helps you not vomit, they are extremely keen for you not to be sick during the surgery and the anesthetist will be keeping a very close eye on you and how you feel.
Feeling sick wasn't a thing on either of my labour's or emcs.

I vomited during transition in labour both times. I don't think anything could have been done to prevent it (sorry) - I hadn't yet had any pain relief at that point so it wasn't a drug reaction, just what my body did at that point.

Honestly I think there is a risk with either.

I’ve had 2 sections and not thrown up at all. But one of my friends did.

2 of my friends also threw up quite a lot during labour, others didn’t.

Thank you everyone for your replies so far! They’re really helpful and I didn’t know they could give anti sickness medication before there was a need for it.

My midwife wasn’t too helpful when I asked. I’ll definitely mention again when we go through my birthing plan.

I threw up during my vaginal birth (with epidural), have no idea what caused this. I wonder if it’s possible for you to be prescribed anything to take beforehand in either circumstance? Sorry this sounds horrible for you x

I had an ELCS and was given anti-emetics by the anaesthetist because I was worried about being sick. I was absolutely fine.

I've had two c sections and vomited after both. As others have said, I think it was caused by the medications I was given.

I felt sick during my section but the anaesthetist gave me an anti sickness tablet. I have friends who have vomited during theirs, though. It's also very common to have a clear out prior to labour which can either be diarrhea or vomiting (your body's way to reduce the risk of it happening while pushing) so there are no guarantees either way. People react differently to all pain relief. My mum vomited most of the way through after pethidine for example.

I vomited as both my labours began (vaginal delivery). I think it's the body's way of clearing itself out so all systems can be focused on having the baby, not on digesting food. I think it's a sign labour is beginning/underway

Ah I cross posted with PP

Ah OP that sounds hard. I vomited in both of my natural labours, I went into labour very quickly and it got intense very quickly (short labours) I think it was the sheer roughness of the contractions that just caused my organs to squeeze everything inside. I don't have a phobia perse but did hate and was scared of being sick, but as I was mid contraction that was far more distracting than the vomiting itself.

I vomited during my labour - dont think there was anything that could have stopped it. I did have an epidural and oxytocin drip, and it was after these, so could have been rated I guess. But I think its quite normal to vomit during labour anyway.

(I didn't feel sick, I think it was just a physical reaction to all the internal squeezing!)