Should I opt for Elective C-Section?

[LinesForDays]

Not sure if I am making the right decision, so hoping for some advise.

I am currently 24 weeks pregnant with my second baby.
With my first, I went to triage with reduced movements at 40 weeks and was rushed to labour within half an hour as check of cervix found I was starting to dilate, waters leaking and evidence of meconium found and DD's heartrate dropped dramatically during monitoring.

I had a difficult labour, could only labour on my back as moving caused my DD's heart rate to drop, and as DD's head was in an awkward position I ended up needing an episiotomy which caused me to haemorrhage as the Dr cut through an artery.

Also had to have an epidural as it was very touch and go throughout as to whether I would need an emergency c section.

It took about 2 months to recover to a point of not feeling awful, due to infection of the episiotomy and being very anemic from the hemorrhage.

My midwife has advised I can request a c-section this time due to my previous labour issues, and I am leaning towards it.

Anyone with similar experiences who can help me decide whether this is the right choice? What would you do?

My reasoning is that I hope a C-Section recovery will be a little easier, so I can actually enjoy the newborn days a little bit 😬

Have you had a debrief? To discuss exactly what happened, why it happened (where known), what your chances of similar happening again are etc? If not I'd ask for that first, that will give you more information. Really nobody here can advise you as we don't know whether you're just as likely as anyone else to have a straightforward second birth or whether there's something in your history which gives you increased risks this time etc.

There's not really a right or wrong. I found c section recovery much harder than vaginal birth. Haemorrhage and infection can happen with any type of birth, sadly.

C section takes the guesswork out of it, but you'd be very unlikely to have exactly the same scenario. There are pros and cons either way really. C section is not a walk in the park, it's major surgery.

I was much happier being at a different hospital for baby no2, no bad memories! Good if that's an option for you.

I had a number of complications in my first, vaginal, birth, including a PPH. I chose two subsequent ELCS for a number of reasons, including the easier recovery so I can focus on my baby properly. I was right, it really was much easier both times, and for me it was absolutely the right choice.

When people say C section is not a walk in the park - compared to the vaginal birth gone wrong, it early was. For starters, it didn’t take me three months to be able to sit down without pain!!

I’d 100% choose an elective C-section.

It's difficult... I was told what happened in my first birth was unlikely to happen again. It was exactly the same, down to the timings, the lot. The only think different was the aftermath was even worse second time around. I'm definitely going for cesarean third time around.

I had two elective c sections (though for medical reasons that made a vaginal birth too risky for me), and both times my recovery was smooth. I stayed on top of my pain meds and didn’t pretend I was trying to be a hero. Took it easy and moved slowly over the first few days. Very positive experience both times.

I had a difficult delivery with DC1.

I chose an elective section for DC2 and it really did heal a lot of the emotional damage from the first birth. It was calm, happy, all about the baby, just a lovely positive day

I would 100% recommend it. I haven't had a moments regret.

I had an elective C section but for different reasons. Having never struggled with my mental health before, I suffered terrible anxiety during my pregnancy. I think it was a combination of having tried so long to conceive, thinking we were having a miscarriage early on, the stress just really got to me and I absolutely couldn't snap out of it. Planning the c section gave me some control back, I knew when and how my baby was going to arrive so it took some of the crippling anxiety away.

I know some people will say that's ridiculous and it's madness to have a c section for no real medical reason, but it worked for me.

I had a really lovely experience and mostly a smooth recovery. The best thing was when I gave birth, I hadn't been in labour for 2-3 days. I had a great night sleep the night before, went in and gave birth by lunchtime. I felt great!

It's different for every one though. With regards to recovery, if you have a smooth vaginal birth then c section will feel harder. But everyone I know who has had an episiotomy seemed to have a worse recovery than me.

After a very long drawn labours with both dd1 and dd2 along with tears, cuts, stitches, blood loss etc etc I chose ecs for my last dd. The quick easiness and painfree birth was a relief but it was extremely painful afterwards and those injections were torture. The wound got infected and it was a long time before that felt all normal again (actually the scar is still numb and she's 11) each birth had its own pros and cons. You have to weigh up what you definitely want to avoid and what you're prepared to put up with to balance it out. Best of luck.

I had an EMCS with my first. My wound never healed well and I was in and out of hospital and the GP with repeat infections after infections, as well as pain that goes with it. It also looks awful. It really affected my mental health and I think all the antibiotics also played a role in my EBF son's digestive difficulties.

Second time round I had a VBAC including episiotomy and haemorrhage. Recovery was far easier than the EMCS so I'm glad I didn't have an ELCS. However you've obviously had a really tough time with your first birth, it's completely understandable you'd want to minimise risk of that happening again by having an ELCS. I don't think any birth method is risk free and ultimately you just need to decide what is most important to you and make an informed decision that you feel most comfortable with.

