C sections and requesting (midwifes on here can you help!)

[Summersunx]

Hi there, I'm 39 weeks and 4 days baby hasn't arrived yet and I'm just wondering if I go over 40 weeks can i request a c section instead of going way over and having inductions etc.

Many thanks

Not a midwife but you can request to give birth however you like - I had an ELCS in 2021 and will be having another in January.
I'm not sure on how the process would go but I assume you'd come up with a plan so if you don't go into spontaneous labour by x date you want an ELCS and they'd book it in

Oh right and i wasn't sure how late you could request them I just don't want to go over 40 weeks and have them prodding and poking and trying to start labour as my sister and friend had this and there babys became distressed and ended up in emc anyway.

Midwife here. You literally just call and request a section. Each trust will have their own policies of how to proceed but you will likely just need to see a consultant to discuss. ASAP in your case as you've left it very late to request this.

A caesarean section is a huge operation that automatically makes any future pregnancies high risk... this is something that often people forget.

Thankyou... Yea I have left it late and it's just because I thought I'd of had him by now and am only seeing my midwife every 2 weeks not 1 not sure why this is I've done a birth plan but no discussion on it or anything. I just don't want to be induced and messed around with...I'm 40 weeks Monday and I see midwife Tuesday so I'm wondering if I havnt gone into labour by then can i request it and hope I get a appointment soon as

I do understand what you're saying about 'messed around with'

But

What do you think the aftercare from major abdominal surgery looks like? You'll be plenty messed about with after a section

Not a midwife but yes, any woman can have any birth they want. They can’t refuse you.

tell them what you want and stick to your guns. They will go through the risks with you etc but shouldn’t try to talk you out of it. Good luck x

@WeeOrcadian planned c section recovery is not that bad. No birth is a walk in the park but c section recovery is fine, especially a planned one when you’re not tired from induction and labour for days.

you will most likely be home the next day and able to shuffle around, within a week you will most likely feel much better OP x

I wish I'd done it, I had a terrible induction but that was due to consultant strikes and an unwillingness to transfer to labour ward at night, totally stalled then no beds in labour for 3 days while I languished in antenatal getting no sleep. Ended up having an emergency section anyway after 8 hours labour and no dilating oast 3cm at 11 days overdue.

My friend had an induction recently and my experience spooked her but hers was absolutely fine tbf, longer than her natural labour before but still did what it was meant to. But if you want a section not an induction just ask and stick to your guns, I wish I'd had one without all those exhausting days beforehand in hospital but hindsight is 20/20 :)

You'll have a weekly appointment when you go over 40 weeks, aside from that it is only once a fortnight.

Is it your first baby? You can refuse induction, they can offer daily monitoring over a certain week if you want to try to have the baby spontaneously

A c section does NOT make subsequent pregnancies high risk @pinkypank where have you got this misinformation from?

I’ve had one planned c section and about to have another this time. This pregnancy has been just as low risk as my first. They only advise ideally not having more than 3 c sections but plenty of people have more without problems.

a planned c section is actually statistically the safest way to give birth for both mother and baby.

I would call them today to get the ball rolling. I would always go for an elective section over induction so I would be setting that up now.

Thankyou and that's what I'm thinking so just ring my midwife today and tell her my thoughts now due to nearly 40 weeks and see if she can get ball rolling from today

Scheduling might be your only issue so why not call them today and say if baby hasn't come by Wednesday next week can they schedule it?

Yes it can cause complications in further pregnancies.

@user942557 it doesn’t make you high risk for subsequent pregnancies though.

a shit show of a vaginal delivery can cause issues in future pregnancies.

a planned c section where the surgeon doesn’t mess it up is highly unlikely to give any problems with a subsequent Pregnancy.

as I said, I am about to have my second c section and I am not automatically high risk in this pregnancy because I had one last time. I’m still classed as low risk. There’s no truth to someone being ‘automatically high risk’ if they’ve had a c section.

@pinkypank said ‘c section automatically makes you high risk for future pregnancies’ which is not true at all, and is especially concerning coming from a midwife.

I think a better way to explain it is a previous caesarean section adds risks to the next pregnancy which would not be there from a previous vaginal birth.
So although not necessarily 'high risk'adds other considerations which an uncomplicated vaginal birth would not.

@umberellaonesie it might if there were c section complications, but in most cases it doesn’t at all. There are no increased risks in a subsequent pregnancy if the c section went well. The NHS quite clearly states this.

the exception to this would be the increased risk if someone wanted a VBAC, as this is more complicated than another c section or second vaginal birth.

Of course a straightforward vaginal birth is the easiest, but can’t be guaranteed to go like that. I only know one or two people who have had a positive vaginal birth.

@ peonyyyy

A scar on your uterus following a caesarean does make future pregnancies high risk.

I was induced with my first baby, due to being overdue. I had a very straight forward labour and normal delivery.

There is a massive difference between induction of labour or opting straight for major surgery without realising all the implications this can have.

They are at increased risk. Pp may have used nigh risk to communicate this.

Not true, statistically c-sections have a higher maternal mortality rate than vaginal births
You can't just suck things out of your thumb

But that's got nothing to do with future pregnancies being high risk, which is what @Peonyyyy was talking about.

NHS guidance states:
"Risks to future pregnancies
Women who have a caesarean usually have no problems with future pregnancies.
Most women who have had a caesarean section can safely have a vaginal delivery for their next baby, known as vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC).
But sometimes another caesarean may be necessary."

Absolutely nothing there to indicate that future pregnancies are automatically high risk. @Peonyyyy is quite correct.

The fact that once you have had a c section, means future pregnancies then have increased risk. You are at higher risk of complications once you have had a caesarean.

Opting for a section is absolutely not a simple & straightforward alternative to induction.

You know that midwives read medical studies and have a far more nuanced understanding of the risks and benefits of different birth choices/ outcomes than get from reading the nice basic summary on the nhs website aimed at patients?