elective c-section .. where to go?

[ranirani]

It's my first pregnancy, and I have a very LOW pain threshold. I have always been terrified of labour pain, whatever anyone may say. It actually put me off of getting pregnant in the first place. Now I am 34 y.o. so not a spring chicken which makes it more difficult. I'd rather opt for a c-section, but I am not sure I can get it just by talking to my midwife. Does anyone know how much would it cost if to do it privately and which hospitals provide this kind of service???? Please help!!

so how did you get CS with NHS , Bubble99 ????

Thanks for the books, MKG, and intro into th world of CS,whomovedmychocolate !!
uretra thing sounds terrible, but at least you can control the pain with pain killers!!!
LOL you all XX

At some point you will go to parentcraft/antenatal classes. There will be several couples who are doing everything naturally - no drugs, breathing techniques blah blah blah, well they will be the ones having the emergency CS. I know, cos that was me

I am sorry that you are so afraid of the delivery. You don't want to spend the next 8 months in fear of the unknown.

I had an ECS - terrible experience- and a planned CS which went well. Recovery is different for everyone, but pain meds work wonders.

All of my friends have used an epidural during labor, and all say that it was pretty easy and painless. However, I don't have firsthand knowledge.

The part to remember is that the birth is just a moment in time and everything seems worth it once you see your baby's little face.

ok.... so I guess I have 8 months to decide... best of luck to everyone !! :0

I got it as my third delivery ended up as an emergency CS. I made it clear that I wasn't prepared to risk an attempt at a VBAC in an understaffed NHS hospital.

I know two women who have recently been offered elective CSs after saying that they were afraid of the prospect of a vaginal delivery. One was afraid of the pain and the other (a doctor) was afraid of ending up in the same situation as me (4am in a maternity unit with not enough able staff on duty.)

Thats a glimpse of hope! so it is possible to get CS on NHS after all even if it is your first baby?

Yes it is, - but you will be challenged!

I bloody hope that 35 is not too old to have a vaginal delivery. i'm having my first in a week hopefully and I'm 34, first time I've ever heard anyone say that I'm too old for a vaginal delivery!
why don't you try and focus on the positives of a vaginal birth rather than the 'pain' issues? I think you need to gather a lot more information and strongly recommend you read some hypnobirthing books.

they put old water on you too check what you can feel, but it took me couple of days to be able to get any feeling back.
spaek to you consultant and project our views to him, they are ess scarier than you think. i felt like i was doing a speach but my consultant was lovely, understood, id had bad tearing,bad labour, no stiches when many wre needed and bad pelvic problems after.
he brought e back after 2 weeks to see if i was ertain then i was booked in.
the most painful bit was getting the epidural in my back took a few tries and i still sufer pain in back fro it. the scar is not bd and will shrink but our likely to have no feeling there , i dont on mine.
i recovered quicker from c section than first birth. but i had a bad time then
your consultant may ask you to see a ouncellor before he agrees as you talk about the pain, and will discuss pain relief

My elective section was done under spinal not epidural (very few places - if any? - use an epidural for an elective now) which means you don't have anything in your back (spinal is a one off intrathecal injection).

With the spinal you get diamorphine which means you don't have any pain for 24 hours - or require extra pain killers - I used voltarol for the second day, then just paracetamol. Didn't need morphine or anything stronger ... in fact they don't offer it, pain is very effectively controlled by the spinal. My hospital does a lot of sections, they have seperate theatres so you don't get bumped for emergencies & you always get a consultant doing the operation (the postnatal ward for c-section women has a much higher staff ratio that the birth centre for normal deliveries). If you want an elective look for somewhere that does a lot of sections - they'll be much better organised to care for you.

I was up & had a shower/walking by 2pm, my ds was born at 10am. With my elective this time I'm planning for a 36 hour discharge (it will be my third). Recovery is completely different after an elective compared to an emergency.

I'm at St mary's in london on the NHS and plan to have an elective CS. If you look at the stats for the central london hospitals around a third of births are sections, about half emeregency and half elective.
My midwife said it's in the patient's charter (whatever that is) that you're entitled to whatever treatment you want. Plus being in an NHS hospital, in ase there is any kind of emergency, the staff and facilities are all there, whereas from private ones, you would have to be transferred to an nhs hospital in acse of emergency anyway! My midwife said if I was going for an elective to have it on the nhs, and if I had the money, to use it and pay for a maternity nurse afterwards!

