C-section experiences

[Foresthealing]

Hi ladies, I may be required to have a C-section. I don’t know any ladies that have had one. What are your experiences? Pros and cons?

I thought it was fabulous, I wish I had had a zip put in for future births! I had a difficult and traumatic birth with my first child which took months to recover from, but this was a doddle, I was up and about so much more quickly. And I could wee and poo!

My experience was so positive, and I don't regret it.

PS. I didn't choose a C section because of my first delivery, it was a medical necessity. But if I could choose this, I would, simply for the quicker recovery time.

Good luck with whatever happens, and enjoy your baby, however they come into the world.

No problems with mine which was a planned C-section, I had it at about 10 am in the morning. The next morning I got out of bed and had a shower – admittedly it was a little bit tricky when I dropped the shower gel and needed to bend to pick it up! Obviously stomach was sore afterwards, but I was advised to keep well topped up with painkillers which I did. If I had another pregnancy, I would want another C-section. Good luck to you!

My perception, having had a standard vaginal delivery that I’ve been told was as bad as it could be and still be “standard” ie no instruments, is that a planner CS is far easier to recover from than a difficult vaginal birth. I really really wish I’d pushed for a CS.

I had three tears thanks to shoulder dystocia, which left me incontinent for weeks and never fully back to normal, PND, my baby picked up an E Coli eye infection from the birth canal.

I had an emergency c section and if I had another child I'd opt for planned.

I healed really quickly with no real pain, had my catheter out before the first visitors (about 12 hours later) and was up and walking around town of day 5.plus, the lovely midwife agreed to take photos so have have a record of ds on the way out (half still in my stomach!) exact moment of birth, and pictures of the first look we got at him over the curtain which are just amazing!

I had a planned one for DC2 after EMCS with DC1.

Definitely a good experience but recovery can be tough. Try and get as much support as possible for the period after birth to allow yourself to recover.

Also check what the policy is re visting at your hospital.

My hospital has created a family bay for dads to stay overnight to help mums, as there just aren’t enough staff to help, especially when you’re still numb and bedbound.

EMCS for first child and vaginal the other 3.
recovery from CS was longer and tougher- could not drive, etc - it is a major abdominal surgery after all.
All that matters is that you and baby are safe- however baby arrives.

Emergency section for my first, and only, after labouring for about 24 hours. I'd heard so many horror stories but honestly? I thought it was a doddle. I was up in the shower about 4 hours later, and the pain was at maximum a 2-3/10 and pretty much completely gone within 72 hours. I took paracetamol and ibuprofen only. I appreciate this isn't everyone's experience, but it was really, really not that bad, worlds away from what I had imagined, and would 100 percent be my preferred method of birth if I have another one.

Gosh - Thank you commenters! You've actually made me feel so much better as I have been panicking about this so much and having feelings of guilt too.

I've had several operations due to endo and my womb shape pre--pregnancy and I also have a skin condition called Lichen Sclerosus. My Midwife told me a C-Section maybe the best option given this and so I am booked to see the Obstetrician soon to go over options but she did tell me to maybe get my head around this may be my only option.

So many women I have spoken to all are very pro V-Birth and I guess it made me feel guilty and I don't know anyone that's had a C-Section personally so your experiences shared help a lot

Yeah i’m sure all these women you’ve spoken to are all very pro vaginal birth when it actually goes well!

Personally I know more women who have had emergency c sections because their vaginal birth didn’t go well, than women who had successful vaginal births. Including me.

Thank you! I appreciate honest comments like this.

I am terrified of options if I’m honest but it seems C-section would be more beneficial given my circumstances.

I have a gut feeling I will end up with a C-Section regardless if I have a my preference. And my friend said to me yesterday. What if you go through the difficulties of vaginal birth and end up with a c-section anyway! You’d be kicking yourself

I've had 2 emergency c-sections. Obviously my experience would be very different than a planned section, as I wasn't given time to prepare for either of them, and they were both after hours and hours of labour, so i was exhausted. I found my second one more painful initially during recovery. I had to get help from a health care worker during the night to walk to the toilet as I was in so much pain. I also found it very painful in my bladder when I was passing urine, which lasted a good few weeks afterwards. I didn't have any of that with my first one. However once I got over the first few days, I recovered pretty quickly in terms of walking around and doing light tasks. I was able to drive again after around 3 weeks.

I had a planned c section. I was so anxious during my IVF pregnancy, I just needed an end point. Also I could not have mentally coped with a lot of intervention, or a vaginal birth , after going through IVF and miscarriages.

Anyway, things I wish I had known before:

To put my hair in a french plait! I had cannulas in both hands and after my bun fell down my DH was absolutely useless at putting my hair up for me.

It is a normal side effect for blood pressure to drop during a section. When it happened I felt extremely frightened, like something was very wrong.

To have the confidence to say I didn't feel right afterwards. I was rushed out of recovery because a woman was being brought in and I heard staff say she had lost her baby and I needed to be gone. I feel such empathy for that woman however I wish I had known beforehand that it's not normal to feel very faint and shaky. Turned out I was haemorrhaging!

I still think a planned section was the right decision. In all likelihood I would have had a PPH after vaginal birth anyway, as I had a haematoma. I have a super supportive family, I just wish I had told my mum on my first full day at home that I didn't feel well and had gone for an iron transfusion sooner. My DH and I were a bit all over the place and not thinking clearly!

Sorry that's really long ...

