ELCS booked for my due date

[Weddingclash]

Hi ladies - I’ve just had my c section date through and it’s booked on my due date. Is this normal ? I’m really not happy as I don’t want to go into labour.

Mine was on my due date too and although I was also worried, I was told that if it looked like I was going into labour it would be moved forward. As it happens I arrived at my due date without even a twinge.

They can book from 39 weeks for ELCS but obviously depends on the elective reasons and availability.
If you are concerned about what happens if you go into labour then talk to the midwife or your consultant to put a plan in place to reassure yourself.

I thought bang on 39 weeks or as close as availability allows given they don’t usually schedule weekends was the norm. With my first due date was a Sat so I got the choice of 38+6 or 40+2. My second was a weekday so booked for exactly 39. Have you asked your midwife? Perhaps the hospital is busy and it was the earliest they could get you?

It's normally booked for 39 weeks but depending where that falls can depend on where you get a slot e.g. if you are due around Christmas or New year then there are lots of bank holidays which make the availability of lists space less. Or if there is an usually high demand for elective sections at the particular time you need one.
How far off from your due date are you? Sometimes if the decision is made very close to the end of pregnancy to have an ELCS it can be harder to find a slot as many have been booked earlier- this varies by trust though so I don't know in your case.

I'm an obstetric anaesthetic and recovery nurse so work in obstetric theatres and to reassure you if you come in in labour and are booked for an ELCS then you will have an EMCS (it will be calm but just unplanned). The only time you won't go straight to theatre is if there is an emergency case already in, but every effort will be made to get you into theatre.

You could try your midwife as first port of call to discuss an alternative date?

My trust does 39 weeks and even that seems late to me as my first came 3 weeks early.
I wouldn't be happy with due date. Is there anyone you can talk to?

Thanks for the replies everyone - my due date is 30 Sept so not long to go! My c section was signed off by a consultant at 32 weeks but apparently my trust only gives you 7-10 days notice although I’ve since heard of a lot of ladies getting their date at 32 weeks so feeling like I’ve been fobbed off a bit. The trust got a very poor rating at the beginning of the year so I have zero confidence in them.

im going to speak to my midwife and see if there is anything they can do to bring it forward.

They’ll move it forward if you go into labour.

Statistically you’re unlikely to go into labour on your due date, although some babies do come early; and September/October has been a crazy time for births in England, so they may genuinely have no other availability for planned sections.

I wouldn’t be too worried but my son was born 2 weeks late and most of my friends babies were late too, first and second borns.

Hi !
do you have any update on this?
the exact same thing has happened to me .
booked on my due date on October the 28th.
when I asked the consultant about going into labor before then she seemed to avoid answering me

I think some hospitals just do not have capacity in theatres, obviously it will vary from time of year occasionally, this time of year often the busiest. They effectively are ranking those low risk & determining that they can risk those patients going into labour beforehand, in some cases it genuinely will happen too quickly with probably not massive consequences on the mum but equally they will then try and deal with it using their emergency theatre if possible because they often will have space then as they have to leave it available. I guess it’s maximising theatre use, which only doesn’t work out if it’s a fast labour or it is genuinely too busy with emergencies, this will be a minority though.

I realised this quite early on at the hospital I was with and made a last minute switch at 36 weeks which in my case worked out ok as got ELCS 38+5, I don’t think I’m actually discharged yet from the other hospital although I will decline if they do contact me but given this is happening start of next week it’s sounding pretty unlikely I would of got a early date. It’s all chance though because even with that date I could still go into labour this weekend, or even earlier for some!

If you go into labour, you go to the hospital straight away and they will do it as an unscheduled c section when you arrive. My baby was breech and my section was booked very late for 39+5 due to easter weekend causing a backlog. I went into labour at 39+3. The consultant midwife told me to go to the hospital as soon as I had any signs of labour, so I did (felt my 1st contraction around 5.30am, waters broke at 6am, was at the hospital by 6.30am). When I got there, baby had turned head down inbetween my scan at 39+1 and going into labour at 39+3 so I had a vaginal delivery, but she said if I had wanted to have the section, they would have got me prepped there and then for it.

@Natalierosexox so they wouldn’t move the date as they said it wasn’t an urgent medical reason to change. In my due date, we were waiting to go to theatre when they cancelled it due to emergencies!! So I ended up having it a few days later - luckily didn’t go into labour beforehand