My first was a difficult birth. I ended up with a 4th degree tear, recovery was horrendous. My consultant recommended an elective c section for my second. The recovery was so much easier! Not easy, but much more manageable and smooth.

Thanks for all of the responses! It's really helpful to hear both positive and negative stories of c sections.
I know it's a major surgery, and obviously comes with a hard recovery, and I won't know how my body will handle it.

Think I'm also weighing up whether potential complications would be better managed in theatre where they are equipped to deal with it, rather than my previous birth which was a bit chaotic.

Lots to think about, and will discuss at my appointment next month.

Thanks all! 😊

I ended up needing an episiotomy which caused me to haemorrhage as the Dr cut through an artery.

Jesus christ my jaw dropped reading that.

No one can tell you what to do.

My experience is as follows:

I had 2 x nhs electives and I had them because i wanted one.

The mat wards were the 5th and 6th circles of hell but the births were honestly... really really nice.
We brought a playlist and had music and it was so calm and relaxed.... they do the "lion king" and lower the curtain / lift the baby.
My surgical teams were consumate pros both times you could just tell they had done this 100 times and if when things went wrong everyone knew what to do.

Recovery was fine, i researched best practice (dont use hairdryer to dry scar, use silicone strips from 4 wks) and had no infections / problems

I had a traumatic birth with DD1, which was a major contributing factor to the post natal depression that I went on to suffer. We both nearly died during the birth and I lost a significant amount of blood due to haemorrhaging. I was left with severe anaemia which wasn’t treated and was a shell of myself for months after. It was a horrendous experience and is the reason I have a five year age gap between my DDs.

I gave birth to DD2 via elective c section this summer. It was an incredibly calm, positive and healing birth experience, and my mental health remained intact. The physical recovery was more lengthy than with my first birth, but I was prepared for this having had experience of previous major abdominal surgery. It has been an absolute revelation to experience the newborn stage in good physical and mental health and really highlighted how bad my previous experience was. I would recommend an elective c section every time based on my experience.

I would definitely go for an ELCS

I had 2 ELCS after one vaginal birth. My recovery from the sections were amazing over VB . So I am quite biased TBH . After my second ELCS I was in town with newborn,a 4and 6 year old a week later. Walking with episiotomy stitches was bloody painful.

I had a section for similar reasons. My OCD became severe during pregnancy, and I just couldn't mentally handle the unknowns of a vaginal labour.

Yes there are risks, but the risks are known and controlled. I have 0 regrets. I had a lovely experience. I made a playlist. I felt as refreshed as you're ever going to feel the night before major surgery and at the end of a pregnancy when you're huge.

Recovery for me was a breeze tbh. I kept on top of pain relief, and genuinely never really had any issues, other than it being hard to roll over in bed.

In your scenario, if it will make you feel more comfortable and safe, pick a C-section.

It’s important to remember that an emergency section is very different to an elective section, both in terms of the environment during the birth and the recovery after.

I ended up needing an episiotomy which caused me to haemorrhage as the Dr cut through an artery.
Jesus christ my jaw dropped reading that.

Not sure why that's jaw dropping - it's not unusual to find chunky blood vessels that you can't see in all sorts of places. It's also not that unusually to find whoppers across the front of the uterus during c-sections either. In both scenarios just have to cut through them and deal with what follows (that's why quite a bit of the MDT training is haemorrhage management).

OP, as pp's have suggested, if you haven't had a debrief that may be helpful. Reading between lines a little it sounds like most the of the difficulties with the first delivery started with the baby, so a different baby and your body having had the experience of a vaginal delivery might mean a second go is more straightforward. Equally though, maternal request sections are common and they most likely wouldn't be in disagreement to that either.

I had a difficult first labour, baby’s head was big and not in the right position so ended up in theatre with a forceps delivery and a 3a tear with a large PPH. We ended up staying in hospital for the first 7 days (I’d also had GBS chorioamnionitis and baby was poorly too). Stitches healed absolutely fine but I have a prolapse and it took a good 3 months for me to even contemplate leaving the house without panicking about weeing myself in public.
Currently 3 months PP with baby number 2 and had a very straightforward vaginal delivery on gas and air with no stitches. Went for a long walk with baby in the carrier on day 2!
Every pregnancy and every baby is different, there’s pros and cons for either a vaginal delivery or ELCS, but for me I’m very glad I chose to try again with a vaginal delivery, as the recovery this time has been a dream compared to the first time around (I could pick my very heavy toddler up when he came to meet the baby in hospital)

I had a vaguely similar first birth to you which I found very traumatic, I chose to have an elective for my second and don’t regret it at all!
That being said it still had it hiccups but it didn’t leave me with trauma ( failed spinal so was put to sleep and a very nasty and rare infection in my scar 6 months after !) , I was able to enjoy my baby and I recovered well.