I also had (very) low BP during my c section and felt wobbly and faint and vomited. I'd say that was the worst part.

Getting the epidural wasn't painful (for me) and the procedure itself feels like someone is pulling you, but it's more of a dulled sensation than a pain.

Quite painful recovery and I couldn't bend much or sit up in bed easily, but it was fine if I stayed on top of my pain meds.

Hi OP,

My section was the best decision I made in regards to ds2 birth. I had a very bad birth with ds1; third degree tear, ventuese, infection in my stitches and my stitches bursting.... ds1 had to be "got out" asap as his heart rate plummeted and was stuck.

What does come up when I think about my section is my blood pressure dropping and this worrying me as they wouldn't let dh in the room until it stabilised. I wish I had known this was normal as pp has written.

My recovery from my section was much quicker and easier than my virginal.

Trust your gut :)

Remember no one gets a medal for any type of birth!

I've had one emergency and one elective CS. The recovery from both was absolutely fine - more difficult with the first as I was exhausted from labouring and had lost quite a bit of blood during labour. The elective obviously didn't have that issue. I took paracetamol and ibuprofen round the clock for a couple of weeks, which worked very well.

In terms of the actual surgery:

• It feels like someone's doing the washing up inside you. A very peculiar rummaging feeling, but no pain.
• If you start to feel sick, tell the anaesthetist. Mine adjusted something and suddenly the nausea vanished.
• I got very cold, as the bag of fluids going into my arm was straight from the fridge. My overriding memory of my first birth is having to clench my jaw to control my teeth chattering. I warmed up later, but that was something I hadn't expected at all.

Afterwards: wrap tops were amazing. I had some stretchy maternity tops with really long panels that wrapped around the belly, and they were incredible after the baby was born - held me together and gave me confidence to move and walk around. The post-birth jelly belly is a very strange experience, and anything that reduces the jiggling near the C-section would is helpful.

Good luck!

my experience was completely different! I was booked for a cs with a big for me,left lateral breech. While in hospital with Preeclampsia I went into labour. The staff were horrible. I told the nurse my waters had broken, she said I had obviously wet the bed. This was mid afternoon. It was a big hospital in north London. There was panic Pandemonium,it was frightening. They got angry because I gagged when they put the nasal gastric tube down. (I've had several subsequent abdo surgeries where it was inserted post anaesthetic) I woke up, able to hear but not moved. Drain each side of the wound, nothing explained. Dreadful nausea and vomiting.The whole experience was awful. My scar was sore for a year,I had severe post partum psychosis. Swore if never have another child. Was told I would never give birth vaginally, I did 3 times.

Oh my goodness I am so sorry to hear this experience. If you don't mind sharing which hospital as i am also in North London and at Barnet.

I’ve had 3 C sections and they have all been fabulous. The elective ones were so calm.

I healed v quickly after all of them and was walking the prom within 4 days.

I had attempted to give birth naturally with my first and it was absolutely horrendous. The pain of contractions were absolutely like nothing I’d ever felt before. I remember thinking I would’ve let them chop my legs off to stop the pain. It was horrific. I was so pleased when it ended in a C section.

Emergency c -section- horrendous, infections, long hospital stay, NICU, trauma

elective c section - bliss

I had an ELCS with DC2 due to their size (big baby!!). I’ll be honest that it is a very different birth experience to a vaginal birth (which I had with DC1) but no less magical. With a vaginal birth you are a full participant in all of it whereas with a c-section you put your trust in the medical team to get on with it minimal input from you. That’s not to say you can’t express preferences, but the nature of being numbed from the chest down does of course mean that you’re not experiencing all elements of birth (and nor would you want to with a c-section!).

I hope the above doesn’t scare or upset you though, my c-section was a lovely experience and the team were all so friendly. I was incredibly nervous and told the anaesthetist that I’d appreciate a bit of chat to distract myself during the procedure so we were kid way through lovely conversation about my eldest child starting school just as DC2 was born! Everything was dealt with very professionally and I felt well looked after.

Recovery wise, it’s painful, I won’t lie. But the way through that is to take the painkillers regularly, even if you’re feeling better. I’m not usually that enthusiastic about having lots of painkillers but it does you but favours not to take them. I would also say that even though I was in a lot of pain, after the first week I started to feel a bit better every single day and I have no lasting effects from the section (whereas I still feel twinges of the episiotomy I had from DC1’s birth nearly 10 years later!!)

I have had vaginal and c section. For the actual birth - c section was much easier but I did need instruments with my vaginal.

many people bounce back quickly, I was driving by week 5 and able to go for one hour walks. The first couple of weeks I was less mobile but I have really fond memories of taking everything slowly and just enjoying my baby. With my first I really struggled to stay still and felt I needed to be out or doing something.

given what you have said about your conditions - go with medical advice. There was no prizes for how babies come out - the main thing is to do what is best for you and the baby.

Worst experience ever for me, I would rather have 10 vaginal births than one CS

Mine was hideously botched though

Mine was amazing. No pain at all, at any point. Healed quickly. Zero trauma.

BUT - in those days no one told you that C-sections, or the painkillers they give you afterwards - stop your milk coming in. That was traumatic. You can get medication to prompt the milk, so I advise asking for it if you plan to breast feed.

There are some really positive experiences here, which is great but don’t be worried if it takes you a bit longer to recover. I struggled to walk or stand up straight for the first week and worried something was wrong as I’d read people saying they were doing all sorts within days. After a week things quickly got a lot better though and my recovery just took a bit longer than some.