Raines - sounds like you have a great midwife. I mentioned it to mine and she said it's only possible on the NHS for diagnosed medical reasons.
I am still mulling paying for one. At St Thomas, it starts at £3,000, including one night in private suite.
I am 38 and a first timer. I had really terrible miscarriage experiences (went into shock, thought i was going to die, pulse dropped to about 20bpm) that make me doubt my ability, plus my aunt had a stillbirth, which adds to my fear.
But then i think maybe it wouldn't be the same to not go through natural childbirth - that it won't mean as much with me and DH.

Hi Chandellina - I had my ante natal care privately at St. Thomas' and would really recommend them, though I transfered to the Portland to have the baby, as I wanted my CS on a Saturday which is a busy day.

Obviously, it's a personal choice, but I found the CS still quite an emotional experience. I had my DS 5 weeks ago and, as he's my first (and probably only), I don't have any other experience to compare it to - so whose to say one is better or worse than another!!

You do 'feel' the baby being born - I didn't think you would, but you can feel a tug and the baby moving out... then they hand the baby to you, onto your chest. It's still extremely powerful, IMO. (though a word of caution, you are very likely to need more than the 1 day in hospital after a CS - I felt great and still didn't leave hospital for 3 days - which is going to add to the cost.)

FWIW, my DH has two children who were born naturally and he wasn't in any hurry AT ALL to witness it again - he was ALL for the CS!!

Raines, I'm impressed at your midwife. Mine was totally dismissive of the idea of elec CS on the NHS without medical need. That's why I went private.

Here is what they will say if you ask for a c-section:

1. you can have an epidural as it's the same pain relief as a c-section.
2. As you already went through labor you can do it again.

Just a warning as to what to expect so you can be prepared.

Sorry, misread your post - that it's your first pregnancy.

Should also clarify that the 'have an epidural rather than a c-section' was for the NHS. I have no idea about going private.

Oh, and it's OK to change your mind several times!

btw if you go down the private route in London, full consultant care, plus a cs plus the private hospital will set you back somewhere in the region of £7-10k. So if you are thinking that £3K will do it, it probably won't....

And I know you are only 5 weeks pg, but you need to get on a consultants books within the next month, as they get booked up very quickly...

If you do go private, i would advise you go to the private wing of an nhs hospital... you want to be able to have all the full teaching hospital facilities there if you or your babe needs them, without having to have a transfer, with all the (precious) time lost in the process...

Good luck with your final decision!

Ilovemydog The answer to no. 1, is that you can only have an epidural once you are in active labour, and you can have had to experience considerable pain before that!

PLUS there are no guarantees that you'll be able to have one when you want/need it!

With an elective c/section you don't get ANY contractions!

Your no. 2 should read 'If you've never been in labour before then you don't know you can't cope with it'! You can't win with this one, but you can ply them with research that shows an anxious, nervous, hysterical woman will feel more pain, demand more drugs, work against her body and more likely end up with an frought emergency c/section!

I agre with Twinkle - The Portland was FAB from start to finish. Everything. Everyone. A great start to motherhood.

Also agree with Orangina, though - the private wings on NHS hospitals fill up fast (I initially chose St. Thomas') and also about the cost: With ante natal care (you will need a consultant), the CS and hospital care, I'd budget £8-10K all in.

bt Twinkie:

'some do have bad experiences but i think i lot of it is mind over matter, frankly after getting involved in the "mummy circle" after ds was born i soon concluded that may needed to get a grip, pull themselves together and enjoy their baby instead of moaning.'

Those comments have really pissed me off.

Pissed me off too!

Some people say the same about childbirth pain Belgo! That also pisses me off!

meant vaginal birth pain - obviously!

chicken woman, I agree with you; that you cannot guarantee that an epidural will be available etc, have to be in active labor etc.

Just was repeating what the consultant said to me so ranirani can be prepared for what the doctors might say....

No contractions . Wow - they don't tell you about that part!

Have you talked to anyone about your fears? It seems so early to have your mind set on a c-section. Not trying to put you off - your body, your choice, plus I have a very low pain threshold too, so can relate- but as someone who has had a section I can't really imagine ever wanting to voluntarily go for such an invasive operation without at least exhausting all options re: getting over your fears of vaginal birth.